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Scarce pictorial map titled "The Land of Poets," created by Clara Molendyk and published by the American Education Press in Columbus, Ohio.
The map artistically represents the British Isles, highlighting the connection between various geographical locations and the literary figures, but curiously without reference to the authors, almost certainly intended to encourage students to research and learn the names of the authors.
Each location on the map is marked with an illustration and a caption which references a literary work. An inset of "London Town" allows a more detailed look at the capital's literary landmarks. The map's decorative elements and the inclusion of the royal coat of arms infuse a sense of national pride and heritage.
As a work of educational material, this map would serve as a visual tool to engage students with literature and geography simultaneously, encouraging them to explore the rich literary history of the British Isles. Clara Molendyk's design likely transforms a traditional map into an engaging learning resource, blending artistic expression with educational content.
This is one or two maps by Clara Molendyk which we have handled, the other a map of the United States entitled Short-Story Trails.
Molendyk was apparently very active in teaching methods and garnered a fair amount of attention for her ideas. In the Chapter "Race as Color, 1939-1945," addressing the question of racial intollerance in the facsist regimes of the Axis Powers during World War II, in her book Color in the Classroom: How American Schools Taught Race, 1900-1954, author Zoe Burkholder notes:
New York City English Teacher Clara Molendyk anguished over how to teach boys and girls the "right" kind of tolerance. Writing with Captain Edwards of the U.S. Army, Molendyk called for teaching "intelligent tolerance of minority groups who work with us inthe preservation of democracy" while advocating "intelligent hatred" toward cruelty and injustice of enemy nations. Molendyk wanted teachers to distinguish the culture of the enemy nations from their despicable facist regimes. Thus she suggested students study "enemy" music, "enemy" art, "enemy" language and literature, in positive terms, but only if they could balance this "intelligent hatred" of politcal oppression and social injustice.
