Poetry and Public Life

“The literature of the past - rehumanized in the classroom by teachers with historical imagination and sound scholarship - has a place in the present world...”¹

Introduction

When I first arrived in New Haven for last summer’s Yale National Initiative intensive session, I took a stroll through the Grove Street Cemetery, intent on seeing the gravesites of such notable Americans as Eli Whitney, Roger Sherman, and Noah Webster. Little did I know at the time that this visit would deeply impact my understanding of early American history. While perusing the cemetery’s map of the gravesites, I was intrigued to find the final resting place of Colonel David Humphreys, a figure from the Revolutionary War and a close friend of George Washington. As a colonial historian, it struck me as odd that I had never heard of Colonel Humphreys before. In researching material for this year’s seminar on Poetry and Public Life, my interest was piqued when I came across an entry listing this same Colonel Humphreys as an early American poet. As I read further, I was quite intrigued to find the existence of a small group of individuals called the Hartford Wits, to which Humphreys belonged. These men, many of whom I was heartened to find had met as students at Yale, gave a voice to the rising dissatisfaction with English rule and the eventual struggle to forge a new nation under the U.S. Constitution.

My unit will focus on how these authors of satires and encomia, who, while marginalized and trivialized by the literary cognoscenti of the last 150 years, actually gave rise to the first movements towards establishing not only a cultural legacy, but a political voice as America emerged as a nation. Students will explore the primary concerns expressed by these early American poets and determine how their message was foundational to the identity of Americans as they fought for, and then took their first halting steps toward, freedom. Counter to the claims and sentiments of most historians of American literature and culture, in the end, students will come to appreciate the contributions that the Hartford Wits made to the collective emergence of not only America’s first cultural contributions, but the nascent roots of an American Identity.

Demographics

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley and the third-largest city in California (and the 10th largest in the U.S.), Andres Castillero Middle School serves the Almaden Valley neighborhood of San Jose. The school’s numerous performing arts opportunities draw many students from across quite an array of neighborhoods. Although the school is situated in one of the more affluent areas of the city, the diverse student body of approximately 1,300 students (6-8 grade) is a blend of white- and blue-collar families. Castillero’s demographic makeup is mainly comprised of White (43%), Hispanic (36%) and Asian (13%), with thirty-three percent of the student body identified as low socioeconomic.² The elective course offerings positively impact the school culture, as students from all economic backgrounds are encouraged to participate, and develop into well-rounded individuals. The majority of students who attend Castillero recognize the value of its social, educational, and extracurricular opportunities and widely embrace them.