David McCord's "Mr. Macklin's Jack O'Lantern"

The Daily Poem

Goldberry Studios

Education For Kids, Arts, Kids & Family

4.6 • 729 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2024

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s poem offers a folksy look at the subtleties of terror. Happy reading.

David Thompson Watson McCord was born on December 15, 1897, in New York. A poet and fundraiser, McCord grew up in Portland, Oregon. He received both a BA and MA from Harvard University and briefly served in the military at the end of World War I. In 1922, McCord became associate editor for the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, where he served as editor from 1940 to 1946. He was also executive director of the Harvard College Fund for thirty-eight years.

McCord, who has been widely recognized for his children's poetry, wrote and edited over fifty works of poetry and prose. He was the recipient of Harvard University's first honorary doctorate of humane letters, the first NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Institute of Arts and Letters grant. He died on April 13, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts.

-bio via Academy of American Poets

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to the Daily Poem, a podcast from Goldberry Studios. I'm Sean Johnson, and today is Wednesday, October 9th, 2024. Today's poem comes from David McCord, born 1897, died 1997, just shy of his 100th birthday. McCord grew up in Oregon, so he and I have that in common.
0:24.7	He graduated with distinction from Harvard University and maintained strong ties to the school,
0:31.4	going on to serve in various alumni organizations, including the college fund and the alumni bulletin for many decades.
0:40.1	We obviously have none of that in common.
0:43.8	Additionally, he made for himself a successful career as a writer of nonfiction and poetry,
0:53.5	particularly he's remembered for his children's poetry.
0:57.7	Today's poem is right on the edge of that category. It's the kind of poem a child might
1:05.7	easily enjoy, but it certainly has a universality to it. It's called Mr. Maclin's Jackal Lantern. I'll read it
1:13.4	once. I'll offer a few comments and read it one more time. Mr. Maclin takes his knife and
1:20.7	carves the yellow pumpkin face. Three holes bring eyes and nose to life. The mouth has 13 teeth in place.
1:29.4	Then Mr. Maclin, just for fun, transfers the corn-cob pipe from his rye mouth to Jack's,
1:34.5	and everyone dies laughing.
1:36.9	Oh, what fun it is till Mr. Maclin draws the shade and lights the candle in Jack's skull.
1:43.4	Then all the inside dark is made as spooky and as
1:47.2	horrible as Halloween, and creepy crawl the shadows on the toolhouse floor with Jack's face dancing on
1:54.9	the wall. Oh, Mr. Macklin, where's the door?
2:03.8	We are approaching my favorite time of year.
2:09.2	If you are fortunate enough to live in a place where the seasons change, the seasons are changing.
2:10.4	The leaves are turning color and falling.
2:13.4	The evenings are getting cooler.
2:15.7	The air is growing crisper.
2:18.0	If you live in Florida, it's still just hot and muggy,
	...

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