into it through a more diverse range of contemporary texts.”


One way new texts help is shining new light. “Even though two of our new books are set in a historical context, they have very relatable modern themes around empire and power and relationships between men and women and within families. I think that does open the idea of what literature is or can be. We’d like to do some research to see how this plays through – we think these kinds of texts might help with your Dickens, or Romantic poetry. Because if you are reading a contemporary novel or play like The Empress which is also set in Victorian times it can give you a crossover, a different window into the same time context as another text you are working on.”


a 19th century novel and poetry, at least half of which has to be romantic poetry. So there’s a historical, canonical direction that the subject criteria require. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that – I always have to reassure people that we are not replacing Shakespeare – but that canonical and historical focus can be a bit alienating. It’s not necessarily relatable and engaging but students can be helped


Reading resilience Katy said: “Shakespeare is challenging. 19th century literature is challenging. The language is dense, it is a very different kind of syntax. With these texts you have to be robust in your reading capability. You have to be confident and comfortable otherwise they can be a bit off putting. Those are all really challenging things and any pleasure to be gotten from the challenge of getting into it – the reward of understanding it and engaging with it and having lightbulb moments – may not be on your radar if you haven’t had that experience with books before.


“When I read something like Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, for the first 20 pages I’m just slogging through it. It’s really hard not to just give up. But you don’t give up because you know there’s going to be a pay-off. But if you’re 15 and you haven’t really experienced that pay off in other literature, and what you’re reading is just something necessary for your GCSE, it will be a slog, and that isn’t how we want people to feel.”


Not credited


However valuable reading for pleasure may be, wider reading is not recognised as part of the GCSE or the A Level any more. “No it’s not there,” Katy said: “It has been in the past. You used to be able to reference your wider reading. But in GCSE there’s no coursework or controlled assessment and no facility to draw upon wider reading. Although, obviously what anyone involved in English will say, is that the more well-read a person is, the better prepared they will be for any type of reading that they come across, whether that’s extract based in English language, or that’s novel, prose, or drama based in English literature. The more you have read the better you will read.” PEN&INC.


l To find out about Lit in Colour visit go.pearson.com/litincolour


Spring-Summer 2021


PEN&INC. 31


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