William Hughes Mearns | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1875 |
| Died | 1965 |
William Hughes Mearns (1875–1965), better known as Hughes Mearns, was an American educator and poet. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, Mearns was a professor at the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy from 1905 to 1920. Mearns is remembered now as the author of the poem " Antigonish" (or "The Little Man Who Wasn't There"). However, his ideas about encouraging the natural creativity of children, particularly those age 3 through 8 were novel at the time. It has been written about him that, "He typed notes of their conversations; he learned how to make them forget there was an adult around; never asked them questions and never showed surprise no matter what they did or said." [1]
Career
Mearns wrote two influential books: Creative Youth 1925, and Creative Power 1929. Essayist Gabriel Gudding credits those books with "[lighting] a fuse" under the teaching of creative writing, influencing a generation of scholars. [2]
He also served for a time (starting in 1920) as head of the Lincoln School Teachers College at Columbia University. [3] He was also a proponent of John Dewey's work in progressive education. [3]
Antigonish
Mearns is credited with the well-known rhyme, composed in 1899 as a song for a play he had written, called The Psyco-ed. [4] The play was performed in 1910, and the poem was first published as "Antigonish" in 1922.
- Yesterday upon the stair
- I met a man who wasn’t there
- He wasn’t there again today
- I wish, I wish he’d go away
- When I came home last night at three
- The man was waiting there for me
- But when I looked around the hall
- I couldn’t see him there at all!
- Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
- Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door
- Last night I saw upon the stair
- A little man who wasn’t there
- He wasn’t there again today
- Oh, how I wish he’d go away
- "Antigonish" (1899) [2]
Mearns also wrote many parodies of this poem, entitled Later Antigonishes, such as "Alibi":
- As I was falling down the stair
- I met a bump that wasn't there;
- It might have put me on the shelf
- Except I wasn't there myself. [5]
Other works
- I Ride in My Coach (illustrated by W.T. Schwarz) 1923
- Lions in the Way 1927
- Richard Richard (illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer) 1916
- Vinegar Saint (illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer) 1919
- Night Goblins (illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer) 1923
References
- ^ Current Biography 1940, pp. 570-72.[ full citation needed]
- ^ a b "A fatal deafness to the disenchanted". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 November 2003.
- ^ a b "Writing in the age of email Composition in America".
- ^ Current Biography 1940, p. 571
- ^ Colombo, John Robert (2000). Ghost Stories of Canada, p.47. Dundurn. ISBN 9781550029758.
External links
- William Hughes Mearns discography at MusicBrainz
- Works by or about William Hughes Mearns at Internet Archive
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Works by William Hughes Mearns at
LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
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