The Man Booker Prize

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Year 4
Issue 1
October 2008
Year 4
Issue 1
October 2008
Editorial
Here we are again, at the school benches of our beloved university. Yes, I mean the red
benches at the Lipsius and when I think about it,
they are actually the only real benches we have
here. I am sure even the newbies noticed them,
for how is it possible to miss the spot of the spots
that seems to be like magnets for the most of the
students hanging around for whatever reason you
might think of ...
For the newbies, by the way, you and you
and … yes, you as well, WELCOME ALL! I guess
you found your way by now, and hopefully you’ll
love it here as much as we do. I can see the grin
on your face. No worries, we don’t love our university only for the books and learning, you can enjoy
it here even if you’re not a complete bookworm.
That’s why you are reading these pages. You want
to know more about the world apart from the literary classics, or drilling exercises at the language
lab.
And you will. You’re going to read about
the new board members of the Albion Association,
about their plans and prospects for the next year.
You also get to know a little more about the new
teachers at the English department, Nynke de
Haas, Hilde Vonk and Sven Klippel. In The Bookshelf Of… you can take a peep into the book collection of Marion Elenbaas.
Although it might not appear to be so at a first
sight, our editors prepared a bit of a fun reading
on a song analysis. This time it is the Sweeney
Todd’s song “The Contest”. So please don’t skip it,
just because it has “analysis” in the title.
One of our fellow students who is currently
abroad, Judith, prepared a report on her exciting
London exclusively for you. Among the articles,
fans of modern cinematography will find a piece
that will interest them, the film review of Wanted.
If you enjoy reading books and just don’t know
what to read next, apart from the student books,
you might find some inspiration in the Man Booker
Prize article. In case you don’t know what it is,
don’t worry, you’ll find out soon.
Have you became curious?
I won’t stop you any longer,
Enjoy ;)
Zuzana
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Contents
Editorial
3
Contents
3
The Man Booker Prize
4
Albion Board 2008/ 2009
6
What’s New in ...
7
Introducing...
The New Teachers at the
English Department
8
The Bookshelf of ...
Marion Elenbaas
12
Song Analysis:
Sweeney Todd’s “The Contest”
Film Review:
Wanted
14
18
Column:
Live From London
19
Agenda 20
Angler Issue 4.1 made by
Carolina de Bruijn
Gea Dreschler
Judith Laanen
Leah Clarke
Merel Mookhoek
Ratih Suwitra
Tim Engelbart
Zuzana Chomova
Evert van Leeuwen
Robert Lankamp
Contact: [email protected]
Year 4
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Issue 1
October 2008
The Man Booker Prize
Since it was established in 1986, the Man Booker Prize has become one of the most
prestigious awards for English-language literature. Every year, a panel of judges
awards the author of the best English-language novel from the Commonwealth,
Northern Island, and Zimbabwe with £50,000.
A new panel of judges is chosen every year. The
Advisory Committee makes a lot of effort to find a
balance in the gender and skill levels of the judges, so that the panel includes a literary
critic, an academic, a literary editor, a novelist and a major figure.
The judges choose twelve or thirteen books for the long list, called
‘The Man Booker Dozen’, out of all
the entries, which is eventually narrowed down to the six books which
make up the shortlist. The winner of the Man Booker Prize
is assured of getting a big push forward in the world of literature, and his
(or her, with our lovely Linda Grant in
the running) name will be forever set in
the world of novels. The prize, however, has
been criticised for being elitist. However, Michael
Portillo (this year’s ‘major figure’, who basically
has no real merit when it comes to judging literature other than his own personal taste) has described the books on this year’s shortlist as being
‘intensely readable’—this roughly translates to
‘not as pretentious as usual’. However, although
the Booker is doing its best to become more accessible to the general public, Richard and Judy’s
Book Club is not. You won’t find any thick-as-abrick airport novels on the shortlist. The Man Booker Prize 2008 shortlist was announced Tuesday September 9. Two debuting
novelists, Aravind Adiga and Steve Toltz, survived
the selection. Surprisingly enough, Salman Rushdie’s latest effort didn’t make the grade. The Enchantress of Florence seemed practically guaranteed to make the shortlist after Rushdie was
recently named ‘Best of the Bookers’, for his 1981
winner Midnight’s Children. At least Rushdie’s exclusion has opened up the
field a bit. There is no real favourite now, so any
of the shortlisted novels could soon be swanning
off with both literary glory and a pretty penny to
boot. The Man Booker Prize 2008 shortlisted novels are:
Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger
(Atlantic)
Born in a village in heartland India, the son of a
rickshaw puller, Balram
is taken out of school
by his family and put to
work in a teashop. As
he crushes coals and wipes tables,
he nurses a dream of escape - of
breaking away from the banks
of Mother Ganga, into whose
depths have seeped the remains
of a hundred generations.
The White Tiger is a tale of two Indias. Balram’s journey from darkness of village life to the
light of entrepreneurial success is utterly amoral,
brilliantly irreverent, deeply endearing and
altogether unforgettable. Sebastian Barry: The Secret Scripture
(Faber and Faber)
Told through the journals of Roseanne McNulty and her psychiatrist
Dr Grene, the story that emerges - of
Roseanne’s family in 1930s Sligo - is
at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of
memory and retelling, Roseanne’s story becomes
an alternative, secret, history of Ireland. Exquisitely written, it is the story of a life blighted by terrible
mistreatment and ignorance, and yet marked still
by love and passion and hope.
Amitav Ghosh: Sea of Poppies
(John Murray)
In a time of colonial upheaval, fate
has thrown together a truly diverse
cast of Indians and Westerners,
from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed
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Issue 1
October 2008
villager, from an evangelical English opium trader to a mulatto American freedman. As their old
family ties are washed away they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as
jahaj-bhais or ship-brothers. An unlikely dynasty is
born, which will span continents, races and generations. It is this panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the
East itself, which makes Sea of Poppies so alive
as written by one of the world’s finest novelists. Philip Hensher: The Northern Clemency
(Fourth Estate)
Set in Sheffield, The Northern Clemency charts the relationship between
two families: Malcolm and Katherine
Glover and their three children; and
their neighbours the Sellers family,
newly arrived from London. Philip
Hensher has created a deeply moving portrait of
Britain’s social landscape through the Thatcher
era and The Northern Clemency shows him to be
one of the greatest chroniclers of English life.
Steve Toltz: A Fraction of the Whole
(Hamish Hamilton)
As he recollects the events that led to
his father’s demise, Jasper recounts
a boyhood of outrageous schemes
and shocking discoveries about his
infamous outlaw uncle Tery, his mysteriously absent European mother,
and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story
that takes them from the Australian bush to the
cafes of Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs,
asylums, labyrinths and criminal lairs, and from
the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition.
The result is a rollercoaster ride from obscurity to
infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends
all their many shortcomings.
Linda Grant: The Clothes on Their Backs
(Virago)
In a red brick mansion block off the
Marylebone Road, Vivien, a sensitive,
bookish girl grows up sealed off from
both past and present by her timid
refugee parents. Through Vivien we
discover the colourful characters at
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Benson Court, who play a part in the development
of this at first, timid and unworldly young woman.
Then, one morning, a glamorous older man appears, dressed in a mohair suit, with a diamond
watch on his wrist and a girl in a leopard-skin hat
on his arm. He is her Uncle Sándor but why, is he
so violently unwelcome in her parents’ home?
The Clothes on Their Backs is a story about concealed pasts, dark subjects, dark places and stark
choices and how the clothes we wear define us all.
The winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008
will be announced October 14.
by
Ratih Suwitra and Leah Clarke
Source: www.themanbookerprize.com
Angler’s editor Gea on
The Clothes on Their Backs
Honesty compels me to say that the synopsis
didn’t appeal to me at all. What did I care about
this girl’s uncle? Yet it was recommended to me
by someone I know and I decided to give it a try. It
turned out I actually quite liked the book. The books touches upon many issues, many relevant, intriguing and difficult questions, without becoming heavy – quite an achievement in my view.
Above all, it is a story. A readable and enjoyable
story of a girl in her early twenties, who discovers
her family history through her flamboyant uncle’s
story. And though both their stories involve quite
some tragedy, this is all dealt with in a matter-offact way and does not become distressing. What
I furthermore liked about the book was its lack of
straightforwardness, if you will. Take for instance
the way the central question of good and evil is
dealt with: it turns out Uncle Sandor – described
by the media as the face of evil – is sort of a normal, likable man, quite to Vivien’s surprise.
In the book, Vivien, who has studied literature
at York University, at one point sets out to review books for a newspaper and is corrected by
the editor for being too elaborate: “all we want to
know is what the subject is, a bit of an idea about
the plot, who the characters are and whether the
author has pulled off what they set out to do”. Of
course, as I was reminded of again while reading
and writing, a book is much more than such a (or
my) review could describe.
by
Gea Dreschler
Year 4
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Issue 1
October 2008
Albion board 2008/ 2009
From left to right: Corianne, Lonneke, Kyra, Hester
Name: Corianne Oosterbaan
Age: 20
Position within the Albion board: chairwoman.
Number of years you’ve studied English:
I’m in my third year of studying English, and second of studying Chinese.
Special interests within your studies:
Chinese ;)
Hobbies: drinking coffee, singing ABBA, tv-marathons and travelling.
Reason for joining the Albion board:
just like the other members of the board, I was
always an active member of Albion, and I felt I had
something to contribute to Albion. Good ideas for
example! I also hope to learn from the intensive
working relationship with the other board members and develop my organizational skills.
Name: Lonneke van Leest
Age: 21
Position within the Albion board: treasurer
Number of years you’ve studied English:
I’m in my fourth (MA) year.
Special interests within your studies: syntax.
Hobbies: Disney, motorbikes, Formula 1, being
the treasurer, and buying shoes.
Reason for joining the Albion board:
I was asked to fill the position of treasurer because
no one applied for it. Being an active member of
Albion, I was very willing to help Albion out.
Name: Kyra Fastenau
Age: 19
Position within the Albion board: secretary
Number of years you’ve studied English:
I’m in my second year.
Special interests within your studies:
literature.
Hobbies: reading books and magazines, partying
with friends, cooking and watching movies and
television series.
Reason for joining the Albion board:
I have always been an active member of Albion,
and liked to take it a step further: to find out how
much fun a truly Albionist year is! I expect to learn
a lot about myself and my abilities.
Name: Hester Leerdam
Age: 20
Position within the Albion board: PR officer
Number of years you’ve studied English:
I’m a third-year student.
Special interests within your studies:
philology, literature and (socio-)linguistics.
Hobbies: singing, watching Disney movies and
BBC dramas, reading Victorian literature and
drinking wine or martini, or both.
Reason for joining the Albion board:
I was another active Albion member willing to do
even more for Albion! I’m especially interested in
how to get and keep new members and learn from
everything else a board year has to offer.
Year 4
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October 2008
And these questions are meant for the board
as a whole:
What are your goals/ is your ambition for Albion this year? And what would you as the 08-09
board like to be known for?
We want to make Albion bigger, better, more fun,
more active and also more educational. We would
like to be known as the most wonderful, most enthusiastic board that attracted the most new members; involved the most freshers ever, and made
Albion more educational.
What are you going to do to make Albion more
attractive to its members and other students
of English?
We have a whole new function in the board in
the form of a PR-officer who will do everything to
make this happen! We want to listen to our members and organise the activities that they are interested in.
As you just said, the function of PR officer is
new. Does this mean you have redistributed
the tasks among the other functions as well?
How are they divided?
Lonneke: I’m beeped, I still have all my duties as
a treasurer. Furthermore, Kyra no longer has to
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worry about the communication to our members:
Hester will take care of that (meaning the news
letter and such.) Hester does the promotion and
Kyra does the mail and the administration while
Corianne organises everything and keeps in touch
with SOL.
What are the organs you cooperate with, and
how do you view Albion’s cooperation with
them?
It’s a bit early to say anything about SOL, for we
have not really cooperated with them yet. But we
cooperate with LEF, in the form of a mixed theatre
group consisting of LEF and AlbiOn stage. We
also cooperate and with Paul Oliver, an American
exchange student who set up a creative writing
group. And we’re hoping to cooperate with other
study societies in the future, for example by throwing a party with them.
And lastly, do you have any exclusive news to
reveal to the Angler readers?
There is something... but we can’t reveal it yet –
still working on it. Be patient and you will find out
eventually ;)
by Merel Mookhoek
What’s new in ...
This semester, the Albion Association has begun
“The Rough Writers”, a new group for those interested in English creative writing. The group
meets weekly on Tuesday evenings to discuss
short story writing and give feedback on stories
created by members. With the main goal of encouraging members to write with more frequency
and confidence, the student-run committee aims
to establish a casual and supportive atmosphere
for both beginning and experienced writers. While
the group is still open to new members, the Rough
Writer’s first meeting recently took place. More
than twenty students attended, and started off the
semester by talking about their writing habits and
experience.
The students also tried an exercise where they
continued each others’ stories by rotating them
around the room every three minutes.
In addition to discussing the stories written by
members, the group is also planning a poetry writing workshop, other events, and may publish a
collection of their work at the end of the semester.
Those interested in joining can send an e-mail to
[email protected] for more
information.
Paul Oliver
Year 4
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October 2008
Introducing...
The New Teachers at the English Department
Full name: Nynke Karola de Haas
Date of birth: 4 October 1979
Job description: lecturer, Introduction to Old English and
Introduction to Middle English (seminar)
Which university have
you attended/ are you
attending?
University of Groningen,
for my M.A.s (English
and General Linguistics); and Radboud University Nijmegen, where I am in the process of wrapping up my Ph.D. dissertation on English historical
linguistics. It focuses on the linguistic history of
Northern England in the Middle Ages, on changes
in syntax and on language contact with Brittonic
Celtic.
Where in the Netherlands (or the world…) are
you originally from?
Groningen; I grew up in a village called Usquert.
My mother is Flemish, though.
How did you become a teacher at Leiden University? What were your reasons for applying/
accepting?
I was asked to do it right when my contract as a
Ph.D. candidate was ending. I had been studying Old English and Middle English for years, but
hadn’t taught them before, so I was really happy with the opportunity (and with the money, of
course).
How have you experienced the first lecture or
tutorial you ever gave? Did it go as you expected it would?
I can’t quite remember, but my veins must have
been pumping with adrenalin and I probably
blushed like a madwoman. I’m sure it went well,
though; and it was only a small seminar set up for
discussing syntax assignments the students had
already prepared.
What kind of teacher would you say you are?
(Strict, flexible, witty, very well organised etc.)
That’s a good question… I’m probably rather flexible and open to questions and input from students, as long as we can still cover the week’s
most important topics in a class.
What are your career plans? And do they involve Leiden University?
After finishing my Ph.D., I want to go on in academia, doing more research on language change
and syntax, and I love teaching as well. Leiden
University would be a nice place to do that, given
proper funding; but I’m keeping my options open
for now.
And now for a little human interest…:
Do you have any special interests or hobbies?
I love hiking and belly dancing (it’s fun and a lot
easier than ballroom dancing, really!).
What is your favourite kind of music?
I like dance music, but there’s also German rap
music, rock, folk, a few Dutch ballads and piano
music (the Canto Ostinato) on my mp3 player.
What is your favourite piece of literature?
Lord of the Rings.
Full name: Sven Christiaan Klippel
Date of birth: 28 December 1984
Job description: “student-assistant”
Which university have you attended/ are you attending?
Leiden University (of course!). I
got my B.A. here last year and
am currently taking some M.A.
courses here as well.
Where in the
Netherlands (or
the world…) are
you
originally
from?
I’m from
Ridderkerk,
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Issue 1
October 2008
this tiny (well, not that tiny) village near Rotterdam
(very unglamorous, alas!). It’s awfully backward
according to my friends, but it’s not that bad really.
I still live in Ridderkerk and will continue to do so
for a good while as well, as I bought a house here
last year. No moving to Leiden in the near future,
though I do love it here!
How did you become a teacher at Leiden University? What were your reasons for applying/
accepting?
After getting my B.A. I received a phone call from
our very own Tony Foster, who asked me if I was
interested in teaching several Language Acquisition classes this year. Since I’ve always wanted to
be a teacher I accepted immediately. Moreover,
I’m especially interested in the field of (second)
language acquisition (theoretically and pedagogically), so to experience the process first hand
seemed like a major opportunity.
How have you experienced the first lecture or
tutorial you ever gave? Did it go as you expected it would?
Partly fine and partly disasterous. I was really nervous beforehand, but things started off quite well
actually and for the first hour I pretty much thought
I was going to be in the clear. However, in the
second hour I had to do some lab exercises and
nothing worked, literally. I didn’t have access to
the proper files so I had to get hold of a CD-ROM
that held them and when I finally did all it played
were squeaks and glitches. I had to improvise my
way through it and managed it, too, but as you can
imagine that was quite the first tutorial!
What kind of teacher would you say you are?
(Strict, flexible, witty, very well organised etc.)
I try to be well organised but am rather chaotic
by nature, though it’s not that terrible really (no, I
won’t lose any assignments you hand in or something like that). I’ve heard chaotic minds are the
greatest minds though and this I verily believe, of
course. Otherwise I’m fairly flexible, though not
necessarily not strict by extension (yes, this does
seem to be an odd sentence) and, if I may so myself, reasonable and fair (by which I do not mean
complexion).
What are your career plans? And do they involve Leiden University?
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Apart from hoping to land myself a permanent
teaching job, I’m also extremely interested in the
theoretical side of things, meaning (second) language acquisition theory. Doing research in the
field seems terribly exciting and is something I
definitely pursue as well. If I could do all that here
at Leiden University, I’d be more than happy of
course!
And now for a little human interest…:
Do you have any special interests or hobbies?
This sort of ties in with the next question, as music is pretty much my biggest hobby. Apart from
listening to it (see next question), I’m also a musician myself and on top of that I run a (small) record
label which specializes in experimental electronic
music (harsh noise, primarily). It’s all exclusive
and artsy fartsy as each copy has separate artwork, so a lot of work goes into that, but I love doing it. Otherwise I love going to a music gig or see
a movie with my significant other or (boring cliché
alert!) hang out with friends.
What is your favourite kind of music?
My listening habits are really all over the map,
but I know how horrible that sounds so I’ll narrow it down to my three favourite genres, which
are harsh noise (The Gerogerigegege, Torturing Nurse, The Cherry Point), screamo (Orchid,
Raein, La Quiete) and J-pop (Utada Hikaru, Ayumi
Hamasaki, Shoko Nakagawa). Apart from that I
also like a lot of modern jazz (UA, Jamie Saft Trio)
and everything by Will Oldham, Joanna Newsom,
Jim O’Rourke and Smog. And then a bunch of
stuff I won’t bore you all with. Sorry for the possibly obscure name-dropping!
What is your favourite piece of literature?
That’s a difficult one, simply because I can’t pick!
Let’s say it’s a three-way tie between Laurence
Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, Dave Eggers’ What Is
the What and Kenzaburo Oe’s A Personal Matter.
Respectively my favourite classic, my favourite
modern classic and my favourite Japanese novel
(being a fan of Japanese literature as well). Out
of these three, What Is the What just might take
the cake. Eggers is so incredibly brilliant! If you
haven’t read his works yet, drop this edition of the
Angler NOW and go buy his books! Shoo!
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Year 4
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October 2008
Full name: Hilde M. Vonk
Date of birth: isn’t that a little personal? 29
August 1973
Job description: Teaching Assistant (tutor TV1)
get rather hyperactive when teaching, especially
when I’m nervous, so I probably talked much too
fast – something I was trying to teach my students not to do when presenting.
Which university have you attended/ are you
attending?
Leiden is my Alma Mater – I got my BA from
Leiden, and am in the process of getting my MA
here as well.
What kind of teacher would you say you are?
(Strict, flexible, witty, very well organised etc.)
Don’t we all wish we were witty? I do get some
laughs sometimes, but I think that’s just because
I can be pretty silly. I’d like to think I’m strict but
fair, but again, you’d have to ask my students,
not me! I like to be well-prepared and well-organized, but there is always going to be a student
with a question you had not anticipated, or a
problem you can’t solve on the spot. Now this
may come as a surprise to you, but teachers are
only human… and so am I.
Where in the Netherlands (or the world…) are
you originally from?
I don’t really feel like I’m from anywhere in particular… Let’s see, I was born in West-Friesland,
but only lived there for three months, I lived in
the Achterhoek until just before my 11th birthday, then moved to Voorburg (just outside of
the Hague). I spent a year in the US in high
school—I lived in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
I lived in the Hague and Delft as an art student,
then moved back to Voorburg, lived in Virginia for
one semester…. Are you lost yet? Let’s just say
I’m Dutch, shall we?
How did you become a teacher at Leiden University? What were your reasons for applying/ accepting?
I first started teaching in 2003, I think. As I remember it, I walzed into Robert Lankamp’s office
and said something along the lines of “I want
your job, Robert! Now tell me how to get it.” That,
along with my grades and class participation,
landed me my first teaching job (or so I like to
think). I taught TV2 that semester. After that, I
was offered several short stints at the Language
Center – come to think of it, I don’t remember
ever actually applying for any of these jobs. I
think I was probably just at the right place at the
right time, I don’t know… My reasons for accepting were, well, my inborn love of teaching (my
father was a Dutch teacher, go figure) and of
course lack of funds – I am still a student, after
all!
How have you experienced the first lecture
or tutorial you ever gave? Did it go as you
expected it would?
I can remember being very nervous, and ridiculously well-prepared. I think it went quite well,
actually, but you’d have to ask my students. I do
What are your career plans? And do they
involve Leiden University?
I’d love to stay on at Leiden University! I’ve been
here so long I feel very much at home here. Of
course we’ll just have to see where life takes me.
If there is one thing I know by now, it is that you
can’t map out your life. What is the saying, “life
has a way of happening while you’re busy making other plans”?
And now for a little human interest…:
Do you have any special interests or hobbies?
I have far too many hobbies and far too little
time to enjoy them! I love to sing; I take lessons
regularly, I sing in a choir and also participate in
master classes to improve my performance technique. I also like to read (of course! Who at this
department doesn’t?) and, occasionally, sketch.
In order to have some balance between the everbusy brain and the body, I practise yoga. When
I am able to, I also like to go swing dancing with
my husband.
To relax, especially in winter, I like to knit scarves
– I’m too lazy to learn more than knitting straight,
uniform lines, so I’m afraid I’ll never graduate to
knitting sweaters… and that’s okay. By the way,
I think everyone should have at least one silly,
slightly embarrassing hobby—too many of us
are much too serious about, well, everything.
Year 4
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October 2008
My main hobby at the moment, however, is playing with my son, who is almost a year and a half
old, and who loves to “draw” with his crayons,
sing songs, and play in the sandbox or the pool.
What is your favourite kind of music?
Classical music is my favorite, I suppose, since I
sing so much of it. I am especially fond of Mozart
at the moment – his work is easy to understand,
though not all that easy to perform. I also like
to listen to some of the old soul divas—Aretha
Franklin, Roberta Flack…. typical feel-good music.
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What is your favourite piece of literature?
What a horrible question! I don’t think I could
choose any one book…. I appreciate all kinds of
literature, I suppose, from Chaucer all the way
to Jonathan Safran Foer. My favorite is often the
last book I’ve read, which doesn’t necessarily
have to be literature (in this case, it is Eat Pray
Love by Elizabeth Gilbert).
by Merel Mookhoek
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Year 4
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October 2008
The Bookshelf Of ...
Marion Elenbaas
one of my favourite types of novel.
Secondary School
As a young reader, were there
any books you particularly liked
or disliked?
In secondary school, we had to
read Het Bittere Kruid by Marga
Minco. I remember I really disliked
that book, though I can’t remember why. Maybe it was the author’s
style.
As for ones I particularly liked,
I don’t have a real favourite. I remember that when I read Tess of
the d’Urbervilles, I got very upset
with the main character, Tess I had
to stop reading at times, because
Reading as a Child
I couldn’t stand how she keeps going on about
how it is all her fault. I think it’s great when a
Do you remember anything about learning
book triggers such strong emotions.
to read?
I remember enjoying being read to, from Jip
Home Collection
en Janneke. I also remember Paulus de Boskabouter, with the fantastic witch Eucalypta and
Could you tell us about your private book
the badger Gregorius, who uses a lot of spoocollection?
nerisms. But I can’t remember a lot about learnMany of the walls in our house feature books. I
ing to read myself. I do remember being intertend to buy books, not borrow them from librarested in language from an early age, though.
ies. I prefer to buy them new, but I buy secondhand books (in good condition) as well.
What books do you remember from your
There are a few on the shelf that I’m looking
childhood?
forward to reading, such as the collection of
The Nijntje books, and the Jip and Janneke
letters exchanged by Reve and Hermans. I’m
books. The first books I bought were Dutch
also looking forward to reading the latest book
ones, but occasionally English ones too. The
by Kate Atkinson, When Will There Be Good
first ones must have been by Thea Beckman,
News?
whose books I really enjoyed, in the kinderboekenweek. My parents are keen readers and
I don’t really have any books that I’m especially
always encouraged me and my brothers
ashamed or proud of having. I don’t have any
guilty pleasures. I’m quite proud of my PhD theto read. As a student most of the books I bought
sis, of course.
were English ones. The Victorian novel is still
Year 4
Issue 1
October 2008
As for favourites and least favourites in my collection, I really enjoyed The Curious Incident
of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon.
I wouldn’t say that it’s my favourite, but it was
very moving. It was also funny, due to the style
in which it is written. Another book I enjoyed is
Mevrouw Verona Daalt de Heuvel Af by Dimitri
Verhulst.
Page 13
At the moment I’m reading two books. AS Byatt’s Possession, and Poelie de Verschrikkelijke
(Kattenverhalen) by Frans Pointl (I’m a huge cat
fan). I’m enjoying Possession as well, which is
about
a literary scholar who traces the correspondence between two Victiorian poets.
I recently bought Kate Atkinson’s latest novel,
and a book by Joanne Harris, The Evil Seed.
I also bought Elizabeth Little‘s The Misadventures of an Armchair Linguist, an entertaining
little book about characteristics and quirks of
many of the world’s languages.
A book that annoyed me because of its ending
is Siegfried by Mulisch and although I quite enjoyed reading his De Ontdekking van de Hemel,
I felt it was too lengthy.
And As for linguistics books, Steven Pinker’s
books I find inspriring. Chomsky’s books are not
very easy to read, but his ideas about language The Deserted Island
are inspiring.
And finally, what books would you want to
Which books that you had to read for your take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?
studies did you particularly like or dislike?
Well, everyone seems to say that they dislike I don’t often reread books. It would have to be
Clarissa, and I agree. I love Dickens and Shake- something like the collected works of Hermans.
Maybe Jane Eyre. Some gothic novels, like The
speare.
Castle of Otranto. The OED is something I’d
definitely like to take with me. And some StePresent Reading
phen Pinker books.
by
What books have you recently bought or
Gea Dreschler and Leah Clarke
read?
Year 4
Page 14
Issue 1
October 2008
Song Analysis:
Sweeney Todd’s “The Contest”
Performed by:
Signor Adolfo Pirelli
(Sacha Baron Cohen)
Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) - [speaking]
Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall) [speaking]
Adolfo Pirelli:
I am Adolfo Pirelli
Da king of da barbers
Da barber of kings
E buon giorno, good
day
I blow you a kiss!
And I, da so famous Pirelli
I wish-a to know-a
Who has-a the nerve-a to say
My elixir is piss!
Who says this?!
Sweeney Todd: “I do. [...] I am Mr. Sweeney Todd of Fleet
Street. I have opened a bottle of Pirelli’s
elixer and I say to you that it is nothing but
an errant fraud, concocted from piss and ink.
Furthermore -’Signor’I have serviced no kings, yet I wager that I can
shave a cheek with ten times more dexterity than
any street mountebank!”
Adolfo Pirelli:
“You hear zis foolish man? Now, please, you will
see how he will regret his folly!”
Sweeney Todd: “Who’s for a free shave?”
Sweeney Todd:
“Will Beadle Bamford be the judge?”
Beadle Bamford:
“Glad, as always to oblige my friends and neighbours. ...The fastest, smoothest shave, is the
winner.”
[Music begins]
Adolfo Pirelli: Now signorini, signori
We mix-a da lather
But first-a you gather around
Signorini, signori
You looking a man .
Who had-a da glory
To shave-a da Pope!
Mr. Sweeney whoever-I beg-a you pardon
You’ll probably say it was only a cardinal-
Nope!
It was-a da pope!
To shave-a da face
To cut-a da hair
Require da grace
Require da flair
For if-a you slip
You nick da skin
You clip-a da chin
You rip-a da lip a bit be
yond-a repair!
To shave-a da face
Or even a part
Widout it-a smart
Require da heart!
Not just-a da flash
It take-a panache
It take-a da passion for da art
To shave-a da face
To trim-a da beard
To make-a da bristle
Clean like a whistle
Dis is from early infancy
Da talent give to me
By God!
It take-a da skill
It take-a da brains
It take-a da will
To take-a da pains
It take-a da pace
It take-a da graaaace!
Beadle Bamford: “The winner -- is Todd!”
Year 4
Issue 1
October 2008
Song Analysis:
Language Acquisition
Forks and pieces!
Acquire an Italian accent with ease
I highly recommend you read this article, as you’re
about to find out what on earth Australia has got to
do with barbers.
‘Sweeney Todd’ is a film that makes as much realistic sense as 1+1=2. Really, it does. When you’re
a pupil of one of the city’s greatest barbers, who
suddenly goes missing you know that you too
would do a Karadzic-like transformation into a
master barber like Signor Adolfo Pirelli, known for
his amazing skill with the scissor and inventor of a
wonder elixir which can make any man’s hair grow
back within the blink of an eye.
So, you get your scissors, advance your skill with
the blades, buy some clothes at a gay fashion
store and grow a mustache. But there’s enough
thing left unsaid: since you apparently have to
become an Italian to get the job done, you need
to get yourself a shiny funky Italian accent to go
along with your looks. So what do you do?
You take a seat, turn on your computer and run
a Google search for “The Italian Man Who Went
To Malta”. You’ll open a soundbyte that’ll start rattling:
“One day ima gonna Malta to bigga hotel, Ina
morning I go to eat breakfast. I tella waitress I
wanna two pissis toast. She brings me only one
piss. I tella her I want to piss. She says go to toilet. I say you no understand. I wanna to piss onna
my plate. She say you better not piss onna plate,
you sonna ma bitch. Later I go to eat at the bigga
restaurant. The waitress brings me a spoon and a
knife but no fock. I tella her I wanna fock. She tella
me everyone wanna fock. I tella her you no understand. I wanna fock on the table. She say better
not fock on the table, you sonna ma bitch.”
It’s language lab all over again; read out loud from
the transcript also provided by your friendly internet.
Afterwards, grab your Nintendo DS and play some
games. Yes, Mario & Luigi won’t only show you
Page 15
how to properly kill turtles and save princesses
whilst eating mushrooms and growing a mustache
(ugh, freaky Japanese game inventors), but you’ll
pick up some neat Italian in the meantime.
Lastly, and pay close attention to this one as this
is the best advice I can offer you, listen to some
80s music. Yes, of course, you’ll probably think I’m
barking mad but this is exactly what Sacha Baron
Cohen did when he practiced for the role of Pirelli: “I knew I needed a ridiculous Italian accent, so
I’d walk on set every day singing ‘Whatsa matter
you? Gotta no respect.’ The accent of Senor Pirelli
comes from Joe Dolce, so I learned my Italian accent from an Australian!”
by Tim Engelbart
Sources:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~dwomen/files/nlJan1108.
html
http://www.googlando.com/2006/11/the-italian-manwho-went-to-malta/
Song Analysis:
Linguistics
In Sweeney Todd’s song the Contest, Sacha Baron Cohen takes on an Italian accent to sound indeed like an Italian barber. But what is it exactly
that makes him sound Italian? In other words, in
what way is Italian different from English?
Well, for one, a very obvious characteristic of
Pirelli’s English is that he adds vowels at the end
of words. In Italian, words (final syllables if you
will) generally do not end in a consonant, but in
a vowel. So, naturally, Italians have difficulty with
English words that do end in a consonant. That
is the reason that a schwa(let) keeps popping-ə
up-ə at-ə every end-ə of-ə a word-ə when-ə this-ə
word-ə ends-ə with-ə a consonant-ə. Right, you
get the point. (deleted something here) Another
very clear feature is the rather un-English r Pirrrelli
uses, much more a trill, and more consonant-like.
Other English sounds Italians a la Baron Cohen
clearly have difficulty with, are the dental fricatives. Pirelli pronounces the and without much like
də and widout. Italians simply have difficulty with
this sound because it is not part of the Italian
Year 4
Page 16
phoneme inventory – much like Dutch in this respect. Other differences are in the vowels, in a
similar way the dental fricatives present Italians
with problems: the exact vowel is not part of their
language and is therefore replaced with the closest equivalent.
By the way, Sasha Baron Cohen is of course a
master (oh well) at accents, you’d only need to
see Ali G or Borat. But he actually comes from
Hammersmith, London himself and studied at
Cambridge, so is able to pull off a rather decent
British accent as well. If you know only Ali G and
Borat and want to hear Baron Cohen’s ‘true’ accent, check out some interviews on YouTube.
You’ll be amazed at his Britishness, I bet.
by Gea Dreschler
Song Analysis:
Philology
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the game,
Six Degrees of Separation. Traditionally, this is
played with that greatest of thespians, Kevin Bacon. But, seeing as this is the philology section,
let’s play it with someone more appropriate...
Beowulf.
Sascha Baron Cohen playing Pirelli, a flamboyant barber and the burly hero of one of the most
important Old English texts known to man? It’s
more likely than you think.
It’s so simple, in fact, that we can whittle it down
to a single degree. Yes, we can chuck those
superfluous five degrees, because both these
mythical heroes engage in what is essentially a
bragging contest with their opponents. (Although,
it must be said, Pirelli does it with much more
flair.)
When Beowulf arrives in Hrothgar’s court and
offers his services to the king, Hrothgar’s advisor, Unferth, challenges Beowulf by questioning
his achievements. He’s then made to look rather
silly: when he points out that Beowulf was stupid
enough to have a swimming contest in the North
Issue 1
October 2008
Sea, and then lost, Beowulf points out that he
was, in fact swimming with a full coat of armour
and enough weaponry to kill the nine sea monsters who tried to eat him. He then won the race
single-handedly (he needed the other hand to
drag along his opponent, who was too knackered
to finish).
Unfortunately for Pirelli, he does not do as good
a job as his ancient predecessor. When he is
challenged by Sweeney Todd, his bragging is
top-notch—he has, after all, shaveda da pope,
and not many people can say that—but his shaving proves lacking. Actions speak louder than
words, as Beowulf was very much aware of. If
the latter are stronger than the former, it’s best to
just let them do the work for you.
by Leah Clarke
Song analysis:
Literature
Tim Burton wasn’t the first person to use the Demon Barber of Fleet Street as the focus for a story.
The film is based on a musical by Stephen Sondheim, and that was only one in a string of dramatic adaptations of the tale. Sweeney has been
in everything, from cheesy horror movies (1970’s
Bloodthirsty Butchers) to a 19th century melodrama (George Dibden Pitt’s The String of Pearls).
His very first appearance was in the penny dreadful The String of Pearls, published in eighteen
weekly instalments in a magazine from 1846 to
1847. Long-time readers of the Angler may be
familiar with this format: last year’s Ghost Story
was something of a modern-day (and very short)
penny dreadful.
At the time, books were a luxury reserved for families with lots of disposable income. There was a
whole group of people who wanted to be entertained by stories, but simply didn’t have the money
to get it. This is where the penny dreadful comes
in: because it’s published in magazines, the family
does not have to spend a lot of money
Year 4
Issue 1
October 2008
buying a book. An additional plus is that the stories
in penny dreadful tended to be rather lowbrow (as
you might have gathered, what with this article being about a murderous butcher and longpig pies),
and such sensationalist pieces were much more
entertaining than dry ‘literature’ that you found in
books.
Although we do now read the books that were
published at the time, rather than the penny dreadfuls, it would be wrong to say that they haven’t left
their mark on modern culture. Of course we have
Sweeney Todd, who is still alive and kicking today, but we also have the Sally Lockhart series by
acclaimed children’s author Philip Pullman, which
Page 17
strongly draws on the themes and style of the
lowbrow periodicals. Many Brits and Americans
have heard of Spring-Heeled Jack, another penny
dreadful creation, who has seemed to take on a
life of his own, becoming something of an urban
legend.
Penny dreadfuls are an excellent example of low
culture going on to become a major influence, despite what cultural connoisseurs may want or believe. Who knows, maybe in centuries to come,
Harlequin romance novels will spout successful
movies and urban legends.
Maybe.
by Leah Clarke
Year 4
Page 18
Issue 1
October 2008
Film Review:
Wanted
“This is the mind numbing black
hole I call a job, and this is me,
Wesley Gibson: nobody.”
James McAvoy plays Wesley Gibson, a
nobody taking medicine every day to
suppress his frequent
panic attacks, a slave to
his job, and continuous
struggler with his
demanding boss, his
annoying girlfriend, and
his life that overflows with
boredom and routine. That
is, until he meets Fox
(Angelina Jolie) in the local
drugstore. This mysterious,
insane, and seemingly violent woman covered in tattoos tells Wesley she knew
his father, who Wesley thought died a week after
he was born. His father
was the world’s
most famous assassin
until he was murdered
by a sharpshooter. But
this time, his killer is after Wesley himself.
After a very bloody
scene where Wesley
and Fox are chased by
his father’s assassin, Cross, Wesley ends up unconscious in a dirty
warehouse.
After waking up surrounded
by threatening fierce-looking
men, Wesley is introduced to
the ‘Fraternity of Assassins’, a secret organisation
headed by Sloan (Morgan Freeman) that his father
used to belong to. Having the same special skills
as the rest of the members, Wesley is expected to
follow the footsteps of his father, and avenge his
father’s death.
Under the motto ‘kill one, and save a thousand’,
Wesley is trained in a barbarous and merciless
way until he has reached the level of professional
assassin. That means: being
able to ignore pain after being stabbed five times with
tools that would even make a
butcher green with envy, jump through
windows, shoot in a curve, and still be
able
to kill your target.
The plot reminds you a bit
of The Matrix. An ordinary guy with
an ordinary life turns into an action
hero with a love for blood and
bullets after a crash course in
gymnastics (outdo the Olympic team!) and assassination.
Not only the plot, however, but also the filming
itself bears some resem- blance to the classic, which is of course quite hard to
surpass.
Sensational special
effects, tight composition, and delayed
frames are re-fashioned once more.
Don’t count on any
originality in this
movie, but the filming, the ‘shoot as
much as you can
from impossible angles while you use as many different modes of
transport possible’, and the full star cast (or rather:
partial nudity of Mrs. Pitt), make up for every minute of this movie.
by Ratih Suwitra
Year 4
Issue 1
October 2008
Page 19
Live from London:
Fashion Week
Judith Laanen is currently doing an internship at the embassy, on which she says:
“ I’m a web editor so that means I maintain the embassy’s website. However, it’s not all about
the geeky stuff, because I get to go to loads of events and report on them for the website.”
One of the perks of living in a metropolis like London is being close to all kinds of fun events; for
instance, the London Fashion Week. One of the
perks of having a placement
at the Press and Cultural Department of the Dutch embassy is being invited to this
kind of event. On Sunday
September 14th, after a
night of mixing the wrong
kinds of alcohol at my first
smashing embassy party and
waking up rather nauseously, I had to drag myself out to
the Spijkers en Spijkers fashion
show.
eras are off and the show is over?’. Well, being
on the second row I had noticed the goodie bags
which were placed on the front row.
My keen eye also caught the ones
that were left behind. My Dutch
blood encouraged me to just
take one, and what a goodie
bag it was! Inside were free
promotional products of the
brands the model’s hair and
make-up consisted of: a tiny
Benefit make-up kit, a small bottle of Scotch and Blow Out hairspray of Toni&Guy’s hairdressers
label Label.M. A girl’s dream, of
course.
Before I saw their show, I
had neither seen a fashion show up front nor had
I ever heard of the Dutch
designer duo Spijkers en Spijkers, which consists
of the lovely twin sisters Truus and Riet Spijkers.
Personally, I think that is one of the best pairs of
names for a fashion designer duo ever. Viktor and
Rolf are pretty awesome too, but Truus and Riet
could be someone’s grandmothers. In fact, they
are as crazy as someone’s grandmothers, only
younger.
After the show I was introduced to the designers. As
an embassy representative, I
am a useful contact for them
and vice versa. I found them hilarious. They fit the
profile of proper Dutch lasses, but also of proper fashion designers. I have to say they are my
favourite designers. Not because I was invited
to their private after party (celebrating in a pub),
but because I have never seen ‘normal’ designer
clothes I would wear.
This season their fashion embodies femininity
expressed through silk fabrics, lots of ruffles and
pastel colours. The dresses are short, the shorts
are even shorter, and the heels are sky high. I was
afraid those models were going to topple over at
some point, but they didn’t. They don’t get paid to
fall on their face, but still, it was frightening to see
them walk in those shoes.
The entire show was over in just a mere twenty
minutes. I got to experience the stuff you don’t
see on tv, that is, the ‘what happens now the cam-
It is safe to say that this has been my best weekend since I moved here directly from my parent’s
house in The Hague. Moving house is a big step,
but moving to London is an even bigger step.
However, I strongly recommend it to anyone. A big
city like London might make you feel quite alone at
times, but remember that there is enough to distract you from feeling lonely. Such as super duper
awesome fashion shows!
Until next time, when I will be writing about the Art
of Cleaning in London…
Best,
Judith
Year 4
Page 20
Issue 1
October 2008
The Agenda
Albion’s Weekly Drinks
Every Thursday it is time to relax with a pint
and chat with the other Albion members.
Date: every Thursday
Time: 4 pm onwards
Place: King’s Sports Bar (Noordeinde 28)
The Annual London Trip
Sing up:
Date: 6 October until 17 October
[email protected]
The Trip:
We will visit this Great British capital in the peth
th
riod between your last exams of the first seOctober 20 - 24 –Study Week
Hooray! Our week off! A chance to get some mester, and the start of the second semester
energy before we set off for the second half of 27-01-2009 – 30-01-2009.
the semester.
October 30th – Halloween Party
In a few weeks it will be Halloween again.
Monsters and witches will roam the streets in
search of some trick or treat, and Albionists
will party like super freaks at our annual Halloween bash. This year, we have chosen “De
Hut Van Ome Henne” as our base for a “Famous Couples” party. Pick a friend and dress
up as Bert& Ernie, or persuade your lover for
a slowdance being Romeo&Juliet. Of course
you can also come with a group and pretend
you’re the Spice Girls, anything you like. All is
possible at our funky, flashy dress up feast.
Date: Thursday 30 October
Time: 10 pm onwards
Place: De Hut van Ome Henne,
bovenzaaltje. (St. Aagtenstraat 28)
Tickets: tickets will be sold in due time at the
secratary’s office (1168)
Anouncements:
Albion Polo’s
Get your Albion polo now! Order a polo for just
25 euros.
Send an email to [email protected]
specifying if you want male or female fit, and
which size (S-M-L-XL).
The Angler
Are you curious in nature? Is writing for you
more than just an everyday routine? Do something with it. You have a chance to become a
part of the Angler team, so don’t hesitate and
contact the editors team on
[email protected].