Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) & Friends: The Festival of Light Session 1. Monday, December 18 (6:30-8 p.m.) repeated Tuesday, December 19, 2017 (9:30-11 a.m.)

REVISED DATES: Session. Monday, January 22 (6:30-8 p.m.) repeated Tuesday, January 23 (9:30-11 a.m.)

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park, --Session designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 1

Session 1 Seuss & Friends Readings (December 18-19)

1. Overview of Sessions 1 & 2 (December 2017 and January 2018) page 1 2. Geisel/Seuss: Life and Achievement pages 1-2 3. Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg (194o) pages 3-5 4. Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) pages 6-9 5. George MacDonald, Life, Sermon (1867), & Poem, Wind and the Moon (1824) pages 10-11 6. Shel Silverstein, Life and Poem, The Giving Tree (1964) pages 12-14 7. Peter, Paul & Mary, Lives and Original Song, Light One Candle (1982) pages 15-17 THERE WILL BE A NEW READING PACKET FOR THE JANUARY SESSION.

1. Reading. Overview of the Seuss & Friends Sessions Session 1 (December 18-19), Dr. Seuss & Friends: The Festivals of Light. December has at least two festivals

of light: Christmas and Hanukkah. This session is designed to honor both faith traditions in a discussion of the lives and writings of the following artists: the life and two works by beloved 20th C. American poet (and sculptor) Theodor Geisel-aka Dr. Seuss (Lutheran); 19th C. Scot and Congregational Minister George MacDonald (1825-1905); the controversial 20th C. American children’s author Shel Silverstein (Jewish), author of The Giving Tree (1964); avd the immensely popular in 1960’s-80s’ folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary and their song “Light One Candle, (a song written by Peter, who was Jewish);

Session 2 (January 22-23). . Focusing on Theodor Geisel/Dr. Seuss, we will learn more about his life, learning, his sculptures, and his artwork and sculptures. We will discuss 2 Seuss books: Horton Hears a Who and O, the Places You’ll Go. We will also read brief biographies and short selections from these authors who deal with the light and the joy of the holiday season: 19th C. American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author of “Paul Revere’s Ride,” The Song of Hiawatha, and the poem-hymn “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”); 19th C. English poet Christina Rossetti, author of poem-hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter”); and 20th C. poet Robert Frost and his poem “The Christmas Tree,” and, as time permits, a Christmas sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2. Reading. Theodor Geisel/Dr. Seuss (Life and Achievement Birth, College, Marriage. Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield MA; his parents were German immigrants and Ted was raised in a German-speaking Lutheran Church. After graduating from Dartmouth, Geisel attended Oxford University in England, with plans to eventually become a professor. While at Oxford, he met his future wife, Helen Palmer, whom he married in 1927. That same year, he dropped out of Oxford, and the couple moved back to the United States. Illustrator-Cartoonist. Upon returning to America, Geisel decided to pursue cartooning full-time, and his articles and illustrations were published in numerous magazines, including LIFE and Vanity Fair. A cartoon that he published in the July 1927 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, his first using the pen name "Seuss," landed him a staff position at the New York weekly Judge. He then worked for Standard Oil in the advertising department, where he spent the next 15 years. His ad for Flit, a common insecticide, became nationally famous. New Children’s Author. Around this time, Viking Press offered Geisel a contract to illustrate a children's collection called Boners. The book sold poorly, but it gave him a break into children's literature. Geisel's first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before it was finally published by Vanguard Press in 1937. Horton Hatches the Egg (which we’ll read this session) appeared 3 years later (194o). See Reading 3, pages 3-5. Political Cartoonist. At the start of WW2, Geisel began contributing weekly political cartoons to the liberal

publication PM Magazine. In 1942, too old for the draft, Geisel served with movie director Frank Capra’s Signal Corps, making animated training films and drawing propaganda posters for the Treasury Department and the War Production Board. (We’ll watch clips from these films during out 2nd Seuss session.) Part of WW2. When Ted joined the Corps when he was first stationed in California. Helen moved to be close by and began writing scripts for Disney films. After he left the Corps, they both decided they liked the climate and ease of California life. They bought an old observation towers and settled in La Jolla. Tiring of the movie business, Geisel wanted to spend more time on his children’s books. With the advent of the baby boomer generation, children’s books were in high demand. He was held in exceptionally high regard and set high

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 2

standards. Publishers knew the close attention Ted gave to the printing of his books--particularly, the book’s typeface and the colors used for his illustrations. Children’s Primer and The Cat in the Hat. A major turning point in Geisel's career came when, in response to a 1954 LIFE magazine article that criticized children's reading levels, Random House asked him to write a children's primer using 220 vocabulary words. The resulting book, The Cat in the Hat, was published in 1957 and was described by one critic as a "tour de force." The success of The Cat in the Hat cemented Geisel's place in children's literature. The Cat in the Hat became the prototype for Random House's best-selling series: Beginner Books. This popular series combined engaging stories with outrageous illustrations and playful sounds to teach basic reading skills. During the 1950’s, Ted wrote what many consider to be the finest works: If I Ran the Zoo (1950), Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953), On Beyond Zebra! (1955), If I Ran the Circus (1956), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!(1957). We’ll read The Grinch for this session and, if time permits, will watch the related U-Tube video. See Reading 4, pages 6-9. Awakened to the power of the children’s book as a method of learning, Ted realized that his writing had been designed to offer entertaining, yet gentle suggestions about fostering creativity and the imagination for children and in children (his first book, Mulberry Street), about the danger of following and enabling unchecked power and authority as did the Germans who followed Hitler in WW2 (Yertle the Turtle), about honoring, prizing, and protecting all people even those who could be smashed by others (Horton Hears a Who),. His new books were definitely written with more thought and purpose. He explained his insight in a 1960 essay: “Children’s reading and children’s thinking are the rock-bottom upon which this country will rise, or not….books for children have a greater potential for good or evil than any other form of literature on earth.” Ted’s Wife Helen Palmer. Ted’s wife Helen was also a successful author of children’s books, including Do You Know What I'm Going to Do Next Saturday?, I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo, Why I Built the Boogle House, and A Fish Out of Water. She collaborated with Ted on an RKO film about Japan entitled Design for Death, which won the 1947 Academy Award for best documentary feature. At about age 54, she was diagnosed with cancer from which she recovered partially only to be plagued by a series of other illnesses and lived most days in pain. Even so, according to her surviving niece Peggy, she remained very much in love with Ted throughout her marriage. In the last years of her illness, she watched her husband fall in love with another woman. Increasingly despondent, she committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates on October 23, 1967. Ted was devastated. He later wrote, “I didn't know whether to kill myself, burn the house down, or just go away and get lost.” Ted’s niece Peggy, who was a close friend of Helen’s commented, "Whatever Helen did, she did it out of absolute love for Ted…. [It was] Helen's her last and greatest gift to him.” More on the “other woman” later. Ted’s wife Helen committed suicide on October 23, 1967. He was grief-stricken. In addition to overseeing his business functions, his wife had served as his primary companion, collaborator, and motivator. Nine months (June 21 1968}, he married the much younger (by 18 years) Audrey Stone Dimond, with whom he had been having an affair and who had divorced her husband (a physician) after Helen Geisel’s death. Ted and Helen had no children because Helen could not conceive; Audrey had 2 daughters (9 and 14), but Ted was uneasy about becoming a full-time father so Audrey sent them away to school. She, too, had attended a Boarding School. Ted’s Second Marriage. Ted’s second marriage was a positive one, lasting until his death. Audrey assumed the management/oversight role Helen performed. At Ted’s death, she became quite wealthy from the Seuss estate which brought in a record $137.4 million in its first 10 days. She is the chief executive of Dr. Seuss Enterprises from which she receives 4% of the gross. Although she lives quite well, she also gives the majority of the income to the Seuss Foundation. After marrying Audrey, Ted resumed his hectic schedule. He produced films nearly every year through the 1970s, and two to three books a year almost without pause between 1957 and 1976. After 1980 he slowed down, publishing one book a year, then every two years, until his final book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, was published in 1990. At the age 87, Theodor Seuss Geisel passed away from oral cancer on September 24, 1991 in his home in California. You’ll find Horton Hatches the Egg on the Next Page.

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 3

3. Reading, Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg, Page 1

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940), Dr. Seuss

1. Sighed Mayzie, a lazy bird hatching an egg: “I’m tired and I’m bored And I’ve kinks in my leg

From sitting, just sitting here day after day. It’s work! How I hate it!

I’d much rather play! I’d take a vacation, fly off for a rest

If I could find someone to stay on my nest! If I could find someone, I’d fly away-free…”

Then Horton, the Elephant, passed by her tree. “Hello!” called the lazy bird, smiling her best,

“You’ve nothing to do and I do need a rest. Would you like to sit on the egg in my nest?”

2. The elephant laughed. “Why, of all silly things!

I haven’t feathers and I haven’t wings. Me on your egg? Why, that doesn’t make sense…

Your egg is so small, ma’am, and I’m so immense!” “Tut, tut,” answered Mayzie. “I know you’re not

small But I’m sure you can do it. No trouble at all. Just sit on it softly. You’re gentle and kind.

Come, be a good fellow. I know you won’t mind.” “I can’t,” said the elephant “

PL-E-E-ASE!” begged the bird. “I won’t be gone long, sir. I give you my word.

I’ll hurry right back. Why, I’ll never be missed….”

3. “Very well,” said the elephant, “since you insist… You want a vacation. Go fly off and take it.

I’ll sit on your egg and I’ll try not to break it. I’ll stay and be faithful. I mean what I say.”

“Toodle-oo!” sang out Mayzie and fluttered away.

H-m-m-m..the first thing to do,” murmured Horton, “Let’s see…

The first thing to do is to prop up this tree And make it much stronger. That has to be done

Before I get on it. I must weigh a ton.”

Then carefully, Tenderly,

Gently he crept Up the trunk to the nest where the little egg slept.

Then Horton the elephant smiled. “Now that’s that… And he sat And he sat And he sat

And he sat….

4. And he sat all that day And he kept the egg warm…

And he sat all that night Through a terrible storm.

It poured and it lightninged! It thundered! It rumbled!

“This isn’t much fun,” The poor elephant grumbled.

“I wish she’d come back ‘Cause I’m cold and I’m wet. I hope that that Mayzie bird doesn’t forget.”

5. But Mayzie, by this time, was far beyond reach, Enjoying the sunshine way off in the Palm Beach,

And having such fun, such a wonderful rest, Decided she’d never go back to her nest!

6. So Horton kept sitting there, day after day.

And soon it was Autumn. The leaves blew away. And then came the Winter…the snow and the sleet!

And icicles hung From his trunk and his feet.

But Horton kept sitting, and said with a sneeze, “I’ll stay on this egg and I won’t let it freeze.

I meant what I said And I said what I meant…

An elephant’s faithful One hundred per cent!”

7. So poor Horton sat there The whole winter through…

And then came the springtime With troubles anew! His friends gathered round And they shouted with glee.

“Look! Horton the Elephant’s up in a tree!”

They taunted, they teased him, They yelled, “How Absurd!” “Old Horton the Elephant

Thinks he’s a bird!” They Laughed and they Laughed, Then they al ran

away. And Horton was lonely. He wanted to play but he sat on the egg and continued to say “

I meant what I said And I said what I meant…

An elephant’s faithful One hundred per cent! “No matter

8. What happens, This egg must be tended!”

But poor Horton’s troubles Were far, far from ended

For, while Horton sat there So faithful, so kind,

Three hunters came sneaking Up softly behind!

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Horton Hatches the Egg, Cont’d. page 2

8 (Cont.d). He heard the men’s footsteps!

He turned with a start! Three rifles were aiming Right strait at his heart!

9. Did he run?

He did not! HORTON STAYED ON THAT NEST!

He held his head high And he threw out his chest

And he looked at the hunters As much as to say: “Shoot if you must

But I won’t run away! I meant what I said

And I said what I meant… An elephant’s faithful

One hundred per cent!”

But the men didn’t shoot! Much to Horton’s surprise

They dropped their three guns And they stared with wide eyes!

look!” they all shouted Can such a thing be?

“It’s strange! It’s amazing! It’s wonderful! New!

Don’t shoot him. We’ll catch him. That’s just what we’ll do!

Let’s take him alive. Why, he’s terribly funny! We’ll sell him back to a circus, for money!”

9. And the first thing he knew, they had built a big

wagon With ropes on the front for the pullers to drag on.

They dug up his tree and they put it inside, With Horton so sad that he practically cried.

“we’re off!” the men shouted. And off they all went With Horton unhappy, one hundred per cent.

Up out of the jungle! Up into the sky!

Up over the mountains ten thousand feet high! Then down, down the mountains

And down to the sea Went the cart with the elephant,

Egg, nest and tree…

10. Then out of the wagon And onto a ship!

Out over the ocean… And ooh, what a trip!

Rolling and tossing and splashed with the spray! And Horton said, day after day after day,

“I meant what I said And I said what I meant…

But oh, am I seasick! One hundred per cent!”

10. Cont’d. After bobbing around for two weeks like a cork,

They landed at last in the town of New York. “All ashore!” the men shouted,

And down with a lurch Went Horton the Elephant

Still on his perch, Tied onto a board that could just scarcely hold him…

Bump! Horton landed!

And then the men sold him!

11. Sold to a circus! Then week after week They showed him to people at ten cents a peek.

They took him to Boston, to Kalamazoo, Chicago, Weehawken and Washington, too;

To Dayton, Ohio; St. Paul, Minnesota; To Wichita, Kansas; to Drake, North Dakota.

And everywhere thousands of folks flocked to see And laugh at the elephant up in a tree.

Poor Horton grew sadder the farther he went, But he said as he sat in the hot noisy tent:

“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant… An elephant’s faithful—one hundred per cent!”

12. Then…one day

The circus show happened to reach A town way down south, not so far from Palm Beach.

And, dawdling along way up high in the sky, Who (of all people!) should chance to fly by

But that old good-for-nothing bird, runaway Mayzie! S till on vacation and still just as lazy.

And, spying the flags and the tents just below, She sang out, “What fun! Why, I’ll go to the show!”

And she swooped from the clouds Through an open tent door…

“Good gracious!” gasped Mayzie, “I’ve seen you before!”

13. Poor Horton looked up with his face white as

chalk! He started to speak, but before he could talk…

There rang out the noisiest ear-splitting squeaks From the egg that he’d sat on for fifty-one weeks!

A thumping! A Bumping! A wild alive scratching! “ My egg!” Shouted Horton. “My egg! Why, it’s

hatching!”

14. “But it’s Mine!” screamed the bird, when she heard the egg crack.

(the work was all done. Now she wanted it back.) “It’s my egg!” she sputtered. “You stole it from me!

Get off of my nest and get out of my tree!” Poor Horton backed down With a sad, heavy heart…

But at that very instant, the egg burst apart! And out of the pieces of red and white shell,

From the egg that he’d sat on so long and so well, Horton the Elephant saw something whizz!

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Horton Hatches the Egg, Conclusion

Page 3

But at that very instant, the egg burst apart! And out of the pieces of red and white shell,

From the egg that he’d sat on so long and so well, Horton the Elephant saw something whizz!

It had Ears And a Tail And a trunk just like his!

And the people came shouting, “what’s all this

about…?” They looked! And they stared with their eyes

popping out! Then they cheered and they cheered and they

cheered more and more. They’d never seen anything like it before!

“My goodness! My gracious!” they shouted. “My Word!

It’s something brand new! It’s an elephant-bird!!

And it should be, it should be, it should be like that! Because Horton was faithful! He sat and he sat!

He meant what he said And he said what he meant…” …

And they sent him home

Happy,

One hundred per cent!

Faithful Horton Perseveres

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) is the first appearance of Horton, whom you’ll meet again next time when we romp through Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who. Of course, the Who Horton hears lives in Whoville, the setting for How Grinch Stole Christmas that is part of our current session reading. As the New York Times Review noted upon its 1940 publication, this Seuss book is the first with a moral, but said the Times, “it doesn’t interfere with its hilarity.

Horton Hatches the Egg was published to immediate critical acclaim and financial success. It sold 6,000 copies. The buyer for the famous New York toy store FAO Schwartz wrote Geisel's publisher, "I've been sitting alone in my apartment reading Horton aloud to myself over and over again... It's the funniest book I've ever seen. Numerous booksellers invited Geisel to hold autographing events at their stores, and his publisher sent him on a tour across several U.S. cities to promote the book. To date, the book has sold almost 100 thousand copies. In 2007, the National Education

Association named the book as one of the “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children.”

The book has been used in discussions on numerous topics, including religion, economics, motherhood, parenting, and on and on. Economist Richard B. Freeman used the book as a springboard for his discussion of the 2011 U.S. economy. He argued that “economic growth requires long-term investment” as embodied by Horton’s sitting on the egg and that the faithfulness that leads to “trust is important in a well-functioning economy. The book has been used in discussions of fetal rights, surrogacy, and adoption. Doug Adams, a United Church of Christ minister and professor of Christianity and Arts at Pacific School of Religion (Univ. of Calif.-Berkeley), compared Seuss' stories to Jesus' parables. Another minister wrote: “Perhaps we could say that the book of 1 Peter is written to all the Hortons in the world.”

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Reading 4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), Dr. Seuss

Introduction. We return to Whoville, the setting of Horton Hears a Who. Whoville is no longer on a pink clover as it was in Horton Hears a Who; it is now a small dot on a snowflake. Above the town of Whoville on top of Mt. Crumpet lives the green Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature. Irritated by the pretense of the town, the Grinch decides to end all of Christmas by stealing the holiday items and gifts from the Whoville homes. Clearly, Geisel reminds us that Christmas is not a commercial occasion, but is one to be honored and celebrated. It is among the most popular of all Seuss books. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named it one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children’; In 2012 it joined 5 of the Seuss books listed among the "Top 100 Picture Books" based on a survey conducted by School Library Journal. The book was adapted as a Christmas special twice. A 1966 animated TV movie starred Boris Karloff as the narrator and the voice of the Grinch. The 2000 live-action movie feature film starred Jim Carrey as the Grinch.

Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch who lived just north of Who-ville did not! The Grinch hated Christmas, the whole Christmas season. Please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason.

It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small. But whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes, He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Who's, Staring down from his cave with a sour Grinchy frown, At the warm lighted windows below in their town.

For he knew every Who down in Who-ville beneath Was busy, now, hanging a holly-who wreath. "And they're hanging their stockings," he snarled with a sneer. "Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!"

Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, "I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming! For tomorrow, I know, all those Who girls and boys Will wake bright and early. They'll rush for their toys!" And then...all the noise! All the noise, noise, noise, noise!

That’s the one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! And they'll shriek, squeak, and squeal racing round on their

wheels, Then dance with jin-tinglers tied onto their heels!" "They'll blow their flu-flubers, they'll bang their tar-tinkers, They'll blow their hoo-hoovers, they'll bang their gar-dinkers! They'll beat their trum-tookers, they'll slam their sloo-slunkers! They'll beat their blum-blookers, they'll wham their hoo-whunkers!" "And they'll play noisy games, like Zoo-Zivver-Car-Zay, A rollerskate-type of Lacrosse and croquet! Then they'll make earsplitting noises deluxe on their great big Electro-Who-Cardio-Flox!”

Every Who Down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot. Then the Who's, young and old, will sit down to a feast. And they'll feast! And they'll feast, and they'll FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! They'll feast on Who-pudding, and rare Who roast-beast. Which was something the Grinch couldn’t stand in the least! Roast-beast is a feast I can't stand in the least!"

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"And then, they'll do something I hate most of all! Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Will stand close together with Christmas bells ringing! They'll stand hand-in-hand, and those Who's will start singing!" "And they'll sing! And they'll SING! And they'll SING! SING! SING!" And the more the Grinch thought of this Who Christmas sing, The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!"

"Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now! I must stop Christmas from coming! But how?"

Then he got an idea, an awful idea! The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!

"I know just what to do!" the Grinch laughed in his throat. "I'll make a quick Santa Claus hat and a coat!" He chuckled and he clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick! With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like St. Nick!" "All I need is a reindeer!" The Grinch looked around, But since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found. Did that stop the Grinch? Hah! The Grinch simply said, "If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one, instead!"

So he took his dog, Max, and he took some black thread, And he tied a big horn on the top of his head! Then he loaded some bags and some old empty sacks On a ramshackle sleigh...and he whistled for Max.

Then the Grinch said, "Giddyup!" And the sleigh started down Toward the homes where the Who's Lay a-snooze in their town! All their windows were dark. No one knew he was there! All the Who's were all dreaming sweet dreams, without care

When he came to the first little house on the square!

"This is stop number one!" the old Grinchy Claus hissed As he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist. Then he slid down the chimney, a rather tight fit... But if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch!

He got stuck only once, for a minute or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue Where the little Who stockings hung all in a row. "These stockings," he grinched, "are the first things to go!" Then he slithered and slunk with a smile most unpleasant Around the whole room, and he took every present.

Popguns, panpoolers, pantookers, and drums! Checkboards, bisslebigs, popcorn, and plums! He stuffed them in bags, then the Grinch very nimbly

Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney! Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Who's feast.

He took the Who pudding! He took the roast-beast!

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He cleaned out the icebox as quick as a flash! Why, that Grinch even took the last can of Who-hash! Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee! "And now," grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!" As the Grinch took the tree, as he started to shove, He heard a small sound, like the coo of a dove. He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who... Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was no more than two! She stared at the Grinch, and said, "Santy Claus, why? Why are you taking our Christmas tree? Why?" But you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick,

He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick. "Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santa Claus lied, "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side! So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear. I'll fix it up there, then I'll bring it back here." And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head, And he got her a drink, and he sent her to bed. And when Cindy-Lou Who was in bed with her cup, He crept to the chimney and stuffed the tree up! Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar, And the last thing he took was the log for their fire! On their walls he left nothing But hooks and some wire. And the one speck of food that he left in the house Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse. Then he did the same thing to the other Who's houses, Leaving crumbs much too small for the other Who's mouses! It was a quarter of dawn, all the Who's still a-bed, All the Who's still a-snooze, when he packed up his sled. Packed it up with their presents, their ribbons, their wrappings, Their snoofs and their fuzzles, their tringlers and trappings!

Ten thousand feet up, up the side of Mount Crumpet, He rode with his load to the tip-top to dump it! "Pooh-pooh to the Who's!" he was grinchily humming. "They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!" "They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do! Their mouths will hang open a minute or two... Then the Who's down in Who-ville will all cry boo hoo!" "That's a noise," grinned the Grinch, "that I simply MUST hear!" He paused, and the Grinch put a hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low...then it started to grow! But this sound...this sound wasn't bad! Why...this sound sounded glad! Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Were singing...without any presents at all!

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He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming! It came! Somehow or other, it came, just the same! And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice-cold in the snow Stood puzzling and puzzling. "How could it be so?" "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!" He puzzled and puzzled...till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe, Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas--perhaps--means a little bit more!"

And what happened then? Well, in Who-ville they say That the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day! And then, the true meaning of Christmas came through, And the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches...plus two! And now that his heart didn't feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light! With a smile in his soul, he descended Mount Crumpet, Cheerily blowing "Who-Who!" on his trumpet! He rode into Who-ville, he brought back their toys! He brought back their floof to the Who girls and boys!

He brought back their snoof and their tringlers and fozzels! He brought back their pan-tookers, their dazzlers and wozzels! He brought everything back, all the food for the feast... And he, he himself...the Grinch...carved the roast-beast!

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5. Reading. George MacDonald (1824-1905), Congregational Minister & Scottish Author Selections: Sermon on “Light” (1867) and Poem, The Wind and the Moon (1924)

MacDonald Statements

“Man is but a thought of God.” “I write, not for children, but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five."

“If God be light, what more, what else can I seek than God himself!”

“Light”: An Unspoken Sermon John 1:5 & 3:19. “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all…. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light; because their deeds were evil.”

If God be light, what more, what else can I seek than God himself! Away with your doctrines! Away with your salvation from the 'justice' of a God whom it is a horror to imagine! ….I am saved--for God is light! My God, I come to thee. That thou shouldst be thyself is enough for time and eternity, for my soul and all its endless need… If I should mistake, and call that darkness which is light…it is because I saw but the husk of the thing, not the kernel. Will God not break open the shell for me, and let the truth of his thought stream out upon me? He will not let it hurt me to mistake the light for darkness while I take not the darkness for light. The one comes from blindness of the intellect, the other from blindness of heart and will. …What God calls light may be horrible darkness to you, for you are of another nature from him!' …It is true, the light of God may be so bright that we see nothing--but that is not darkness, it is infinite hope of light. All the processes of the ages are God’s science; all the flow of history is his poetry. His sculpture is not in marble, but in living and speech-giving forms…What God has done remains….As the thoughts move in the mind of man, so move the worlds of men and women in the mind of God, and make no confusion there, for there they had their birth, the offspring of his imagination. Man is but a thought of God…let your prayer, my son and daughter, be like this: ‘O Maker of me, go on making me, and let me help thee. Come, O Father, here I am; let us go on. I know that my words are those of a child, but it is thy child who prays to thee. It is thy dark I walk in; it is thy hand I hold.” Influence. MacDonald’s theology and related use of fantasy influenced numerous writers: his close friend Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland), Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn), C. S. Lewis (the Narnia Chronicles), J. R. R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time). As an Oxford student, Lewis’ life was changed when he picked up a copy of MacDonald’s Phantasies at a train-station: "I knew that I had crossed a great frontier.” He regarded MacDonald as his "master,” insisting that he never wrote anything that didn’t have a quote from MacDonald. Life. MacDonald was born in Scotland to a farm family descended from the MacDonald warrior clan. Even though he grew up in the Congregational Church, he never felt comfortable with key Calvinist doctrines. When young George was introduced to the doctrine of predestination, he burst into tears even with his parental assurances that he was among the “elect.” In later life, MacDonald espoused universal salvation. After University graduation, MacDonald studied theology at Highbury College, and in 1850, was appointed pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, Arundel. His belief in universal salvation and other “unconventional” ideas received a mixed reception and resulted in a substantial salary cut. He moved to a Manchester church, but had similar problems and left. Even so, he continued preaching periodically. He finally settled in London, teaching at the University of London and writing. In addition to his transformed “fairy tales,” poetry, and novels, he also published 3 collections of “unspoken” sermons (sermons that were never preached aloud). Our selection “Light” is such a sermon. He also wrote spiritual poems for children; our selection “The Wind and the Moon” is among those poems. He was a sought after lecturer in England and the U.S. In 1872-1873 he went on a lecture tour of the U.S. where he became friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Walt Whitman. He was happily married to the same woman for 50+ years; together they raised 11 children.

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 11

MacDonald, “The Wind and the Moon” 1. You stare 7. The Wind he took to his revels once more;

In the air on down, Like a ghost in a chair, in town, Always looking what I am about — like a merry—mad clown,

I hate to be watched; I’ll blow you out.” He leaped and haloed with whistle and roar — “What’s that?” The glimmering thread once more! 2. The Wind blew hard, and out went the Moon. 8. He flew in a rage — he danced and blew;

So, deep but in vain On a heap was the pain Of clouds to sleep, of his bursting brain;

Down lay the Wind, and slumbered soon, for still the broader the Moon—scrap grew, Muttering low, “I’ve done for that Moon.” The broader he swelled his big cheeks and blew. 3. He turned in his bed; she was there again! 9. Slowly she grew — till she filled the night,

On high and shone In the sky, on her throne With her one ghost eye, in the sky alone

The Moon shone white and alive and plain. A matchless, wonderful silvery light, Said the Wind, “I will blow you out again.” Radiant and lovely, the queen of the night. 4. The Wind blew hard, and the Moon grew dim. 10. Said the Wind: “What a marvel of power am I!

“With my sledge, with my breath, And my wedge, Good faith! I have knocked off her edge! I blew her to death —

If only I blow right fierce and grim, first blew her away right out of the sky — The creature will soon be dimmer than dim.” Then blew her in; what strength have I! 5. He blew and he blew, and she thinned to a thread. 11. But the Moon she knew nothing about the affair;

“One puff for high More’s enough in the sky, To blow her to snuff! With her one white eye,

One good puff more where the last was bred, Motionless, miles above the air, And glimmer, glimmer, glum will go the thread.” She had never heard the great Wind blare. 6, He blew a great blast, and the thread was gone.

In the air

Nowhere Was a moonbeam bare;

Far off and harmless the shy stars shone — Sure and certain the Moon was gone!

Pictured: Arthur Hughes, “The Weary Wind,”

1852 Illustration. Hughes agreed with

MacDonald’s beliefs & illustrated a number

of MacDonald’s books U-Tube Link, “The Wind and the Moon”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tm

rU-6ruh4

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 12

7. Reading. Silverstein’s Great Gift

A. Poem: The Giving Tree

B. The Life and Achievement of Shel Silverstein (1932-1999)

1. Once there was a tree....

and she loved a little boy. And every day the boy

would come and he would gather her leaves and

make them into crowns and play king of the forest.

He would climb up her trunk and swing from her

branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-

and-go-seek. And when he was tired,

he would sleep in her shade.

And the boy loved the tree....very much.

And the tree was happy.

2. But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the

tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to

the tree and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and

climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and

eat apples and play in my shade and be happy."

"I am too big to climb and play" said the boy.

"I want to buy things and have fun. I want some

money?" "I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I have no

money. I have only leaves and apples.

Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city.

Then you will have money and you will be happy."

And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her

apples and carried them away.

And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a

long time....and the tree was sad.

3. And then one day the boy came back and the tree

shook with joy and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my

trunk and swing from my branches and be happy."

"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.

"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.

"I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a

house. Can you give me a house?”

“I have no house," said the tree. "The forest is my

house, but you may cut off my branches and build a

house. Then you will be happy."

And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them

away to build his house. And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time.

4. And when he came back,

the tree was so happy

she could hardly speak. "Come, Boy," she

whispered,

"come and play."

I am too old and sad to play," said the boy.

I want a boat that will take me far away from here.

Can you give me a boat?" "

Cut down my trunk and make a boat," said the

tree. “Then you can sail away... and be happy."

And so the boy cut down her trunk

and made a boat and sailed away.

And the tree was happy ... but not really.

5. And after a long time the boy came back again.

"I am sorry, Boy," said the tree," but I have nothing

left to give you - My apples are gone."

"My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy.

"My branches are gone," said the tree. “You

cannot swing on them -”

"I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy.

"My trunk is gone,” said the tree. "You cannot

climb -”

I am too tired to climb" said the boy.

"I am sorry," sighed the tree.

"I wish that I could give you something.... but I

have nothing left. I am just an old stump.

I am sorry...."

"I don't need very much now," said the boy.

"just a quiet place to sit and rest.

I am very tired."

"Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as

much as she could, and “well, an old stump is good

for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit

down and rest."

And the boy did.

And the tree was happy.

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 13

Life and Achievement. Shel (Sheldon Allan) Silverstein (1932-1999) detested stories with happy endings. As he once put it, “The child asks, ‘Why don’t I have this happiness thing you’re telling me about?’” His own up-by-the-bootstraps childhood was marked by insecurity and self-doubt. Born to a Jewish family in 1930 on the northwest side of Chicago, Silverstein grew up in a 2nd-story apartment crammed with relatives. His parents, an immigrant father from Eastern Europe and a Chicago-born mother, opened an unsuccessful bakery on the heels of the Great Depression.

Though Silverstein’s mother encouraged his interest in drawing, his father made it clear that he was expected to join the family business. But Silverstein couldn’t sit still. He was a distracted student, who may suffered from dyslexia (at 15, he misspelled his middle name on his Social Security application). As his biographer writes in A Boy Named Shel (2011): “His attention-span ran from nil to nonexistent.” Ignoring his father’s discomfort with his drawing, Shel sought drawing as a refuge from his increasingly wrathful father. Never good in studies, he could not adjust anywhere until he entered Roosevelt University, where his talent was recognized and nurtured by

his English professor. But before he could graduate, he was drafted into the army to serve in the Korean War. While working for the military newspaper Pacific Stars and Stripes, he started drawing cartoons. His break came 3 years later when, discharged and unemployed, he visited the offices of a fledgling magazine for men and met its editor & an avid cartoonist: Hugh Hefner. So began Silverstein’s long association with Playboy. He published cartoons and illustrations as well as his eye-witness reports from Tokyo, Paris, and Moscow. He also became a regular at the infamous Playboy Mansion. During the Playboy years, Silverstein shuttled back and forth between Chicago and downtown New York; he frequented folk clubs and began making his own music—scribbling away songs on the back of cocktail napkins and tablecloths, performing folk and jazz numbers in a low, gravelly voice. Slowly he evolved as a successful singer-songwriter, holding copyright for more than 800 songs. He was the mastermind behind Johnny Cash’s Grammy-winning song “A Boy Named Sue A friend described Silverstein as “our own personal beatnik.” Silverstein himself once remarked: “Comfortable shoes and the freedom to leave are the two most important things in life.” After he published Giving Tree in 1964, he would take another decade to complete his next children’s book, the “fiercely imagined” poetry collection Where the Sidewalk Ends. By 1975, he had almost entirely stopped talking to the press. His children’s books, translated into 30 languages, have sold over 20 million copies, and continue to dominate best-sellers lists. In 1984, Shel Silverstein won the Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children for the audio version of Where the Sidewalk Ends. It was released in cassette in 1983 and as an LP phonograph record in 1984. In 1991, Silverstein was also nominated for an Oscar Award for his song “I’m Checkin’ Out,”written for the film Postcards from the Edge (1990).

Little is known about Silverstein’s personal life. He probably never married and definitely never wanted to have children. However, things changed for him when he hit 40. His partnership with Susan Taylor Hastings of Sausalito, CA, produced an unexpected child Shoshanna in 1970. Tragically, his partner Susan died 5 years after the birth of their daughter. Six years later (1882), Shoshanna (age 11) died from a cerebral aneurysm. Silverstein was said to never have recovered from the tragedy. Even so, 2 years later (1984), his son Matthew was born from Silverstein’s liaison with Sarah Spender, a Key West Conch Train Driver.

In 1999 (age 68), Silverstein died of heart attack in his Key West, Florida, home. . He is buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois. In 2002, he was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2014, into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

C. Background and Interpretations of Giving Tree

[Pictured: Pictured: The Giving Tree Garden in Holon, Israel.]

The Giving Tree (1964) placed #9 on the 2012 Scholastic Press’s list of the “100 Greatest Books for Kid.” But, in 1964, Silverstein had trouble finding someone to publish “The Giving Tree.” He had already sold one children’s book, Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back. However, the editors thought “The Giving Tree” fell into an unpromising non-category between children’s book and adult literature. Silverstein later confessed that he was uneasy around children, and, of course, writing kids’ books was the complete opposite of the work he was doing for Playboy and, maybe for that reason, and with the prodding of a savvy editor, he decided to try his hand at it The Giving Tree (1964) placed #9 on the 2012 Scholastic

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 14

Press’s list of the “100 Greatest Books for Kid.” But, in 1964, Silverstein had trouble finding someone to publish “The Giving Tree.” He had already sold one children’s book, Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back. However, the editors thought “The Giving Tree” fell into an unpromising non-category between children’s book and adult literature. Silverstein later confessed that he was uneasy around children, and, of course, writing kids’ books was the complete opposite of the work he was doing for Playboy and, maybe for that reason, and with the prodding of a savvy editor, he decided to try his hand at it. The result was a classic burst of productivity: in 1964 alone, he published three children’s books and one book for adults. Among them was “The Giving Tree,” whose breakaway success caught by surprise not only his publishers, who had printed a modest run of 7 thousand copies.

Since its publication, the book has been translated in many languages and has sold 8+ million copies world-wide. Even though the book has generated accolades over the years, it has also generated controversy as “one of the most divisive books in children’s literature.”

The controversy revolves around the relationship between the only 2 characters: an incredibly generous and loving tree and a boy, who asks the tree for a money, a house, a boat, and, finally, a resting place.

Interpretations. (1) Unconditional Love. The profoundly, yet simple story has been interpreted as an example of the unconditional love that is the core of much spirituality and many religious traditions. The tree then becomes a symbol for major deities: God, the Divine Human, and the Buddha-to mention a few. (2) Reminder that we are stewards of the environment. Others interpret the book as a commentary on man’s improper use of the environment since the boy cheerfully takes the tree’s leaves, branches, and wood. The tree then becomes Nature that is “deflowered” by man’s greed and need. Interestingly, the book has been used to teach children environmental ethics. Here are the thoughts of Rabbi Jason Miller, who is an active blogger and the Visiting Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Toledo, Ohio.

“This is a wonderful story for teachers to use when discussing the law of bal tashchit – the Torah’s ban on wanton destruction of nature. Our role as God’s children is to repair the world (l’taken olam b’malkhut shaddai) and we must be careful not to exploit such precious gifts as trees, and nature’s other resources.

It is telling that as the boy matures into an old man, Silverstein continues to refer to him as the “boy.” This shows that the tree continued to give even as the boy grew, just as this wonderful book continues to give ….This is why I no longer only envision myself as a rabbi sharing The Giving Tree with nursery school children, but with “children” of all ages as well. Each time I read the story, I am taken away and happy…but not really.”

(3) The response of the New Yorker critic. In her 2014 New Yorker review of the book, the critic, who’d read the book as a child, was surprised by her response as an adult. Says the critic, “Finding that a childhood favorite wasn’t at all what I remembered carried with it a peculiar thrill, a kind of scientific proof that I’d grown up and changed. And, if I’ve changed, perhaps The Giving Tree has, too.” (4) My reaction. What about Yours? I can understand the diverse reactions to this tiny-large book, but I found myself crying as I reread it for our session. Maybe that says more about me than anything else…or about maturity…and life?! How did you respond? Silverstein, who took a lot of hits as well as praise over the book, said simply, “It’s about a boy and a tree. It has a pretty sad ending.” With all due respect to Silverstein, I think the tree WAS happy…and maybe the little boy-now old man was, too. Your thoughts? A Final Note. The otherwise excellent 2014 Biography of Shel Silverstein mentions nowhere that he was Jewish. I also found a site called “The Tablet” that took on the banning of children’s books, especially those by Jewish authors. Here’s a passage from the blog followed by the link.

“Banned Books Week falls on the last week in September every year. To mark it this year, we thought we’d

offer a little tribute to Jewish children’s book authors whose works have been banned or challenged. And in

homage to one Jewish writer whose books get attacked with great regularity, we decided to do it in verse, a la

Shel Silverstein. Silverstein’s 1974 book Where the Sidewalk Ends was challenged at the West Allis-West

Milwaukee School Libraries in 1986 because it takes on a host of things (ranging from disrespect for

authority to drugs and rebellion against parents)….Silverstein’s 1981 book A Light in the Attic was

challenged by an elementary school in Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1985 because the poem “How Not to Dry the

Dishes” “encourages children to break dishes.” In our poem, please refer to the notes below to learn the

stories behind each author’s battle. And know that though we’ve only provided one example of censorship for

each author in the poem, in real life there are many, many more. “

Link: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/16983/bomb-the-ban

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 15

Reading: “Don’t Let the Light Go Out and the Trio of Peter, Paul, & Mary

A. THE TRIO. Peter, Paul and Mary, the most popular folk group and leaders of the 1960s folk revival, became the voice of a generation of human rights advocates and war protestors. Allen Grossman, Bob Dylan’s manager and the co-founder of the Newport Folk Festival, brought the 3 together and arranged its debut in 1961 at the Bitter End coffeehouse, the center of folk music. The trio recorded its debut album the following year, which spawned such hits as "Five Hundred Miles" and "Lemon Tree," as well as covers of Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer." The album remained on the Billboard Top 100 for the next 3 years. “If I Had a Hammer" won the trio the first of its 5 Grammy Awards. The group's 1963 album, In the Wind, with its version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," sold 300,000 copies in less than 2 weeks. "Puff, the Magic Dragon," was first released on their 1963's album Moving became one of the most popular children's songs of all time. The trio created 13 Top 40 hits, and saw 8 of their albums go gold and 5 turn platinum. All three eventually married, and--even though they had a hiatus as a trio in the 1970’s--continued performing as a trio until Mary’s death in 2009.

B. “Light One Candle”: ISRAEL. Written by Peter Yarrow, "Light One Candle" was first presented as part of the Trio’s 1982 Hanukkah/ Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall with the N.Y. Choral Society. The song brought down the house. But by the time the trio performed the song before thousands of rapt Israelis below Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, the words had come to reflect the painful dilemma of Israel's antiwar movement and its differences from the movement that tore America apart over Vietnam. Peter was uneasy, worrying that the song was too strident to have wide appeal in Israel. Yarrow brought the song to Janet Aviad, a sociology professor at Hebrew University and a leading activist in Israel's largest anti-Lebanon-war group. ''He asked if we had any peace songs,'' remembers Aviad, who noted that while many there were popular, anti-war Israeli

singers, the more right-wing Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful) movement had been most successful in using music to rouse its followers. [Pam’s Note. Gush Emunim was a messianic, right-wing activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. In 1976, Gush Emunim founded the settlement -building arm Amana, which soon became independent and is still active.]

Light One Candle (1982) Author Peter Yarrow of trio Peter, Paul and Mary)

Link to the Trio singing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1cRXgDFiSs

Written by Peter Yarrow (who is Jewish), "Light One Candle"

was first presented as part of the 1982 Peter, Paul and Mary

Hanukkah/Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall with the N.Y.

Choral Society. The song brought down the house.

1. Light one candle for the Maccabee children

With thanks that their light didn't die

Light one candle for the pain they endured

When their right to exist was denied

Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice

Justice and freedom demand

But light one candle for the wisdom to know

When the peacemaker's time is at hand

Don't let the light go out!

It's lasted for so many years!

Don't let the light go out!

Let it shine through our hope and our tears.

2. Light one candle for the strength that we need

To never become our own foe

And light one candle for those who are suffering

Pain we learned so long ago

Light one candle for all we believe in

That anger not tear us apart

And light one candle to find us together

With peace as the song in our hearts

Don't let the light go out!

It's lasted for so many years!

Don't let the light go out!

Let it shine through our hope and our tears.

3. What is the memory that's valued so highly

That we keep it alive in that flame?

What's the commitment to those who have died

That we cry out they've not died in vain?

We have come this far always believing

That justice would somehow prevail

This is the burden, this is the promise

This is why we will not fail!

Don't let the light go out!

Don't let the light go out!

Don't let the light go out!

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 16

Paul also consulted a former head of the Israeli government press office who had grown up in Detroit in the 1960s. He wanted to weed out any sensitive passages from the lyrics ''so everyone would hear them.” That was an extremely unlikely goal for an Israel racked with unprecedented bitter strife over the Lebanon war. Hostility had steadily mounted between antiwar activists calling for immediate total withdrawal of Israeli troops fro m Lebanon and the government position of waiting until an unwilling Syria pulled back its troop. Senior government officials were holding the peace camp responsible for continuing Israeli casualties by virtue of their giving ''encouragement'' to the Syrians. The thousands of nostalgic music lovers who packed into the grounds next to the Sultan's Pool area below Jerusalem's old city walls included American immigrants, who were drawn by '60s memories, but who had taken different paths: some in the peace movement, some as members of Gush Emunim, and some who wore the small knit head -covers (the kippah) of the religiously observant. The crowd also included large groups native-born Israelis, many bused in from outlying collective farms. Performing by lights and moonlight on a modern stage, the trio's first rendition of ''Light One Candle'' roused less enthusiasm than the beloved songs like ''Puff the Magic Dragon.” When the trio launched into Dylan’s ''Blowing in the Wind,'' the audience's mood began to change. Some lines, such as ''How many deaths does it take till we know that too many people have died?'' brought fierce applause. Professor Aviad explains the mood of the audience: ''The concert came the day we reached the 500th casualty in Lebanon. Unlike the U.S antiwar movement, everyone in that audience - in a country with almost universal male reserve duty - had either fought in Lebanon or knew someone who had. Most had friends among the dead or wounded.” As the last song was sung, the crowd went wild and called for encore after encore. For their final encore, the trio repeated “Don’t Let the Lights Go Out.” At the chorus, lights flickered throughout the audience, who began singing with them. Professor Aviad exclaimed afterwards: ''It was great. This country has been torn apart. This was the only occasion when you could get (opposition) Labor Party members, Tehyia (the right-wing renaissance party), and the National Religious Party people together. 'It was great to have something with which everyone could identify.” C. THE FAITH (AND LIVES) OF PETER, PAUL, AND MARY. I’ve provided a link to a biography for each trio membernk to a longer biography, and a summary of each member’s faith background and activism. We begin with Peter Yarrow, the Jewish trio member and the author of “Light One Candle.” Much of the short biographical information comes from the 25th Anniversary Peter Paul and Mary Tour Program.

Peter Yarrow (1938- ) https://www.biography.com/people/peter-yarrow-20874677 Short Biography. Peter is a songwriter, singer, musician, and film producer. He's a dedicated and loving father and an activist. He was a disenchanted art student at Cornell when he began developing his approach to folk music in Greenwich Village in the late 1950's. While playing as a single at the Village club, he frequently dropped in to catch Noel [Paul] Stookey's act in club across the street. Peter was more than just a performer. He helped conceive and orchestrate many of the protest and peace events and persuaded other entertainers to lend themselves to the causes. The political songwriter for the trio, Yarrow’s commitment to social change generated the trio's social activism. His songs made a unique contribution to what singer-songwriter Pete Seeger called "the folk process. Peter played a central role in conceiving and orchestrating major protest and peace events and persuaded other entertainers to lend themselves to the causes. He was a key advisor to the campaign of Eugene McCarthy, was present at former Secretary of State John Kerry’s wedding, and was an ardent supporter of Barack Obama. Today Peter lives in New York City with daughter Bethany and son Christopher. Yarrow’s Jewish Faith and Activism. Peter credits his Jewish faith and his parents (Ukrainian Jewish immigrants) for his commitment to peace, inclusivity, and justice. Yarrow produced and coordinated many events protesting the Vietnam War. His involvement in politics continued for decades. His leadership in the campaign to free Soviet Jewry (assisted by Mary) inspired another generation as did his song “Light One Candle” (1983). Rabbi Allison Bergman Vann has written about Yarrow’s outspoken courage and the importance of the song:

“Yarrow's now famous song became a defining song for my generation of high school and college students to become activists, to make the world a better place. In 1987, I heard Peter Yarrow singing that song on the steps of the Capitol during the march to free Soviet Jews. Listening to him sing, surrounded by literally thousands of like-minded individuals, I learned of my obligation to change the world; to engage in Tikkun Olam, repair of our broken world. And, during that incredible day, I knew that we could, indeed, change the world.” [Pam’s Note: In 2011Bergman-Vann joined the staff at the San Antonio’s largest Jewish congregation, Temple Beth-El. She is the first full-time ordained female rabbi in the San Antonio Jewish community].

Peter received the Allard K. Lowenstein Award in 1982 for his "remarkable efforts in advancing the causes of human rights, peace, and freedom. In 1995 the Miami Jewish Federation recognized Yarrow's continual efforts by awarding its Tikkun Olam Award for his part in helping to "repair the world."

Noel Paul Stookey https://www.biography.com/people/paul-stookey-20874623

Seuss, Friends, Festivals of Light--St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park,FL--Designer- facilitator Pamela Menke 17

Short Biography. Stookey was the cutup of the group, whose hum generated the trio's ability to captivate and involve an audience. Everyone who knew him called him by his first name: Noel. But for the sake of alliteration, he became “Paul” when the trio was formed. Since I know him s Paul, I’ll use that name. When Paul arrived in Greenwich Village in the late 50's, he was a rock musician, who was tired of the conservative Midwest and infatuated with the folk sound and scene. He was soon entrenched as a stand-up comedian-singer at the club across the street from Mary Travers’ home and just a few steps from the club where Peter Yarrow was drawing crowds. Performers from those early days remember Paul’s music, but they also remember him as someone who took care of them, who spent as much time helping solve the problems of others as he spent playing and singing.

As you’ll learn in the material on Paul’s faith, he experienced a fundamentalist religious conversion in 1968. Today his life centers around the "perfect love" he has found. 12 years ago, he moved his family to Maine, converted and old henhouse into a home &recording studio and began performing and producing Christian music. He married his high-school-sweetheart and lives happily with her and his daughters.

Paul’s Christian Faith and Activism. Paul describes himself as “a Jesus freak….Freak to me meant acting closer to the bone.” His focus on God started at a 1968 concert in Abilene, Texas, when a teenage fan edged his way past guards, confronted him backstage, and said “I want to talk to you about God.” Paul continues: “Over a period of the next 4 or 5 hours, while I'm signing autographs, while I'm riding in the back of a pick-up truck to the motel, while I'm trying to dodge the issue, he did talk to me about God. Then he offered a long prayer to God, signing off with: 'I think Noel wants to talk to you.' A nervous Paul took over and, after some initial hesitation, has been having godly conversations ever since--including one a year later that resulted in Stookey’s big hit: “’The Wedding Song” (“There is Love”), 1969. In his wish to make his friend Peter’s wedding mystical and spiritual, Paul asked God how to make the divine present during the ceremony. The response, according to Paul, was the melody and lyrics for "The Wedding Song.” While he never intended to release the song, Peter and his new wife insisted Paul record it for his first solo album (1971). Stookey did, but felt he should not claim official ownership of the song. So he established the Public Domain Foundation to hold the song's copyright, receive all profits, and disperse the profits to charitiesPaul explains that his activism is different from Peter and Mary’s: “I’m an activist in the Christian community, and my politics come out of the Christian compassion--not from a tradition of causes which I think is more comfortable for Peter and Mary. They’re city kids. Their parents were always in some kind of activity. Mary was on marches since she was 6 or 7. I prefer to do my rabblerousing in church.”

Mary Travers (1936-2009) Biography Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/mary-travers-

singer-whose-work-with-peter-paul-and-mary-added-a-political-edge-to-the-pop-music-of-1790064.html

Short Biography. [Pictured. The trio receiving the lifetime achievement award at the 37th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony--3 years before Mary’s death. ] When the trio began, one critic described them as “two cellos playing with an angel.” Mary grew up in the Village, the child of two muckraking journalists who had her marching in demonstrations as soon as she could walk. Performers such as Carly Simon, Woody Allen, Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey, Bill Cosby, John Denver and Bob Dylan were already part of the Greenwich explosion

when high-schooler Mary began hanging around coffeehouses for the singalongs. In 1955, Mary Travers and 3 schoolmates sang background vocals with folk legend Peter Seeger for his album Talking Union. The students became known as the Song Swappers and recorded 3 more albums with Seeger. They also appeared twice at Carnegie Hall. She got her first show business break when she auditioned for and won a part in a Broadway play that folded after a week. Soon Travers became a backup singer for groups like The Weavers and caught the attention of Albert Grossman, the man who brought Peter, Paul and Mary together and shepherded their career through the early years. Like her mother, Mary was an activist. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she committed herself to issues of justice, inclusivity, and peace. She served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Development Policy, a Washington-based advocacy group committed to redirecting U.S. foreign policy. She travelled to El Salvador and Nicaragua in support of the Center's work, as well as to Russia in support of Soviet Jewry. She was a member of the delegation of prominent Americans who accompanied Kim Dae Jung on his return to Korea in 1985. In 1986, Travers said the principle of mixing social justice with music guided her career: "I think the thing that is so special about folk music is that it is a reaffirmation of the celebration of the human spirit and human life.” As you can tell from her short biography, she was an ardent activist for all forms of peace and justice. She was an inveterate New Yorker who called herself "a closet anti-Californian.” She, like Peter and Paul, was happily married, had daughters, and grandchildren. In 2005, Mary was diagnosed with Leukemia. She underwent a successful bone marrow transplant, Even so and continued to tour. But in 2009, complications with chemotherapy resulted in her death at 72. Both Peter and Paul were devastated. A grieving Paul told the Associated Press, "I am deadened and heartsick beyond words to consider a life without Mary Travers.”

Mary’s Faith and Activism. She was born in Louisville, KY; her parents were journalists. Travers once described herself as a “fallen away Baptist.” Specifically, she was inspired by the sermons and nonviolent activism of Baptist preacher, Civil Rights Leader, and Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As you can tell from Mary’s short biography, she was an ardent and dedicated for a variety of causes and focused on “serving the oppressed and underserved.”