Dr. Taylor Hagood is a Professor of American Literature at FAU, and has been a faculty member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for many years. Over the years, Dr. Hagood has acquired quite a following of students who greatly enjoy his classes. They have nicknamed him a “Modern Renaissance Man.” This past semester a student in Dr. Hagood’s course, “The Fireside Poets,” took it upon herself to write a poem about her favorite Osher LLI literature professor.
ODE TO THE RENAISSANCE MAN
By Cookie Karp
We don’t want to waste your time
Be patient if you can
As we describe the attributes
Of the modern Renaissance man
He must be well traveled
And seen places of intrigue
Speak a multitude of languages
And join a writers league
It takes a man with lots of charm
And ability to toil
With pen and ink and paint brush
With epee and with foil
A special man who’ll acquiesce
When he gets the call
To teach a bunch of seniors
Who think they know it all
Yes, we think we know it all
So-how can it be
That a young southern charmer
Knows so much more than we
Taylor’s the modern Renaissance man
He writes, he paints, he sings
He plays every instrument
Woodwind, brass and strings
When he recites poetry
He puts on a show
We all become mesmerized
As words like honey flow
Sometimes he stops reciting
Excuse him if you please
He has to say God bless you
When he hears a person sneeze
Taylor helps us with our Shakespeare
A subject hard to grasp
Now I know my elbow
From Cleopatra’s asp
Where do Renaissance men come from
Do they grow in Mississippi
If Taylor came from Soho
Would he have been a Hippie
He usually stays on subject
But sometimes goes astray
He talks about his family
In such a loving way
His Mom, his Dad, his Grandma
Olivia, his Sis
Taylor thinks his nephews
Are ready for Old Miss
He dresses like a Southern beau
He really is quite handsome
If Taylor should be kidnapped
You bet your life we’d pay the ransom
Taylor, you reach perfection
In all that you pursue
Leonardo da Vinci
Cannot compare to you
Here’s to Taylor Hagood
From each and every fan
We are proud to be the students
Of the modern Renaissance man
Taylor Hagood, Ph.D. and Cookie Karp
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Cookie,
It was a great pleasure to hear you read your cleverly written poem aloud in class to Dr. Hagood last week. It was a fitting end
to our last day of class this semester with our favorite English professor. Well deserved ode to an exceptional professor.
I’ll see you in whatever class Dr. Hagood teaches this fall. Keep writing. You have a real gift.
Sandi Page
Best poem of the entire class! Made Longfellow look inferior ‘