Modern Prose and Poetry; for Secondary Schools: Edited with Notes, Study Helps, and Reading Lists

This early 20th-century anthology captures a pivotal moment in American education: the debate over what belongs in the secondary school classroom. Long before 'contemporary literature' became standard curriculum, compiler Ashmun made the radical argument that students deserved to read writers who spoke to their own time. The collection gathers prose and poetry that represented 'modern' literature to educators in the 1920s and 1930s, blending accessible works with pieces demanding more sophisticated interpretation. Study helps, reading lists, and extensive notes reveal a deliberate pedagogical philosophy designed to transform passive readers into active, thoughtful interpreters of text. For anyone curious about what American teenagers were once encouraged to read, or how literary taste was shaped generations ago, this anthology serves as a fascinating time capsule. It is not a book you read cover to cover, but a window into an era when the very idea of teaching 'modern' literature was still controversial.