"Winehouse"

There's a story on the BBC front page and across the papers today about Amy Winehouse lyrics being used in an English exam at Cambridge.

A Cambridge spokesperson said that this fact was "interesting, but not news".

Nice of them to include that in the story. I suppose it's news simply because putting "Winehouse" in a headline generates hits from search engines.

I'm not even sure it's that interesting. You can close read anything, and English students often try.

Using song lyrics as poetry is hardly a new idea. It's a way of grabbing student's attention. But lyrics divorced from music are rarely rewarding poetry.
Cambridge say it proves the academics live "in the modern world".
Cambridge students were reported to be "surprised" and "in shock".

What nonsense. It was a practical criticism paper and a reasonable, not that tricky question.
So I repeat: "not news".


Disclaimer: I wrote about much dumber things than song lyrics at uni...