Paul Simon to receive PEN America’s Literary Service Award

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Simon’s latest honor places him among public figures well outside the music industry. He is this year’s winner of PEN America’s PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, which previously has been given to former President Barack Obama, the late Nobel laureate Toni Morrison and Stephen King among others. The 82-year-old Simon is known for such classic songs as “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “The Sound of Silence” and for his globe-spanning musical tastes, from Brazil to South Africa to his native New York City. Simon will receive his award at PEN’s annual gala, to be held May 16 at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.