The art of poetry is to touch the passions, and its duty to lead them on the side of virtue. — Cowper
Lincoln, the Man of the People
By Edward MarkhamWHEN the Norn Mother saw the Whirlwind Hour
Greatening and darkening as it hurried on,
She left the Heaven of Heroes and came down
To make a man to meet the mortal need.
She took the tried clay of the common road�
Clay warm yet with the genial heat of earth,
Dashed through it all a strain of prophecy;
Tempered the heap with thrill of human tears;
Then mixed a laughter with the serious stuff.
Into the shape she breathed a flame to light
That tender, tragic, ever-changing face.
Here was a man to hold against the world,
A man to match the mountains and the sea.
My brother-in-law said he memorized this poem for “declamation” back in the 1950′s, back when schoolchildren memorized poems about heroes. My urchins all thought he was making up the “Norn Mother.” Read the entire poem here.
Dr. Lloyd Huff was a professor at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas when I was an undergraduate student there. He taught English, was unabashedly sentimental, and at the same time inspiring and intelligent. He taught a Shakespeare class in which he told the students that every time he read Romeo and Juliet he hoped that somehow everything would turn out right for the “star-crost lovers.” He also invented something called “The Six Hundred Club.” Any freshman who memorized six hundred lines of selected poetry or any Shakespeare student who memorized six hundred selected lines from the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare could become a member of “The Noble Six Hundred.’ The mimeographed lines of poetry Dr. Huff gave out to all the freshmen in his English classes began with this note:
Because one of the fringe thrills of your life will be your ability to recall the magic of some literature’s greatest lines long after your college years, the following selections are offered for you to commit to memory. Successful completion of this endeavor entitles you to membership in that exclusive and august society,
THE SIX HUNDRED CLUB
Happy thoughts,
Lloyd Huff
The “selections” were poems like The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, America For Me by Henry van Dyke, and The Picture That is Turned Toward the Wall by Charles Graham. There’s also a couple of poems by Emily Dickinson, a portion of Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant, and The Last Leaf by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Some freshmen and some fellow English professors may have looked with disdain and superiority at Dr. Huff’s selections, but I’d wager he brought more magic and joy to more students than many an erudite explainer of T.S. Eliot and Sylvia Plath. (Don’t shoot; I like T.S. Eliot, sometimes.)
As far as I can tell, Dr. Huff is retired and still lives in Abilene. And purely bragging, I am a member of “The Six Hundred Club.” (I memorized Shakespeare, not general poetry.)
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Catez
4/10/2005 at 4:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I think Norn means Northern. Maybe.
Amanda
4/11/2005 at 11:41 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Aw, you’re making me homesick. I grew up in Abilene (went to ACU, and always thought HSU was prettier, with its red brick buildings).
Jon Lanlgey
11/6/2006 at 3:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Dr. Huff’s classes were the best. I hope he still teaches now and then.
Tamara Harless
8/12/2008 at 8:59 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
If you’ve not met his wife than you missed one of the finest High Scholl English teachers in the world. I am 48 years old and still remember everything she taught me. She could make the most boring lesson come alive –
Amy
12/27/2008 at 4:22 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
How could I have missed this post, Sherry? This reminds me of my dear, departed grandmother who at almost 92 could still recite poems (nothing highbrow, mind you) she learned in during her seven or eight years of public education. I think I shall start such a club for my own children when they are old enough.
Linda
5/1/2011 at 11:23 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I, too, had Dr. Huff as a freshman English Composition teacher. His work load was horrific, but every class was amazing. I still laugh about his descriptions of active and passive verbs. He kicked his desk to describe them, and kicked a hole in it by accident.
I later became an English major had took him for Shakespeare (“got” to read the ENTIRE works of William Shakespeare, sonnets included).
I became his on-campus secretary for college work-study, and graded his papers from his other classes.
I am also a member of the “Six Hundred Club”.
I had hoped to see him at my 30th college reunion this last October, but he didn’t attend. He was retired, and still listed in the Clyde phone book. He must be close to 100 now.
I’ve heard wonderful things about his wife who is/was a high school drama teacher.
On the way back from our reunion, we stopped in some of the little towns between Abilene and Fort Worth. There were murals in the Eastland town square that I recognized as being famous paintings. The local high school art teacher had gotten her students to paint them. The art teacher’s name? Huff. Daughter, maybe? I wouldn’t be surprised.
Robyn
11/9/2012 at 1:32 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Enjoyed your anecdote about Dr. Huff. I had him for grammar in grad school. Dear, dear man! I was googling him to be sure I spelled his name correctly in a mention when I found your blog. I’d love a copy of the Six-Hundred Club poetry if you see this and are so inclined. I still have my copy of the project he gave my class to find dozens of grammatical examples in the KJV Bible. Awesome!
Semicolon
7/23/2006 at 10:03 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] I’m nobody. Who are you? by Emily Dickinson Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe The Raggedy man by James Whitcomb Riley Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow from Macbeth by Shakespeare 600 lines from Shakespeare, some of which I still remember. Always Sprinkle Pepper in Your Hair by Shel Silverstein [...]
Poetry and Fine Art Friday: A Book at Semicolon
6/22/2007 at 12:20 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] I’ve written here before about my college professor, Dr. Huff, who was the initiator and chief of what he called “The Six Hundred Club.” For his freshman English classes, he encouraged the students to memorize six hundred lines of poetry; his upper level Shakespeare classes were asked to memorize six hundred lines of SHakespeare. Either accomplishment entitled one to membership in “that exclusive and august society, THE SIX HUNDRED CLUB.” He wrote as an introduction to the mimeographed pages of poems for the freshmen, “Because one of the fringe thrills of your life will be your ability to recall the magic of some of literature’s greatest lines long after your college years, the following selections are offered for you to commit to memory.” The following poem is one of Dr. Huff’s selections: [...]
Projected at Semicolon
6/24/2007 at 6:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] Project: I would like to get my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry [...]
Under the Radar: An Adult Fiction Trio at Semicolon
8/28/2007 at 9:00 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] I was introduced to this fine story of Mr. Abel and Rima the Bird Girl during my college days, in Dr. Huff’s Advanced Reading Survey class. (Wonderful class, wonderful professor, by the way.) The basic plot [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte at Semicolon
8/4/2008 at 1:04 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray at Semicolon
8/11/2008 at 12:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray at Semicolon
9/1/2008 at 1:35 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Cranford by Mrs. Gaskell at Semicolon
9/8/2008 at 9:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Twelve Projects for 2009 at Semicolon
12/27/2008 at 2:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] Poetry Project: I would like to get my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry [...]
Semicolon » Blog Archive » Advanced Reading Survey: The Idiot by Feodor Dostoyevsky
9/19/2009 at 9:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: Medea by Euripides
9/28/2009 at 2:49 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang
10/12/2009 at 3:12 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: Diana of the Crossways by George Meredith
10/18/2009 at 11:37 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: Adam Bede by George Eliot
10/26/2009 at 11:52 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
11/2/2009 at 12:20 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
11/9/2009 at 3:33 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Advanced Reading Survey: The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones
11/16/2009 at 2:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson : Semicolon
11/29/2009 at 11:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Sunday Salon: Twelve Projects for 2010 : Semicolon
1/3/2010 at 7:53 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] Poetry Project: I would like to continue having my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry Parties. Poetry Friday [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope : Semicolon
1/11/2010 at 1:26 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]
Semicolon » Blog Archive » 54 Wonderful Projects
7/25/2011 at 10:33 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] of my English professor, Dr. Huff. Dr. Huff invented The Six Hundred Club, and I am a proud member. You can read more about it here, and if you would like to embark upon this particular project, email me. I’ll be happy to [...]
Advanced Reading Survey: Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac | Semicolon
5/14/2012 at 8:10 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than [...]