Notes Literature II

First class

“I can’t say anything about the rules of poetry because I’ve broken them all”

Benjamin Zephaniah

• Born in Jamaica, in 1958

• Expelled from school then sent to a reform school

• Suffered from dyslexia

• Prison

• Writer, poet and performer

• Reggae singer

• Lives in Birmingham

• Has an honorary doctorate at University of North London

• Holds poetry fellowiships at Oxford University and Cambridge University

• ACCESIBILITY

• POPULARITY

• ADAPTED TO A CHANGED WORLD (audiovisual,oral and performance poetry)

• New readers

Merle Collins

• Born in 1950, in Grenada

• Merle means blackbird

• Teacher (English, Spanish, Creative Writing and Caribbean Literature), writer, poet and
performer (mixes poetry and music)
 • Her writing philosophy: mixing concepts of oratorical media with the formal art of writing

• Ph.D in Government

• History Government

• Politics Literature

• Colonialism

• History of Languages

Power Point Presentation

 Do you like Literature?

 Why should Literature be taught?

 Is literary theory of any help in the teaching of Literature?

 How will Literature be related with your future practice?

English Literature or Literature in English or Literature in english?

 B. Kachru (1985, 1995) divides the English speaking world into three concentric circles:

INNER CIRCLE: native English speaking countries (eg. UK, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia)

OUTER CIRCLE: former colonies or spheres of influence of the UK and the USA (eg. India, Nigeria)

EXPANDING CIRCLE: countries where English is fast becoming a dominant second language in
education, science, technology, administration, etc. (eg. China, Japan)

Which English/english are we supposed to teach or read?

What is the tendency nowadays?

 The Canon vs the canon. Harold Bloom: The Western Canon

 Plurality?
  The context nowadays

 What about the classics?

 Role of the reader

Literature or literature?

 transactional vs. representational texts: once one becomes the other, it can be a “literary
text” (Mc Rae)

 The reader and their ways into the texts

 Role of the critics

 Language and culture and literature: integrated? Cultural Studies

This subject should guide you to:

 Develop your ability to read

 See through language

 Bring about AWARENESS

 Active meaning between the text and the readers: i.e. YOU