E. E. Cummings and Christmas (and other U/U links)

[bronze_ribbons]

Am a bit wild-eyed at the moment, what with drinking a cafe venti to get through tonight's board meeting and subsequent return to work -- plus, the hardware situation appears to be worse rather than better, and I'm still angry at a colleague who wouldn't STFU this morning (and angry about being angry, too. No fun).

But, I did get some things done, I am sometimes damn good at what I do, and I just indulged in an extended stretch of lit/history geeking (prompted by someone asking if I knew of any E.E. Cummings poems having to do with Christmas. (The minister's opening words tonight were from a brochure about purportedly Unitarian Christmas texts, and I'm admittedly compulsive about fact-checking these things.) Here's the gist of what I just posted to the listserv:

Cummings, who was the son of a Unitarian minister, wrote a Christmas-themed poem called
"Little Tree" whose illustrators have included Chris Raschka and Deborah Kogan Ray. According to one report, his most successful play was "Santa Claus (1946), a Christmas fantasy that represents his belief in the joys of love and giving and his rejection of the materialism and false expectation that he associated with 'Science.' In the end, Santa Claus without his mask is revealed to be a young man, who is then reunited with an adoring woman and a child whom he had lost." Cummings's paintings include a rendition of a Christmas tree.

Also (regarding the rest of our discussion):

Clement Clarke Moore - son of Episcopal Bishop of NY, appears to have been affiliated with Church of the Intercession (Trinity Parish) during his lifetime. [Listed as Unitarian in the brochure; more important, there's significant controversy over whether he actually wrote "A Night Before Christmas."]

James Lord Pierpont - definitely Unitarian (father and brother both ministers; he was an organist and music director, and appears to have led a lively life indeed. [The minister mentioned that one version of the "Jingle Bells" myth claims that it was written as a paean to drag-racing.]

Thomas Nast - probably Unitarian or Universalist, but I wasn't able to verify this via online sources.

.Other Unitarians/Universalists with Xmas assocations. (Full disclosure: I'm a contributor to the DUUB.) We might also be able to claim Nathaniel Currier (of Currier and Ives) but as with Nast, I didn't come across provide sufficient evidence online to confirm this.

Whee! And now I'm going to go home, nosh on a really late supper (leftover brisket, mmm), and call it a night...

Comments

[ky-expatriate.livejournal.com]

Ha. I briefly attended a UU church as a kid; I have fond memories of being one of the "Three Wise Women" in our Christmas pageant. I don't recall if we were actually called the three wise women, or if they just happened to cast three tall girls as the Magi, but it's always lent a rosy color to the church in my opinion --