Quais du Polar Lyon is 20

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 04 April 2024 > What's On

Lyon’s Quais du Polar festival is celebrating its 20th edition from 5 to 7 April. It has grown and grown and this year will welcome 135 authors from 15 countries. As far as the Anglophone contingent is concerned, you will no doubt recognise some stars like John Grisham and his legal mysteries; Donna Leon, specialised … Continue reading “Quais du Polar Lyon is 20”

Our West Side Story Reading Guide Has Arrived

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 19 February 2024 > Pedagogy Shine Bright Lycée

If you are studying the 1961 film of West Side Story with your LLCER 1ère students, our Reading Guide will help them analyse key scenes, explore the background and inspiration to the work, and different iterations of this story of star-crossed lovers. West Side Story is a 20th century retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set … Continue reading “Our West Side Story Reading Guide Has Arrived”

Poor Things: Frankenstein Revisited

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 January 2024 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

Poor Things, adapted into an award-winning film from the novel by Alasdair Gray, imagines a female Frankenstein’s monster who is fundamentally human, and her creator, who much like Dr Frankenstein, is perhaps more monstrous himself. Yorgos Lanthimos’s previous films such as The Lobster and The Favourite were far from mainstream, even if The Favourite won … Continue reading “Poor Things: Frankenstein Revisited”

Wonka

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 06 December 2023 > Ready to Use

Most pupils will be familiar with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its main character: Willy Wonka. Yet, how much do we know about him? This new film by Paddington director Paul King– starring Timothée Chalamet as Wonka – explores Willy Wonka’s young adult life, his wishes and how he started his chocolate empire with … Continue reading “Wonka”

2023 Booker Prize Goes to an Irish Dystopia

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 06 December 2023 > What's On

The Booker Prize 2023 was awarded to Paul Lynch for his dystopian novel set in his native Ireland, Prophet Song.  Chosen from a longlist of 13 and a shortlist of six, Lynch’s is the fifth Irish novel to win the U.K.’s most prestigious literary prize. And it’s the former film critic’s fifth novel. Prophet Song … Continue reading “2023 Booker Prize Goes to an Irish Dystopia”

Six Books for the Booker

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 22 November 2023 > What's On

The Booker Prize shortlist 2023 contains books by two Irish, two American, a Canadian and a British author exploring identity, family dynamics and societal collapse. All of them have been shortlisted for the first time, and two of the books are debut novels. The winner of the U.K.’s most prestigious literary prize will be announced … Continue reading “Six Books for the Booker”

Poetry in the Classroom

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 05 October 2023 > Webpicks

This year’s UK National Poetry Day is on 5 October. A great opportunity to get some poetry into your class, and to explore this year’s theme: Refuge. The National Poetry Day site has lots of poems and teaching resources. We picked out some which are especially well adapted to ESL learners. There are short films … Continue reading “Poetry in the Classroom”

What the Dickens? 2023 Women’s Prize Winner

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 16 June 2023 > What's On

The UK’s 2023 Women’s Prize has been awarded to Barbara Kingsolver for Demon Copperhead, her retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield set in modern-day Appalachia. She is the first author to win the prize twice, after winning in 2010 for The Lacuna. Kingsolver also received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for Demon Copperhead. She was … Continue reading “What the Dickens? 2023 Women’s Prize Winner”