COOPERSTOWN — Pamela McColl, author of “’Twas the Night — The Art and History of the Classic Christmas Poem” celebrating its bicentennial will be at Fenimore Art Museum on Tuesday, Nov. 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Attendees will hear about the life and times of the poet Clement C. Moore and the poem’s own story, including its publishing history, its rise in popularity, and the thousands of editions of the “magical” lines that have been released in book format.

“‘Twas The Night Before Christmas” was read aloud for the first time on Christmas Eve, 1822. It was subsequently published by the Troy Sentinel newspaper on Dec. 23, 1823. The much-loved poem celebrates its 200th anniversary this holiday season. To mark the bicentennial, McColl will present the stories behind the masterpiece. The presentation features a question-and-answer session, and patrons are invited to ask questions pertaining to collecting editions of the poem. A book signing will follow. The program is included with regular museum admission.

McColl, author/historian/collector and authority on the popular poem, spent a decade researching the material for her new book. In her presentation at the Fenimore, she will share interesting discoveries that link the poem to other early 19th-century writers including Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper. McColl will finish her presentation with a review of the ways in which great artists and illustrators of the 19th and 20th centuries, like Norman Rockwell, NC Wyeth, Jessie Willcox Smith,  W.W. Denslow, and Andy Warhol, were inspired by the classic Christmas poem.