Today I will be exercising my qualified privilege of the freedom of expression to assert three texts that I believe should and would be a great addition onto any English Literature curriculum whether that be A-Level, Scottish Highers, or even on my own undergraduate course.
For my first suggestion I propose Audre Lorde’s novel or as she calls it her “biomythography,” Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Not only is this a vital expansion of the canon, providing a fresh perspective of 1950s America and the experience of being a lesbian black woman, whilst also allowing students the pleasure of reading the writing of a profound poet taking to prose to tell an interpretation of her story. This secondary addition is fuelled partially by spite after hearing the words “no Phoebe I do not read foreign literature” come out of the mouth of my favourite English A-Level teacher.
Olga Takarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a spiritual novel presenting a sinister but equally beautiful expression of female rage at both male control and the detrimental exploits of humankind against nature. Not only did this alter my view of Poland as a country that I was admittedly ignorant about, but also its status as a translated text (which for anyone that has attempted this knows that this is truly an art in itself) introduces a further element of literary complexity.
Finally, I propose Sophie Tredwell’s 1920s expressionistic play Machinal, a play that I studied for Drama A-level but still wish that I had gotten the opportunity to write English essays on. Set in the height of the New York Jazz Age, the lead role the ‘Young Woman’, playing the everywoman, presents a raw and unashamed telling of how vital it is for one to be able to express their identity, wholly and truthfully. Our ‘Young Woman’ is sadly not given this freedom and is instead driven to extreme lengths in the attempt to try and ‘break-free’, from herself, her mother and an American society that will not refrain from telling her who she must be.
Therefore, I propose to you three female authors, three important pieces of literature, three texts that I promise you will get a lot out of picking up
