Meet Chris Lockwood

Chris Lockwood is the new National English Honor Society (NEHS) Director. Previously, he spent the last twelve years as the Head of English, Bilingual, and International Education in Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico, and as the Upper School Principal at the American School in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico. He has been an NEHS Chapter Advisor, an educational travel consultant, and translator. Chris holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Keele (Keele, England) and Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, LA), an MPhil (Cantab) from the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, England), and an MEd from the University of Buckingham (Buckingham, England).

1. I chose to become an English & American Literature Major because it gave me the opportunity to read books, discuss books, and write about books.
2. My favorite part of being an English Major is being able to discuss challenging texts, characters, and contexts with like-minded people.
3. The last book I read was Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge: It’s a great piece of contemporary drama. It started as a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe and then was adapted into a TV series for BBC and Amazon. It’s about a young woman (with no filter) trying to navigate her way through life.
4. My favorite book is Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. It’s a glorious piece of, deliciously descriptive writing, which really captures the fall of the landed gentry between the wars. Anyone who has read this can be my friend (P.S. Waugh is great, in general).
5. A book character I identify with is Mr Lockwood from Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë‘s narrator shares the same name as I do and seems to like avoiding drama until he becomes the center of it. Wuthering Heights (the real place) is not far from where I was born, so I feel that I have a connection with the place and the characters.

   

6. The last book I bought was Sweat by Lynn Nottage, and I have read it. It won the Pulitzer in 2017 and documents the end of the American Dream in a small industrial town. It’s a wonderful piece of work that really captures the economic and racial tensions that lead to the Trump election.
7. My favorite book to movie adaptation is Last Exit to Brooklyn. Based on a Beat novel by Hubert Selby Jr., it examines life in 1950s Brooklyn. The film captures the stresses and anger of the characters as they struggle to deal with a strike, their sexualities, and their gender identities—with tragic ends.
8. I’m more of a reader than a writer.
9. My favorite style of writing (right now, and this could change tomorrow) is contemporary drama. I’m a big fan of writers capturing characters and contexts in as few words as possible—and I love thinking about how these works could be presented on the stage.
10. My go-to children’s book is Watership Down by Richard Adams. Honestly, I’m not sure that it is a children’s book, but it’s a wonderful evocation of the British rural landscape before constructions destroys a group of rabbits’ burrow. It’s important to note that we’re talking about rabbits here, not bunnies. It’s not cute, it’s not always happy but it’s a great piece of eco fiction.

    

11. My favorite childhood memory is opening the French windows to look out onto the white-walled houses and cerulean sky of Lindos in Greece when I was about 11. It was the first of many trips to Greece with my family before my brother and I grew up and decided that we didn’t want to go on vacation with our parents anymore.
12. Growing up, I was sure I would be either an architect or an archaeologist. I think I was interested in having an impact on our built environment now or discovering the impacts others had on our built environment in the past.
13. My first job was selling North Face jackets in an outdoors store in my hometown. Not the most stimulating work ever—but I did get lots of free North Face products!.
14. My dream job is a job where I can read lots of books, have a positive impact on the education of thousands of young people, and support teachers to be creative within, and outside of, the classroom. Hang on! Don’t I already have that job?!
15. I like to spend my free time traveling the world, walking around, hugging my dogs (although they don’t always like it) and reading. Being able to do that all day every day would be a perfect life.
16. The destination at the top of my travel bucket list is Portugal. My partner and I have thought about a trip to Portugal for many years but have never managed it. Sipping some port wine and eating seafood on the Atlantic coast is a scene that I can’t get out of my mind.
17. The literary place I’d most like to visit is is Walden Pond: the home of transcendentalism. I’d also like to live in a cabin on the shore, just like Thoreau did!
18. If I could move anywhere in the world, I’d live in Buenos Aires, the Paris of the South. I visited recently and it’s a stunning (and very European) city. It’s the perfect mixture of Latin American creativity and color and European cafe culture and organization.
    
19. If I was stranded on a desert island, the three things I would bring with me are: As per Desert Island Discs (the radio program and podcast), I would have to take the complete works of Shakespeare: it would get a lot of use! I would also take some seeds to grow food and—if possible—some survival skills (which I don’t think I have).
    
20. The one song I could listen to on repeat is: Some songs I could listen to on repeat (and regularly do) are: “Sweet Talker” by Years & Years; “Salvame” by RBD; “La Calle de Las Sirenas” by Kabah; anything by Selena. I love the mixture of western synth pop and 90s Mexican classics.
    
21. The best gift I ever received was a copy of the book Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers. It’s all about the Japanese philosophy of perfection through imperfection. It really helped me reflect on where I was going as I battled my way through a research Master’s degree.
    
22. The best gift I’ve ever given is the “I’m A Luxury Few Can Afford” sweater, as worn by Diana, Princess of Wales. A true piece of pop culture, although I was probably more excited about it than the person who received it.
    
23. If you find me in the kitchen, I’m typically whipping up Indian food. I love a good curry and I think was spoiled by growing up in the UK, where the selection and variety is immensely wide. A chicken tikka masala or paneer pakora are never far from the top of my list.
24. If I could try any food from a book or series, it would be Miss Havisham’s wedding feast from Dickens‘ Great Expectations. I would like to put a caveat on this selection: It would have to be fresh, and I’d like to try it, preferably, on the day she was jilted at the altar.
25. The author (dead or alive) I’d most like to spend a day with is Russell T. Davies. He’s the British screenwriter who created Queer As Folk, the new Doctor Who, Torchwood and It’s a Sin. He is a creative genius and I’d like to spend a day shopping and partying with him.