English teacher Anne Loudon knew of the late 1990s feud between playwright August Wilson and theater critic Robert Brustein through her knowledge of Wilson’s 1996 “The Ground on Which I Stand” speech that sparked the dispute.
What she didn’t know — but discovered during her summer research — were the “juicier” details, which she promptly incorporated into a new lesson plan for her Advanced Placement English Language and Composition students.
“I knew that there was this back and forth, but digging into the materials, it was so much juicier. I was like, ‘Ooh! The kids are gonna love this tea,’ ” Loudon said. “There was some bitterness and some bad blood under the surface.”…