Poetry & Philosophy for the 21st Century

Benjamin Lloyd gets Dewey-eyed over resonant rhymes.

John Dewey, the father of American Pragmatism, spearhead in the field of education and psychology, acclaimed author and prominent twentieth century scholar, also had a deep appreciation for the arts. More specifically, he had a love for poetry. He even wrote some poems of his own, which were eventually discovered among his papers and published in a volume many years after his death.

Dewey (1859-1952) found himself alive during a time of incredible turmoil, industrialization, economic growth, and scientific advancement. With so many aspects of modern life changing from day to day, perhaps it's not surprising if he sought solace in poetry. It seems that for Dewey writing verse may have been more than a cathartic creative outlet or an artsy hobby. In fact, Dewey thought that poetry could be the replacement that fills the spiritual void left in the West by the decline in religious faith and in the traditions of the past. This is the notion he put forward in a commencement address to the graduating class of Smith College in the spring of 1890. As the young scholars eagerly awaited the completion of the final formality of their college educations, Dewey opened his speech with a passage from The Study of Poetry by English literary critic and poet Matthew Arnold: