Growing up there was no poet I loved more than Shel Silverstein. The imagination, the complexity merged with childlike simplicity, and the generally positive attitude of his work have always left me speechless. I remember opening my sister's copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends and reading straight through in one sitting. It was my first poetic experience and it has always stuck with me. Falling Up will always be my favorite collection. The images he drew were beautiful in their crude, ink-blotted style. It was magic on the page.
A few years ago, while I was browsing through the humor section of a bookstore I came across something startling. It was a book of dirty limmericks and accompaning drawings by none other than Shel Silverstein himself. Now I'm not one to be bothered by such things usually, but I must say that I was a bit shocked. How offputting it was, to see my chikdhood idol in this light. I never knew he did anything other than children's literature. After a while though, I became okay with the whole thing. Afterall, the limmericks were funny, and they do not change how much Silverstein's work meant to me as a child. Now, I am about to have my own child, and I cannot wait to read her poems out of Falling Up before bed. They can spark her imagination the way they did mine, so many years ago.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Shel Silverstein
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I also loved Shel Silverstein as a child! I can remember reading Where the Sidewalk Ends in my bed with a tiny reading lamp while my sister snored on the other side of the room. I remember trying to keep my giggles quiet so I wouldn't wake her. When I found out that I was pregnant with my first child, Silverstein's books were the first that I purchased. My daughter loves The Giving Tree. My eyes still fill with tears nearly every time I read it to her. As a child, I never really understood the deeper meaning to the book, and now as an adult that can see our consumer-filled world and relate to the story. (I also feel the same about many Dr.Seuss books. I had no idea as a child that they dealt with deeper and more complex issues. Ex. The Lorax) I have never seen his adult-themed writings, but now I am kinda curious!
ReplyDeleteHaha...just tried to look more into the "dirty" side of Silverstein. He actually became famous and spent a large portion of his life working for Playboy magazine. It is how he first became famous. He even published some of his poems from his children books in Playboy. Well then. You learn something new everyday, eh?!
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