William Hughes Mearns | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 13 March 1965 | (aged 89)
Spouse | Mabel Gledhill Fagley |
Children | Emma (Petra) Fagley |
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]
Mearns wrote two influential books: Creative Youth 1925 [2] and Creative Power 1929. [3] Essayist Gabriel Gudding credits those books with "[lighting] a fuse" under the teaching of creative writing, influencing a generation of scholars. [4]
He also served for a time (starting in 1920) as head of the Lincoln School Teachers College at Columbia University. [5] He was also a proponent of John Dewey's work in progressive education. [5]
Mearns is credited with the well-known rhyme, composed in 1899 as a song for a play he had written, called The Psyco-ed. [6] The play was performed in 1910, and the poem was first published as "Antigonish" in 1922.
Mearns also wrote many parodies of this poem, entitled Later Antigonishes, such as "Alibi":
{{
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link)William Hughes Mearns was born on 28 September 1875 in Philadelphia, the son of James H Mearns and Lelia Cora (née Evans).
On 22 December 1904 he married Mabel Gledhill Fagley at St Mark's Church, Phildalphia. They had a daughter, Emma (Petra) Fagley, born on 21 February 1907; she died on 13 October 2006.
William died on 13 March 1965 in Bearsville, New York.
William Hughes Mearns | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 13 March 1965 | (aged 89)
Spouse | Mabel Gledhill Fagley |
Children | Emma (Petra) Fagley |
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]
Mearns wrote two influential books: Creative Youth 1925 [2] and Creative Power 1929. [3] Essayist Gabriel Gudding credits those books with "[lighting] a fuse" under the teaching of creative writing, influencing a generation of scholars. [4]
He also served for a time (starting in 1920) as head of the Lincoln School Teachers College at Columbia University. [5] He was also a proponent of John Dewey's work in progressive education. [5]
Mearns is credited with the well-known rhyme, composed in 1899 as a song for a play he had written, called The Psyco-ed. [6] The play was performed in 1910, and the poem was first published as "Antigonish" in 1922.
Mearns also wrote many parodies of this poem, entitled Later Antigonishes, such as "Alibi":
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link){{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link){{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link)William Hughes Mearns was born on 28 September 1875 in Philadelphia, the son of James H Mearns and Lelia Cora (née Evans).
On 22 December 1904 he married Mabel Gledhill Fagley at St Mark's Church, Phildalphia. They had a daughter, Emma (Petra) Fagley, born on 21 February 1907; she died on 13 October 2006.
William died on 13 March 1965 in Bearsville, New York.