Family Christmas » (Unabridged selections; 7.25 hours on 6 C)
Authors: Caroline Kennedy (Editor), Caroline Kennedy (Read by), Ensemble cast
ISBN-13: 9781598875737, ISBN-10: 1598875736
Format: Compact Disc
Publisher: HighBridge Company
Date Published: October 2007
Edition: Unabridged selections; 7.25 hours on 6 C
Caroline Kennedy is the editor of the New York Times bestselling A Family of Poems, Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, A Patriot's Handbook, and Profiles in Courage for Our Time, and is the coauthor of The Right to Privacy and In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action. She serves as the Vice Chair of the New York City Fund for Public Schools.
Book Synopsis
Just in time for the holidays: a collection of beloved Christmas stories and writings that every family will cherish.
One of the many joys of Christmas comes from the traditions associated with it. Bestselling author Caroline Kennedy drew on her own family's traditions to create this charming collection of favorite stories, poems, and writings that celebrate the holiday spirit.
In addition to excerpts and full texts of contemporary and classic writings, A Family Christmas features a letter Caroline Kennedy herself wrote to Santa Claus as well as a letter written to President Kennedy from a little girl concerned about Santa Claus. The introduction, written and read by Caroline, relates the importance of the holiday to her family, and shares how the literature in this collection is an essential part of her own tradition.
This warm and personal collection will delight all who make it a part of their own family Christmas.
Publishers Weekly
Kennedy, who possesses a proven track record for bringing literary anthology into the publishing mainstream, offers a potpourri of her favorite stories, poems, essays, scriptures and songs associated with the holiday season. Though David Sedaris's performance of his whimsical monologue "Six to Eight Black Men" provides a notable exception, the narration duties fall to a rotating cast of veteran readers. Some standout performances include Barbara Caruso's rendition of Grace Paley's "The Loudest Voice," Jeff Woodman's presentation of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" and Saidah Arrika Ekulona's brief but riveting selection from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girlby Harriet A. Jacobs. Some listeners might have preferred a greater proportion of contemporary recordings from their original sources. Also, some of the letters, telegrams and other correspondences are choppy relative to the overall flow of the collection, and the musical selections sometimes serve as pleasant interludes rather than stand-alone works of expression. However, in an era when Christmas has become a polarized tug-of-war between religious and secular arenas, Kennedy strikes an appealing balance that celebrates diverse perspectives. The enclosed booklet is helpful for tracking down specific material. Simultaneous release with the Hyperion hardcover. (Oct.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Table of Contents
We Need a Little Christmas Jerry Herman v
Letter to Santa Caroline Kennedy xi
Introduction Caroline Kennedy xiii
The Gracious Time 1
The Gracious Time (from Hamlet) William Shakespeare 3
Psalm 8 4
Credo Edwin Arlington Robinson 5
Letter to Fred Allen Groucho Marx 6
Relative Pronouns E. B. White 7
Keeping Christmas Henry van Dyke 10
White Christmas Irving Berlin 12
Deck the Halls 13
Deck the Halls$dWelsh Traditional Carol 15
Under the Mistletoe Countee Cullen 17
Messiah (Christmas Portions) Mark Doty 19
Little tree E. E. Cummings 23
The Christmas Tree Emma Lazarus 25
Christmas Trees: A Christmas Circular Letter Robert Frost 28
A Christmas Tree Piri Thomas 31
Christmas Party at the South Danbury Church Donald Hall 37
The Loudest Voice Grace Paley 38
Peace and Goodwill to Managers George Bernard Shaw 45
The Old Scout: The Season of Letter-Perfect Families Garrison Keillor 47
The Computer's First Christmas Card Edwin Morgan 50
Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984) 51
The Holly and the Ivy$dEnglish Traditional Carol 54
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 57
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town Haven Gillespie J. Fred Coots 59
A Visit from St. Nicholas Clement Clarke Moore 60
Is There a Santa Claus? ("Yes, Virginia") Francis P. Church 63
Letter to Michelle Rochon John F. Kennedy 65
Letter from Santa Claus Mark Twain 66
Santa's Stocking Katherine Lee Bates 69
Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus (from Little House on the Prairie) Laura Ingalls Wilder 71
A Chaparral Christmas Gift O. Henry 78
Santa Claus Sonny Boy Williamson 84
Saint Nicholas Marianne Moore 86
Saint Nicholas (from The Christmas Encyclopedia) William D. Crump 88
Six to Eight Black Men David Sedaris 92
Santaland 2006 (from Santa Guide for the Macy's Santa) 97
Children of the World v. Santa Claus Andrew J. McClurg 104
The Deadweight Loss of Christmas (from American Economic Review) Joel Waldfogel 106
NORAD Tracks Santa: www.noradsanta.org 112
Father Christmas Executed Claude Levi-Strauss 116
Christmas in Hollis: Run-D.M.C. 125
Away in a Manger 127
Away in a Manger William James Kirkpatrick 129
Isaiah 9: 2-6 130
Luke 2: 1-20 131
Pedida de la Posada: Asking for Lodging 133
The Stable Gabriela Mistral 136
The Barn Elizabeth Coatsworth 138
Presepio Joseph Brodsky 140
The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy Jane Thayer 142
Christmas Superstitions (from Christmas in the Mountains) Hubert J. Davis 146
Christmas Eve-Nochebuena Cesar Vallejo 149
Carol of the Birds-El Cant dels Ocells$dOld Spanish Carol from Catalonia 150
Silent Night Joseph Mohr Franz Gruber 153
Joy to the World 155
Joy to the World! Isaac Watts G. F. Handel 157
Christmas Sparrow Billy Collins 158
Christmas Day in the Morning Pearl S. Buck 160
Christmas Day at Sea Joseph Conrad 165
Christmas Vladimir Nabokov 169
A Christmas Memory Truman Capote 176
Blond Natasha Trethewey 188
All I Want for Christmas Is You Mariah Carey Walter Afanasieff 190
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing-Hail the Heav'n Born Prince of Peace: Christmas in Wartime 193
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Charles Wesley George Whitefield Martin Madan Felix Mendelssohn 195
Peace Henry Vaughan 197
Letter to John Hancock George Washington 198
Christmas Bells Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 201
The Christmas Truce, World War I (from The London Times) 203
Letter to Tommy, World War II Lt. Col. Ralph Noonan 206
Telegram to the U.S. Ambassador, Moscow W. Averell Harriman 208
A Christmas Sermon on Peace Martin Luther King, Jr. 209
Christmas E-mails from Iraq Capt. Trent Weston Sgt. Mike Mira 216
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) John Lennon Yoko Ono 220
We Wish You a Merry Christmas: The Christmas Feast 221
We Wish You a Merry Christmas: Traditional 223
All you that to feasting and mirth are inclined Anonymous English (Medieval) 224
"Amos 'n' Andy" Christmas Show Fails Test of Time (from The New York Times) Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 225
Christmas in Qatar Calvin Trillin 230
Christmas Laughter Nikki Giovanni 232
Penalty for Keeping Christmas 234
Grace Defended Cotton Mather 235
From Martha Washington's Kitchen 237
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Harriet A. Jacobs 240
Christmas in the Olden Time Sir Walter Scott 244
The Second of the Three Spirits (from A Christmas Carol) Charles Dickens 246
Salvation Army's Bounty (from The New York Times) 258
Christmas Every Day William Dean Howells 262
Christmas in the Tenements Theodore Dreiser 267
Un Poquito de Tu Amor Sandra Cisneros 273
Here We Come a-Wassailing: Traditional 278
O Come, All Ye Faithful 279
O Come, All Ye Faithful Frederick Oakeley William Thomas Brooke John Francis Wade 281
Matthew 2: 1-12 282
The Oxen Thomas Hardy 284
A Christmas Carol Christina Rossetti 285
Carol of the Brown King Langston Hughes 287
Christmas Morning Elizabeth Madox Roberts 288
The Gift of the Magi O. Henry 290
The Real Gifts Parents Can Give to Children Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy 296
Dreams of a Black Christmas Gwendolyn Brooks 299
Christmas St. Augustine 306
The First Nowell: Traditional 308
Winter Wonderland 311
Winter Wonderland Richard B. Smith Felix Bernard 313
All's Noel That Ends Noel Ogden Nash 315
Christ Climbed Down Lawrence Ferlinghetti 317
Remembrance Is Sufficient E. B. White 320
For the Time Being W. H. Auden 322
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind (from As You Like It) William Shakespeare 324
Acknowledgments 327
Credits 329
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