Chuck Berry coming to Boston pick up PEN award

Roll over Beethoven, Chuck Berry is headed to Boston to pick up an award from PEN New England. The writers group has established the Award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence, and the inaugural recipients are Berry and Leonard Cohen. PEN New England chairman Richard Hoffman told us yesterday that Berry, the 85-year-old rock n’ roll pioneer whose hits include “Maybellene” and “Johnny B. Goode,” will be at the awards ceremony Feb. 26 at the JFK Library, and Cohen may also attend. “We’re hoping he can make it,” said Hoffman, noting that the Canadian singer-songwriter has a new CD. “This doesn’t require him to perform. All he has to do is receive laurels from us and have a dinner.” The recipients were chosen by an A-list panel that includes Bono, Rosanne Cash, Paul Simon, Paul Muldoon, Bill Flanagan, Smokey Robinson, Salman Rushdie, and Elvis Costello, who’s expected not only to attend but also to perform a Chuck Berry song.