The Art of Freedom Teaching the Humanities to the Poor

The idea came from a woman in a maximum-security prison: thedifference between rich and poor is the humanities. The writer took that ideaand started a course at the Clemente Family Guidance Center in New York. With afaculty of friends, he began teaching college-level humanities to dropouts,immigrants, and ex-prisoners. From that first class came two dentists, a nurse,two PhDs, a fashion designer, a drug counselor, and other successes. Over sixteen years the course expanded to many U.S. cities andforeign countries. Now Earl Shorris has written the stories of those who teachand those who study the humanities, a tribute to the courage of people risingfrom unspeakable poverty to engage in dialogue with professors from greatuniversities around the world. This year, in a high schoolon the South Side of Chicago, a Clemente Course has begun that may change thecharacter of public education in America and perhaps the world.