Boston's Book Nook Blog~ A "Giving Tree" of Talent from Shel Silverstein

If one asks a writer when he or she first realized their calling towards the literary world, you may be sure they will respond with a specific story which inspired them so deeply, that there could be no other path otherwise chosen. 

As an author myself, I recall with absolution the day I conceived the possibility of one day writing my first book.  Being a typical child with a multitude of thoughts for career paths, it wasn't until I was in the third grade when my dreams dramatically changed after an unexpected visit from a local children's book author.  I can clearly remember the "celebrity" speaker's colossal presence, erythematic voice and imminent inability to pull his audience in.  As he sat in a chair with my class eagerly surrounding him, his long legs dangled humorously over the petite sized furniture while he fiddled sporadically with his long beard. 

Once he had opened his book, "Where the Sidewalk Ends," he read the poetic stanzas hypnotically, entrancing all of us with the rasp of his baritone storytelling. Enticing us to laugh, tear and THINK long after he had finished, the poems had the capability to teach and entertain, a quality difficult for many writers to accommodate.  Shel Silverstein had shown me an imaginary world full of possibilities that day which I instantly found myself wanting to belong to.

A local Massachusetts resident living seasonally on Martha's Vineyard, Mr. Silverstein was born in 1948 in Chicago where he took an immediate liking to drawing after many failed attempts at sports. Inherently shy, he discovered a new freedom within illustrating and writing which he used consistently for communicating his thoughts and feelings to others.  Although his entry into the publication world had its challenges, Shel developed his satire style through the help of Hugh Heffner, providing both cartoons and articles to the famed magazine.  In 1963, he was given his first shot with the release of the children's book, "Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back".  Although not widely acclaimed, he would eventually pen the classic, "The Giving Tree", "The Light in the Attic", "Every Thing On It" and many more published by the leading firm, Harper Collins. 

Being noted as having an unusual approach to speaking to children through his work, he once explained this by saying, " The child asks why don't I have this happiness thing you're telling me about, and comes to think when his joy stops that he has failed, that it won't come back." 

Without a doubt one of the most beloved children's authors of all time, Shel Silverstein also engaged in other types of media by using his writing skills.  In 1970 he won a Grammy award for his song, "A Boy Named Sue" performed by Johnny Cash and was also nominated for an Oscar in 1991 for his theme song in the movie "Postcards From the Edge."  Silverstein was a frequent playwright for the New York stages as well, his work reviewed as his "real hidden talent being for the theater."  With his untimely death occurring in May of 1999 from heart failure, Shel Silverstein was truly a renaissance man, contributing to the art world through his pictures, music, scripts and poetry.  His talent will always be remembered as eclectic, boundless and exhilarating in capabilities.  What a ride Shel Silverstein had taken us on...what a ride.