The Hostess with the Mostes’
by Judy Newman
Perle Mesta. (John Melton Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society)
It’s a true talent who can both host a wonderful dinner party and be a staunch advocate for critical social issues. When I was a kid, a glamorous, mysterious name—Perle Mesta—was always referred to as the “hostess with the mostes’.” As a kid, I really didn’t know too much about Perle, but my dad invoked her name when my mother hosted a particularly lively, fun family dinner.
Last week, I was the lucky invitee to several incredible dinner parties. Which made me think about what it took to put them together, which led me to do some research on Perle.
I learned a lot about Perle, including that she and I share a birthday—October 12, and that her birth name was “Pearl” and she changed it to the fancier Perle. She was the daughter of the wealthy William Skirvin, an oilman and owner of the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City, where the family lived. She married steel magnate George Mesta who left her widowed with a considerable fortune. She was appointed by President Harry Truman as the first U.S. Minister to Luxembourg; she was a fierce champion for the Equal Rights Amendment; and was the inspiration for Irving Berlin’s Broadway hit musical Call Me Madam. Perle believed that conversations and interactions among people in social settings were the most important way to make important discussions—and change—happen.
“I like to mix people, the uppers, the middles, and the lowers, the sours and the sweets,” she explained to an interviewer. “If there are too many dull ones, I put some aside for the next occasion.”
—Perle Mesta
I bring up Perle in the unlikely pages of the November issue of Story Monsters Ink because this month, my long-time colleague, former second grade teacher, very good friend, and passionate literacy advocate, Carol Levine, gave Perle Mesta a run for her money as the “hostess with the mostes’.”
During the Montclair Kimberley Academy/Scholastic Book Fair—which has not been held in person for three years—Carol (whose birth name was also Carol) organized an incredible group of authors to visit the Book Fair, present to students, answer questions, and sign their books. And, channeling Perle and her notion that the best conversations and ideas happen around social events, Carol planned dinners with the authors each night of the Book Fair.
Carol goes above and beyond to help inspire teachers and their students about books and reading.
Lois Lowry (back right), two-time Newbery Medal winning author of The Giver, Number the Stars, and the Anastasia Krupnik series among her other beloved titles; Harvard psychoanalyst, conservationist, and coincidentally a psychiatric colleague of my father’s, Dr. Howard Corwin; me; and Carol!
Dinner with Bryan Collier, illustrator of the beloved, bestselling All Because You Matter by Tami Charles and Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, among other books he has both written himself and illustrated for other authors; Jill Maza, director of libraries, research and educational technology; Book Fair volunteer, Catherine Halbert, whose son and daughter both graduated from Montclair Kimberley Academy; Pam Muñoz Ryan, author of Esperanza Rising, Mañanaland, Echo, and her upcoming book Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs; Carol; and me!
Dinner with Mike Lowery (illustrator of the Mac B. Kid Spy and Bug Scouts series); Jeff Kinney (author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series); Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature; Montclair Kimberley Academy Headmaster Nigel Furlonge, his wife, Nicole, and his daughter, Logan; Pam Muñoz Ryan; Ellie Berger; Michael Jacobs; and me! Perle, I mean Carol is seated far right.
We had such a wonderful time at these dinners. So much was shared and discussed, and we would all agree that getting great books into the hands of all children is the most important work we do together. Cheers to that. And a special thank you to Carol for bringing us all together.
XX,
Judy
Judy Newman is President and Reader-in-Chief of Scholastic Book Clubs. For more information, visit judynewmanatscholastic.com.