We need a grown man to lead us. Voice 1: And who, my lord, would you suggest? Voice 3: Alfred, Ethelred’s brother! Voice 2: Not Alfred, Alfred is weak! He’s always ill. He won’t survive.

For years, only the Shakespeares and Dickenses of the world have been the mainstays in our English classrooms, with no room for the Rokeyas — voices that resonate with our culture and identity. It’s t ...