Siegfried Sassoon was one of the most famous of the British World War I poets but unlike Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke or Edward Thomas, Sassoon survived the war he had despised while serving brilliantly. Terence Davies’ final film traces both the war service and the long life looking for meaning which followed, with Jack Lowden … Continue reading “Benediction: Siegfried Sassoon Biopic”
What are you planning for la Semaine des langues? This year’s edition is from 18 to 23 March and is on the theme of « L’important, c’est de communiquer ! », which we would happily adopt as our motto here at Speakeasy News. The event makes special reference to the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer … Continue reading “Ready for the Semaine des Langues?”
Gertrude Stein is probably best known for her “salon” in Paris where she nurtured artistic talents as diverse as Matisse and Braque, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce. But her experimental, minimalist writing has been highly influential on generations of creatives right up to today, as is shown in the Gertrude Stein and Picasso: … Continue reading “Gertrude Stein Multi-talented”
After the sudden death of Benjamin Zephaniah, we decided to share the interview we had the great privilege of doing with one of Britain’s most popular poets in 2012. He had just been appointed Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University. He shared some of his very eclectic thoughts with us. Do you think of … Continue reading “Benjamin Zephaniah Interview”
We were very sad to hear of the sudden death of Benjamin Zephaniah, one of Britain’s most popular poets. Benjamin Zephaniah said the art of poetry, and of life, is in how you look at things. Perhaps not surprising for a man of many faces: a dyslexic who left school at 13, who became a … Continue reading “Dub Poet: Benjamin Zephaniah”
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”
Under the pseudonym Henry Fuseli, Swiss artist Johan Heinrich Füssli, became one of the leading lights of the 19th-century British art world and a popular proponent of Romanticism and the Gothic. His many depictions of Shakespearean scenes, the supernatural, dreams and nightmares are rich food for the imagination. A new exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart … Continue reading “Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli”
Back in January, we announced this year’s Cicéronnades competition organised by the Académie of Orléans-Tours, which enncourages pupils to video themselves reciting a poem or prose text. The winners have just been announced, as part of la semaine des langues vivantes. The Académie of Orléans-Tours is organising a competition for pupils to recite texts in … Continue reading “They Spoke and They Conquered”
Not many countries have an annual celebration of their national poet. In fact not all countries have a national poet. But Scotland does and millions of people around the world celebrate him on Burns Night every 25 January. The adoption of Robert Burns (1759-1796) as national poet was a natural, organic process born or real … Continue reading “Toasting Robert Burns”
Why not encourage your pupils to participate in a competition to video themselves reciting a poem or prose text? Practising recitation can be a valuable activity in any language class. The Académie of Orléans-Tours is organising a competition for pupils to recite texts in the languages they are learning, which is open to pupils and … Continue reading “Ready to Recite?”
