In December 1939, the outbreak of war in Europe and the continuing economic hardship of the Great Depression did not put Americans in the mood to celebrate. But in his “Greetings, Friends” column in The New Yorker (23 December 1939), the humorist Frank Sullivan managed to find some people he was happy to toast to, including Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who had arrived in the United States barely five months before.
Sullivan begins his poem:
It may be argued, and with some reason,
That we could skip this Christmas season,
There being no great cause for mirth
And precious little peace on earth.
Not me. I’m sorry, but I’ll keep Yule
With any kindred spirit who’ll
Accompany me in a Christmas caper,
So how’s about it, Muriel Draper?
His long list of “kindred spirits” included Thomas Mann, Winston Churchill, John Cheever, Paul Robeson, M.H. Gandhi and other figures who made their mark in popular culture of the time. He continues:
Here’s to Tony Canzoneri,
Tom Chalmers, Daise Terry,
Sam Forrest, George Enescu,
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco!*
Sullivan concludes the piece “in a more surly vein,” writing:
Let’s launch a hearty Christmas curse,
On the Nazi-minded everywhere,
Whether here or over there…
Even though we know Mario didn’t care much for fame and celebrity, the poem must have brought a smile to his face. As Mike, the author of the blog A Boat Against the Current so aptly notes: “Sullivan found reason to rejoice—and so, in our own dark time, should we.”
Happy Holidays to all ~ Buone Feste a tutti!
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According to The New Yorker, the tradition of “Greetings, Friends!” holiday poems has continued almost every year since 1932. Thank you to Mike at A Boat Against the Current for the information about Sullivan and his 1939 column.
*Canzoneri was a professional boxer; Chalmers was an opera singer and actor; Terry was the editorial office manager of The New Yorker; Forrest was a theater director.