Little Women

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 31 January 2020 >

Greta Gerwig’s latest movie based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel will take you into a female world in which conventions are defied, questioned and challenged by four sisters. Indeed, these four women on the brink of emancipation shatter the traditional image of upper-middle class young ladies whose role (and even duty) was to get married … Continue reading “Little Women”

Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” on Screen

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 19 September 2019 > What's On

The Goldfinch is a stunning coming-of-age story set in New York, Las Vegas and Amsterdam. Donna Tartt’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has been adapted for the screen. The story centres on Theo Decker, 13 when the book opens. His reasonably settled teenage life living with his mother is torn apart in seconds. During a visit … Continue reading “Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” on Screen”

Rip van Winkle

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 19 July 2019 > Ready to Use

This A2 activity is based on a short presentation of Washington Irving’s short story Rip Van Winkle,  which was first published in 1819, two hundred years ago. Although it was inspired by a German traditional story, Irving gave it a clearly American context as the eponymous Van Winkle magically falls asleep for 20 years, completely … Continue reading “Rip van Winkle”

Native Voice

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 24 June 2019 > In the News

In 2019, for the first time, the U.S.A.’s poet laureate — the nation’s “official” poet — will be a Native American. Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation from Alabama. She aims to honour both the “Native” and the “American”, saying, “When you grow up as a person in your culture, you … Continue reading “Native Voice”

Short Stories on Stage Paris, Angers, Nancy

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 25 March 2019 > What's On

For 25 years, San-Francisco-based theatre company Word for Word has been putting on innovative productions of prose pieces performed as theatre. And each year, they do a small tour of France, giving audiences in Paris, Angers and Nancy the chance to experience their unique style of theatre. They’re back in April and May with two … Continue reading “Short Stories on Stage Paris, Angers, Nancy”

Festival America: Reading Ideas for Literature Classes

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 October 2018 > Pedagogy

Cécile Sempere-Brun recommends: The Verdun Affair, by Nick Dybeck A novel about love and loss, forgetting and remembering. Reading A Verdun Affair is like travelling through space and time. The novel is set immediately after WWI, in France and Italy, as well as against the more glamorous background of 1950s Los Angeles. As the story … Continue reading “Festival America: Reading Ideas for Literature Classes”

“The Mothers”, a Coming-of-Age Story

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 October 2018 > What's On

We asked several teachers and authors who attended Festival America book festival in Vincennes in September to give us their favourite picks amongst the authors and books they encountered. Isabelle Brefort, who teaches at Lycée Jean-Baptiste Corot, Savigny-sur-Orge (91), recommends: The Mothers by Brit Bennett Can a secret ruin lives? Can our choices shape our … Continue reading ““The Mothers”, a Coming-of-Age Story”

“The Verdun Affair”, Love and Loss in WWI

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 October 2018 > What's On

We asked several teachers and authors who attended Festival America book festival in Vincennes in September to give us their favourite picks amongst the authors and books they encountered. Cécile Sempéré-Brun, who teaches at Lycée Raynouard, Brignoles (83), recommends: The Verdun Affair, by Nick Dybeck A novel about love and loss, forgetting and remembering. Reading … Continue reading ““The Verdun Affair”, Love and Loss in WWI”

“The Barrowfields”, a Haunting Family Tale from North Carolina

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 October 2018 > What's On

We asked several teachers and authors who attended Festival America book festival in Vincennes in September to give us their favourite picks amongst the authors and books they encountered. Gerald Kenny, who teaches at Lycée Saint-Sernin, Toulouse (31), recommends: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis Nobody gets the parents they deserve, and Henry Aster is no … Continue reading ““The Barrowfields”, a Haunting Family Tale from North Carolina”