President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s held fireside chats. Part of their aim was not unlike some of the aims of "The Fireside Poets"--of which Longfellow was one. The general adherence of these fireside poets was to expected poetic convention—standard forms, regular meter, and rhymed stanzas. This made their body of work particularly suitable for memorization and recitation, both in schools and at home where it was a source of entertainment for families gathered around the fire. The poets' primary subjects were the domestic life, mythology and the politics of America.
I don't know if there was/is a link, but until today and until your post here at this "Poetry in Colour Forum" I did not contemplate such an idea. Thanking you, Jacquii.-Ron Price, Tasmania
