In 1995, author Earl Shorris established a small educational program designed to help young adults escape from poverty. The curriculum chosen by Shorris for this experimental program focused solely on a classically based, college-level study in the humanities. While I do not find that Shorris provided proof that a classically inspired course in the humanities provides an effective and efficient way to escape poverty, the course drew much needed attention to conditions that surround poverty in America, and also made a compelling case for challenging long-standing assumptions about who is capable of benefiting from a rigorous, academic curriculum.