English, Winter Issue 2022

Abstract

When the recent removal of Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen from the GCSE syllabus was labelled ‘cultural vandalism’ by the erstwhile Education Secretary (the ever-reliable Nadhim Zahawi) and accompanied by a sputter of outrage in the UK media, The English editorial team – who have a vested interest in the teaching and enjoyment of poetry – decided to open a forum on the subject. Our Autumn 2022 issue included John Wilkinson and Derek Attridge’s animated readings of Denise Riley’s poem ‘Lone Star Clattering’; the present issue continues the theme of reading poetry with the first discussions of what is at stake in teaching poetry in schools, colleges, and universities; of which methods and activities have, in practice, enlivened students to poetic language and what it can do; and of wider questions about who is, or who should be, represented in today’s curricula. Schools, universities, and journals like this are actively involved in canon formation, however suspicious we may be of the notion, and our teaching, whatever its constraints, is the live manifestation of this process. We hope this candid exchange of experience and expertise will develop over subsequent issues as we reflect on what is most challenging, valuable, and yes! enjoyable, in the teaching of poetry.