Hughes Mearns

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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"), but 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."  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.  He also served for a time (starting in 1920) as head of the Lincoln School Teachers College at Columbia University. He was also a proponent of John Dewey's work in progressive education. Source

Antagonish [I met a man who wasn't there]

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... (slam!)

 

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...

Published:

1899

Length:

Regular

Literary Movements:

Children's

Anthology Years:

2022

Themes:

Doubt & Fear

Literary Devices:

End Rhyme

when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same

Extended Metaphor

a metaphor that extends through several lines or even an entire poem

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

Paradox

a situation that seems to contradict itself

Repetition

a recurrence of the same word or phrase two or more times