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Howard Jacobson
Howard Eric Jacobson (born 25 August 1942) is a British novelist and journalist. He is known for writing comic novels that often revolve around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters.Ragi, K. R., "Howard Jacobson's ''The Finkler Question'' as a Post-Holocaust Fiction", in ''Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal of Postmodern Studies''. July 2014, vol. 5, issue 3, pp. 50-55. He is a Man Booker Prize winner. Early life Jacobson was born in Manchester to parents of Russian-Jewish heritage (his father's parents came from Kamianets-Podilskyi in what is now Ukraine, his mother's family from Lithuania). He has a brother. He was brought up in Prestwich, and educated at Stand Grammar School in Whitefield, Greater Manchester before going on to study English at Downing College, Cambridge, under F. R. Leavis. He graduated with a 2:2. He lectured for three years at the University of Sydney before returning to Britain to teach at Selwyn College, Cambridge. His later teaching ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form one of the United Kingdom's most populous conurbations, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which has a population of 2.87 million. The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort ('' castra'') of ''Mamucium'' or ''Mancunium'', established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polytechnic (United Kingdom)
A polytechnic was a tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales () and Northern Ireland offering higher diplomas, undergraduate degree and post graduate education (masters and PhDs) that was governed and administered at the national level by the Council for National Academic Awards. At the outset, the focus of polytechnics was on STEM subjects with a special emphasis on engineering. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became independent universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were collectively referred to as Central Institutions. History 19th century The London Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster) emerged from the Royal Polytechnic Institution which was founded at Regent Street, London in 1838. The establishment of the polytechnic was a reaction to the rise of industrial power and technical education in France, Germany and the US.Brosan, "The Development of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social and literary criticism. He is best known for satirical comedies such as ''Lucky Jim'' (1954), ''One Fat Englishman'' (1963), ''Ending Up'' (1974), ''Jake's Thing'' (1978) and ''The Old Devils'' (1986). His biographer Zachary Leader called Amis "the finest English comic novelist of the second half of the twentieth century." He is the father of the novelist Martin Amis. In 2008, ''The Times'' ranked him ninth on a list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Life and career Kingsley Amis was born on 16 April 1922 in Clapham, south London, the only child of William Robert Amis (1889–1963), a clerk for the mustard manufacturer Colman's in the City of London, and his wife Rosa Annie (née Lucas). The Amis grandparents were wealthy. Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Finkler Question
''The Finkler Question'' is a 2010 novel written by British author Howard Jacobson. The novel won the Booker Prize. Plot synopsis Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they remain good friends, keeping contact with their former teacher Libor Sevcik, a Czech Jew nearing ninety who once tutored in Czech history and worked part-time as a Hollywood gossip columnist. Now, both Libor and Finkler are recently widowed, and Treslove's chequered and unsuccessful record with women qualify him as an honorary third widower. They dine together at Libor's grand apartment in central London: it is a sweetly painful evening of reminiscences. At 11:30 pm that night, Treslove is attacked while walking home. It seems he is mugged by a woman who hisses the phrase "You Ju" at him. After much cogitatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. Op-eds are different from both editorials (opinion pieces submitted by editorial board members) and letters to the editor (opinion pieces submitted by readers). In 2021, ''The New York Times''—the paper credited with developing and naming the modern op-ed page—announced that it was retiring the label, and would instead call submitted opinion pieces "Guest Essays." The move was a result of the transition to online publishing, where there is no concept of physically opposing (adjacent) pages. Origin The direct ancestor of the modern op-ed page was created in 1921 by Herbert Bayard Swope of ''The New York Evening World''. When Swope took over as main editor in 1920, he realized that the page opposite the editorials was "a catchall for b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The newspaper was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Irish Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to the Russian oligarch and former KGB Officer Alexander Lebedev in 2010. In 2017, Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in it. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. The website and mobile app had a combined monthly reach of 19,826,000 in 2021. History 1986 to 1990 Launched in 1986, the first issue of ''The Independent'' was published on 7 October in broadsheet format.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330 It was produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
JQ Wingate Prize
The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Literary Prize is an annual British literary prize inaugurated in 1977. It is named after the host ''Jewish Quarterly'' and the prize's founder Harold Hyam Wingate. The award recognises Jewish and non-Jewish writers resident in the UK, British Commonwealth, Europe and Israel who "stimulate an interest in themes of Jewish concern while appealing to the general reader". the winner receives £4,000.Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize 2011 '''' called it "British Jewry's top literary award", and '' |
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth, London Borough of Lewisham, Lewisham, London Borough of Merton, Merton, London Borough of Richmond, Richmond, London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and London Borough of Wandsworth, Wandsworth. South London originally emerged from Southwark, first recorded as ''Suthriganaweorc'',David J. Johnson. ''Southwark and the City''. Oxford University Press, 1969. p. 7. meaning 'fort of the men of Surrey'. From Southwark, London then extended further down into northern Surrey and western Kent. Emergence and growth South London began at Southwark at the southern end o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Business Magnate
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or services are widely consumed. Such individuals have been known by different terms throughout history, such as industrialists, robber barons, captains of industry, czars, moguls, oligarchs, plutocrats, or taipans. Etymology The term '' magnate'' derives from the Latin word ''magnates'' (plural of ''magnas''), meaning "great man" or "great nobleman". The term ''mogul'' is an English corruption of ''mughal'', Persian or Arabic for "Mongol". It alludes to emperors of the Mughal Empire in Medieval India, who possessed great power and storied riches capable of producing wonders of opulence such as the Taj Mahal. The term ''tycoon'' derives from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the United Kingdom's first literary award for comic literature. Established in 2000 and named in honour of P. G. Wodehouse, past winners include Paul Torday in 2007 with ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'' and Marina Lewycka with ''A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian'' 2005 and Jasper Fforde for ''The Well of Lost Plots'' in 2004. Gary Shteyngart was the first American winner in 2011. The Prize is sponsored and organized by Bollinger, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France, and Everyman Library, a book imprint that is a division of Random House. The winner is announced at the annual Hay Festival in May and is presented with a jeroboam of Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée and 52 volumes of the Everyman Wodehouse edition; a Gloucestershire Old Spots pig is named after the winning novel.< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ping-pong
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: Players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce once on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage. Table tennis is governed by the worldwide organization International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), founded in 1926. ITTF currently includes 226 member associations. The official rules are specified in the ITTF handbook. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988, with several event c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. In modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used. Spelling The word ''doppelganger'' is a loanword from the German. The singular and plural forms are the same in German, but English writers usually prefer the plural "doppelgangers". The first known use, in the slightly different form ''Doppeltgänger'', occurs in the novel ''Siebenkäs'' (1796) by Jean Paul, in which he explains his newly coined word in a footnote; the word also appears in the novel, but with a different meaning. In German, the word is written (as is usual with German nouns) with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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