NPR's Jacki Lyden recently sat down with Professor Elizabeth Samet, of West Point Academy's English department.

When she joined its English Department in 1997, Samet discovered a world with its own vocabulary and rituals. West Point does not teach freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors, she found. It teaches plebes, yearlings, cows and firsties.

In her new book, Soldier's Heart: Teaching Literature Through Peace and War at West Point, Samet shares her decade of experience teaching poetry and literature to future military leaders.

West Point was not an obvious choice for Samet. A graduate of Harvard and Yale, she first encountered West Point while reading The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. She was drawn to the school's legendary graduates, its close-knit community and its sense of mission. Above the entrance to Thayer Hall, where Samet teaches literature and poetry, the words "Duty, Honor, Country" are carved in stone.

(NPR.org (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15890388))

It's an interesting segment from All Things Considered. Have a listen.