The year is 1925, and the students of Dayton, Tennessee, are ready for a summer of fishing, swimming, some working, and drinking root beer floats at Robinsonβs Drugstore. But when their science teacher, J. T. Scopes, is arrested for having taught Darwinβs theory of evolution in class, it seems it wonβt be just any ordinary summer in Dayton.
As Scopesβ trial proceeds, the small town is faced with astonishing, nationwide publicity: reporters, lawyers, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. But amidst the circus-like atmosphere is a threatening sense of tensionβnot only in the courtroom, but among even the strongest of friends. This compelling novel in poems chronicles a controversy with a profound impact on science and culture in Americaβand one that continues to this day.