Literature

[maggiebee]

Just read that British Education Secretary Michael Gove has decided that the English literature list for a national exam needs to be more English, so To Kill a Mockingbird, of Mice and Mean and the Crucible will no longer be acceptable. Wonder if he's read any of them??

[Buenchico]

Science-fiction, Methyl? I can see the steam coming out of Michael Gove's ears at the very thought of it!

Of course there's absolutely no reason why science fiction shouldn't be included (and I'd be happy to see John Wyndham as a representative of that genre) but traditionalists would need a great deal of persuading in order to see it as 'serious' literature. Similarly there's a great deal of comic literature that merits study to examine the craft of its writers (from Jerome K Jerome through to Alan Coren) but it never seems to feature in exam syllabuses.

[Buenchico]

Can we add John Hegley onto our list of admired poets, Methyl? (I love his work)

[Buenchico]

You can't be a Radio 4 fan, Methyl. (John Hegley has had several series there).

But I'm not a telly fan, so I've never seen Broadchurch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIPv_9g6rNo

[Buenchico]

We studied 'Animal Farm' for O-level, Methyl, but I think that most of us were too young to really understand the meanings behind the words. (I find it far more readable now).

Anyway, Craft probably wouldn't count his writing as 'English' literature; he was born in India ;-)

[Buenchico]

We did 'Lord of the Flies' too!

[Canary42]

As this thread has amply illustrated, there is a massive library of modern English literature to draw on, especially when including sci-fi, humour, poetry, drama (all valid IMO) - reducing this to an amount suitable for national exams is a tricky subject - and somewhat subjective too of course. Far too important to be put into the hands of politicians who barely take their noses out of the trough to perceive what's going on in the outside world. Which brings us neatly back to Animal Farm and its pigs !

[Buenchico]

>>>I have seen the film since and it is nauseating

But about a zillion times better than the 1990 remake! (I've not even seen the 2012 one).

[tamborine]

Is that why McDonalds are circulating Enid Blyton, Secret Seven booklets ;p