William Hughes Mearns (1875–1965), better known as Hughes Mearns, was an American
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
. A graduate of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, Mearns was a professor at the
from 1905 to 1920. Mearns is remembered now as the author of the poem "
Antigonish
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
" (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."
Mearns wrote two influential books: ''Creative Youth'' 1925, and ''Creative Power'' 1929. Essayist
Gabriel Gudding credits those books with "
ightinga fuse" under the teaching of
creative writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
, 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
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
He was also a proponent of
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
's work in progressive education.
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''. 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)
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.
[ Colombo, John Robert (2000). ''Ghost Stories of Canada'', p.47. Dundurn. .]
Other works
* ''
I Ride in My Coach'' (illustrated by
W.T. Schwarz) 1923
* ''
Lions in the Way'' 1927
* ''
Richard Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
'' (illustrated by
Ralph L. Boyer) 1916
* ''
Vinegar Saint'' (illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer) 1919
* ''
Night Goblins'' (illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer) 1923
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mearns, William Hughes
Harvard University alumni
University of Pennsylvania alumni
American educators
20th-century American poets
1875 births
1965 deaths