Grace Paley

We are excited and happy to be talking about a Grace Paley story again. And it’s one we bring to you to coincide with the holidays.

Shirley Abramowitz is the “voice” of the title. She is “the loudest voice” in the school. The sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Hilton, knows this about her, indeed summons her and gives her the role of a kind of narrator of the Christmas pageant.

Never mind that Shirley is Jewish—as are many of the other kids in the program. For her, as we see, it is quite enough to be included, to be counted, to be taken as someone with skills and talents — never a fool.

And that’s not even the biggest conflict here. Her mom isn’t too thrilled with the way the school makes all the kids participate in the holiday program — without considering their religious backgrounds and beliefs. It’s a tension that’s on a low simmer, but Shirley will have to figure out how to adjust and stay true to who she really is.

This story has been often anthologized, but we want to shine a light on its ubiquity — not just as a Christmas story but as a really great story — for any time of the year — any day at all.

Because we are talking about Grace Paley, we’ll talk about voice. We’ll also read a paragraph or two — or three. With Paley, you read the words, and you read them aloud — and delight in them.