ENG 350: Literature of the American Renaissance, 1820-1860

In this course, Professor Joshua Kotin challenged students to think about canon formation by identifying a poem, story, or essay from the mid-nineteenth century that had not been reprinted since 1900. This assignment led to fascinating discoveries — in this case, to a chemistry textbook owned by Edgar Allan Poe and a poem written in Poe’s hand on the first free end paper.

Course Assignment: What’s Remembered, What’s Forgotten

Example of Student Paper: The Purloined Poet