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THE ALLEYNIAN 709
THE UNION
As a committee member, I knew that it was important to step up and contribute to the delivery of presentations. I understood it was a privilege to have the opportunity to learn from the teachers in this unique setting, to hone my literary understanding and close reading, as well as to practise being an engaging and interesting public speaker. However, I was, admittedly, slow out of the starting blocks. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the sea of literature to choose from, and I had no immediate, burning passions that I was certain I wanted to explore further. To make matters worse, I didn’t even have any real ideas about who I wanted to work with (although you can’t go too far wrong with the DC English department, as we all know). It was then recommended that I work with Ms Collins, by whom I had never been taught, and whom I had never even met. We arranged a meeting to discuss our topic, and I mentioned to her that as I was also studying Spanish at A level and considering Modern Languages as a degree, it would potentially be interesting if we were able to expand our talk to integrate some Spanish and Spanish culture into our literary insight. Luckily for me, she was incredibly supportive and receptive to this suggestion, deciding on one of the monumental works of Latin American, magical realist literature – which I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t read until her recommendation – 100 Years of Solitude (Cien Años de Soledad) by Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez, affectionately known across Latin America simply as Gabo . Following this, I read the novel and though it challenged me in some respects, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and started to appreciate the fascinating, though complex, ideas that Ms Collins had mentioned to me. Over the next few weeks, she introduced me to the study of various academic essays on the novel and its cultural significance, as well as the importance of the themes and ideas it raised and how it related to the complicated history of Latin America. Throughout this process, she showed me methods of reading these essays, including highlighting and then forming your own, condensed summary of the essence of the essay – the things that you found most interesting and relevant. We worked on our close readings and analysis of the text, in order to include the important dimension of LitSoc’s work – literary criticism – and to better understand Márquez’s craft. Ms Collins also gave me the opportunity to do panoramic, compelling research into all of the important ideas that our work on this novel had sparked: the nature of translation, and the effect this can have on a text; the idea of Latin America’s history of oppression at the hands of North America, and the way that magical realism allows its Latin American readership to read about their narrative in a voice that feels uniquely theirs; and finally the intriguing connection Gabo had with turning this specific novel into a film, and the interesting relationship between the two media and the notion of the ‘unfilmable’ book.
LITSOC HAS PROVIDED A COMPASSIONATE AND INTELLECTUALLY STIMULATING SPACE
I was fortunate enough to have had the privilege both of working with Ms Collins in person, and we were lucky enough to deliver our talk to a live LitSoc audience; others were not so lucky. The Covid-19 pandemic, it’s fair to say, has complicated things. From the beginning, students who are interested in literature and who would have been eager to attend or even give a talk were unable to do so, as year group bubbles determined that only Year 12s were permitted to attend in person or give talks. Then, to make matters worse, we went into lockdown once again and began the Lent term of 2021 online, forcing our speakers and attendees to return to the beacon of this year’s educational pursuits, Microsoft Teams. Due to the strong engagement and commitment that had been developed and solidified over the Michaelmas term, we were able to execute the transition smoothly, with Edward Cook and Dr Hutton-Williams ( James Joyce and Jingoism ), Billy Morris and Mr Glass ( The Hero’s Journey ), and guest speaker Dylan Ashton, OA, with Dr Cocks and Ekow Amoah ( Identity, authenticity and authority ) all giving thoroughly stimulating talks this term, resilient to the difficulties of presenting online, and thus keeping the LitSoc flame alight. Looking back on the progress and achievements of Literature Society so far, I am proud of what it has accomplished, and grateful for all that it has given me. Due to the sustained energy, dedication and commitment of all involved, I believe LitSoc has provided a compassionate and intellectually stimulating space within which many students and teachers have been able to discuss, develop and broaden their ideas about literature. Finally, I am deeply grateful to both Ms Collins and all involved with LitSoc not only for the ideas and insights it has given me into the (at times looming) world of literature, but also for the incredibly rewarding and beneficial opportunity to present. To anyone who is interested in literature, or even just thoroughly enjoys reading, I sincerely recommend LitSoc, and encourage you to take the risk of giving a presentation. I promise you that it will be a deeply rewarding experience.
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