Macbeth 4: the supernatural
The fourth in a series of essays on Macbeth looks at the impact of the supernatural.
Read MoreMaking Meaning in English
David Didau’s new book is a welcome and rare analysis of the history and current state of English as it is taught as a subject in schools.
Read MoreMacbeth 3: Malcolm the hero?
The third in a series of essays on Macbeth looks at a possible ‘hero’ of the play, Duncan’s son Malcolm.
Read MoreThe researchED Guide to Leadership
Brief notes on a collection of essays on school leadership, edited by Stuart Lock.
Read MoreMacbeth 2: the real Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is not a one-dimensional ‘fiend’ but rather a complex, living human being. This essay examines her nine appearances in the play.
Read MoreTelling Tales
Patience Agbabi’s 2014 Telling Tales is a vibrant updating of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and itself a masterclass in poetic form and tone.
Read MoreMacbeth 1: 'If it were done'
The first in a series of posts on Macbeth starts with the most important moment in the play, the soliloquy ‘If it were done…’
Read MoreSimple Passion
Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux was first published in France in 1991, but now arrives in English from Fitzcarraldo Editions in an immaculate translation by Tanya Leslie, perhaps to coincide with a film version.
It can be read it in 30 minutes (note: opens with 'strong material'). It's intense and honest, as always with Ernaux. So this post is extremely short, too.
Here are my thoughts on the longer, brilliant, more complex The Years.
The Boy Behind the Curtain
Tim Winton's The Boy Behind the Curtain: notes from an Australian life is an outstanding book of essays, both personal and cultural.
Read MoreHow to Argue with a Racist
Adam Rutherford’s How to Argue with a Racist has a morally important purpose. It is also a brilliant example of how to write about complex ideas in an accessible way.
Read MoreSuppose a Sentence
Brian Dillon’s close readings of 28 sentences by authors ranging from Joan Didion to James Baldwin to John Donne are a real pleasure.
Read MoreMinds Made for Stories
Thomas Newkirk is one of the best writers on education today. His book Minds Made for Stories examines the ways non-fiction texts have narratives at their cores, and how these can be used to teach them.
Read MoreOpen Water
Caleb Azumah Nelson’s first novel, Open Water, is a lyrical story set in contemporary London, charting the tentative journey towards love of two young people. It is a novel about intimacy, dancing, music, and racism.
Read MoreTechnology for Teaching: a personal history
From the Banda to the blackboard to the overhead projector. As a gadget and technology fan, I’ve seen a few generations of technology in the classroom.
Read MoreThinking about 'King Lear'
Here are some exercises on quotations in King Lear. They are designed for pair-work 10-minute sessions in class, but work perfectly well for individuals.
Read MoreBeing Betjeman(n) by Jonathan Smith
Jonathan Smith’s enormously enjoyable Being Betjeman(n) is an unclassifiable and highly personal book about the poet, but also about mental health, teaching, parenting and friendship.
Read MoreTeaching in the Online Classroom
Teaching in the Online Classroom: surviving and thriving in the new normal by Doug Lemov and the Teach Like a Champion Team offers lots of guidance and reassurance for teachers right now in the ‘remote space’.
Read More'The Kids' by Hannah Lowe
Hannah Lowe’s Costa award-winning sequence of sonnets The Kids is a triumph.
Read MoreLeaving Certificate English resources
During these uncertain and anxious times for pupils, here is a summary of some resources for Leaving Certificate English candidates that may be helpful when working at home. Regular updates coming.
Read MoreSeamus Heaney's 'Mossbawn: (1) Sunlight
This podcast examines Seamus Heaney's poem 'Sunlight', one of the dedicatory poems called 'Mossbawn', which open his 1975 collection North.
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