In this essay, I focus on the role of teacher-research in developing intellectual engagement in the context of low SES school communities and English. When the OECD after each round of PISA results declares that 'the socioeconomic background of students and schools does appear to have a powerful influence on performance', the understatedness of the relationship between SES and literacy outcomes is remarkable … but what of other areas of "English" beyond "literacy?" What about the Australian Curriculum "strand," "Literature?" This essay opens with an example from the early 20th century when literature teaching and class came under joint consideration as a brief exemplar of that relationship in historiography. It then focuses on findings from recent research into classroom engagement in schools in low-SES communities.