Liner notes:
When Roy Peter Clark arrived in St. Petersburg in 1977, he felt more than disoriented. He grew up in New York and went to college in New England, so he came to associate holiday celebrations with cold weather. On his first Christmas in St. Pete, the temperature hit 81 degrees.
“My kids didn’t care,” said Clark nostalgically. “All they wanted was a room full of presents.”
To compensate for his loss — some would say overcompensate — Clark paid extra attention to the celebration of Christmas, at times putting up the tree before Thanksgiving. He wrote Christmas songs, one of which was published in the St. Petersburg Times, and he wrote essays, whimsical and serious, for the Poynter Institute website.
We at Poynter thought it was time to collect these into an album, hoping, in the spirit of Clark’s work, to instruct, entertain and inspire.
Tracks:
1. “We’re Making a List and Fact-Checking It Twice”
More than a century ago, a little girl wrote a letter to a newspaper editor asking if there really was a Santa Claus. In the age of political fact-checking, we kick it up a notch, tracking down the truths and the myths of Santa. Which story earns a Pants On Fire?
2. “What I Learned About Writing and Storytelling from That Famous Red-Nosed Reindeer”
There are few American stories as popular as the one about Rudolph. Where did that story of the great one with the crimson proboscis come from? What forms did it take? And what lessons can all writers learn about how to make a story fun, compelling and memorable?
3. “What I Learned About Writing from Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies”
Often the object of ridicule, the Hallmark Christmas movie has emerged surprisingly as one of the most popular and interesting genres of popular culture in the 21st century. In an era of cynicism, political polarization and cultural paralysis, these formulaic romances seem to offer a brief channel of relaxation and release. No writer should ignore the power of sentimentality. The idea is not to imitate a formula, but to learn from any genre that seems to offer comfort to a faithful audience.
4. “Christmas Without Snow” (the song)
The original version of this song was published in 1982 as sheet music in the Sunday magazine of the St. Petersburg Times. Years later it was republished by the Times, which created this music video to celebrate its spirit. It has been viewed on YouTube more than 13,000 times.
5. “Christmas Without Snow” (the lyrics):
Kids will sing and laugh and play
On a sunny shore today
Santa will not need a sleigh
Christmas Without Snow.
Bright stars just like Bethlehem
Palm trees we’ve a lot of them
Come now let us sing a hymn
Christmas Without Snow.
Snow, snow, snow,
No, no, no,
So, so, so,
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!
Santa pack your summer clothes
And some salve for Rudolph’s nose
Sunburn always make it glow
Christmas without snow.
Santa brings some water skis
Ice cream snow balls if you please
It is eighty-one degrees
Christmas Without Snow.
Snow, snow, snow
No, no, no,
So, so, so,
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!
Even jolly Frosty Snowman
Will leave town as fast as he can
To avoid a fatal suntan
Christmas Without Snow
Even little Suzy Snowflake
Will become a crispy cornflake
When she hits our torrid landscape
Christmas Without Snow
Snow, snow, snow
No, no, no, no, no, no
Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow
No, no, no, no.
No snow.
No snow.
(No, no, no snow…!)
6. In 1989, it snowed in St. Petersburg. It led to a family reunion.
People like words and ideas and metaphors that collide with each other, which is why we say things like “It’s cold as hell.” Recent blizzards in the North sparked a memory of the night it snowed in St. Petersburg, Florida: Christmas Eve, 1989. I wrote it in the style of a story that might be read to the family from an easy chair near a fireplace drinking hot cocoa.
This article was originally published on Dec. 12, 2019. It has been updated.
