Jay's Portfolio: Christmas Greetings
Draft of Jay's 1979 IMF Christmas poem reveals a wordsmith ever in his prime
In the days of yore, an era that pre-dated the birth of Christ and lasted until the release of ChatGPT in 2022, writing poetry actually took some work.
The challenge of crafting humorous, themed-verse was one Jay met year after year.
He relished any - and I do mean any - opportunity to unleash his own unique brand of zany poem.
He wrote poems for class reunions, for couples on their wedding day, in honor of the birth of a grandchild (I still have mine - it’s a real doozy!), and for big events at the International Monetary Fund.
Jay’s annual Christmas poems enjoyed a cult following during his 32-year reign over the IMF’s Information Department.
Sadly, most of those great works have been lost to history.
However, a few drafts do survive to the present day.
The one I’m sharing today is most likely from 1979. Supporting evidence includes the mention of “Jacques” (as in de Larosière, the Fund’s managing director from 1978-1987) and a meeting in Yugoslavia (which twice hosted the IMF during Jay’s tenure - 1951 and 1979).
Although at times torturous, Jay loved the writing process. He would sit quietly, his brilliant brain crafting, evaluating, discarding, re-working, and ultimately accepting line after line of pure nuttiness.
He was known to chuckle to himself when he hit on an especially unique turn of phrase.
Recurring themes for IMF poems included the prowess of the managing director, vistas enjoyed on major IMF trips, and, in an age when one could do this and still remain a card-carrying member of polite society, appreciation for the Fund’s attractive secretaries.
A faithful husband whose sight was limited enough to keep him off the killing fields of Europe and the South Pacific in the 1940s, Jay nonetheless managed just enough clear vision from his wandering, workplace eyes to pen the following:
One other point needs making and we cannot let it pass.
The women who work with us — they are first, not second class.
Some have the cares of families, some — bachelor-girl apartments,
Some have their special talents, some — are great in all departments.
My understanding is that Jay read many of his poems at the events they were written to honor.
I do not know if he read this Christmas poem aloud at the IMF Christmas party. If he did, my grandmother was surely horrified.
But that was Jay in a nutshell. Uber talented and perfectly aware of both where the line was drawn, and how, like a mischievous child, to momentarily cross it - with a grin on his face - then safely return back before any consequences ensued.
Officially, An Unacknowledged or Classified Association, will go hiatus during the holidays.
Unofficially, I have a stack of FOIA requests that, in their own fit of petulance, refuse to write themselves. So, alas, I’ve been enlisted by the cause to file these bad boys in between all of the caroling, gifting, and college football.
In the spirit of the season, we’re going to find out if the government, and its various agencies, wants to play naughty or nice.
See you in 2025!