Harvard University

Harvard University enters Hans Schwarz’s account as the place where, after arriving in America, he studied law—a practical course that redirected his hoped-for life as a poet. His time there begins a professional path that would bring him success, but not the creative confidence he felt he had lost.

Education After Arrival

After reaching America, Hans Schwarz went to school and then continued to Harvard University, where he studied law. The sequence marks a new stage in his life abroad: schooling led into professional preparation, even though law was not the vocation he had chosen for himself.

A Career Chosen for Practical Reasons

Hans wanted to be a poet, but his father’s cousin would not accept that ambition as a sufficient plan for earning a living. He insisted that Hans study law first and leave poetry for his spare time. Harvard University was therefore not simply an academic destination in Hans’s recollection; it was part of a compromise between artistic desire and financial security.

Retrospective Significance

The legal education led into a career: Hans became a lawyer at twenty-five and later judged that he had done well by conventional standards. Yet he continued to regret that he had not written the good book and poem he wanted to create. In retrospect, Harvard University stands at the start of a successful profession and alongside the unrealized literary ambition that success could not replace.