Shel Silverstein's Influence

 15 October 2010

Shel Silverstein’s Influence

            Shel Silverstein is widely known for his children’s books and poetry. He had a fresh, new style that broke the mold of children’s literature. His work was able to connect with an audience of children through the use of simple, made up languages and silly scenarios. His fun fantasies are read and loved by everyone, and are the catalysts to influencing America’s children’s books.

In order to fully understand any author’s work, one must first understand where the author comes from and what has made them who they are. Sheldon Allan Silverstein was born in Chicago on September 25, 1930 (Shel 4). Although little is known about his private life, he owned three homes and was married to Susan Hastings, who died in 1975; the day before their daughter, Shanna’s, fifth birthday. Silverstein lost his daughter in April of 1982 of a cerebral aneurysm. Silverstein had another son, Matthew, with an unknown woman two years later (Meyer, Silverstein 2).  He began writing and drawing as a child and explains the beginning of his passion by saying, “I couldn’t play ball; I couldn’t dance. Luckily, the girls didn’t want me; not much I could do about that. So, I started to draw and to write. I was lucky that I didn’t have anyone to copy, be impressed by. I had developed my own style” (Shel 4, Silverstein 1). Silverstein was expelled from the University of Illinois at Urban for failing grades, and dropped out of the Art Institute of Chicago. He attended the Chicago Roosevelt University for three years and wrote for the school’s newspaper, but left when he was drafted into the army in 1953 (Peters). Silverstein began his career by drawing cartoons for Pacific Stars and Stripes, a military magazine, while he was stationed as a G.I. in Japan and Korea in the 1950s (Shel 4).  He then became a cartoonist for Playboy in 1956 and remained a contributor for the magazine for 40 years, drawing cartoons and writing satire, poems, and articles from strange places (Weinman). Silverstein wasn’t expecting his career to make a turn towards children’s writing. When his friend Toni Ungerer took him to meet Harper Collin’s Ursula Nordstrom to discuss the possibility of writing children’s books, he had to be reluctantly dragged in, but was convinced that he could be successful in that area (Shel 4).

Of Silverstein’s many books, the most popular and most influential are Lafcadio: the Lion Who Shot Back, The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, The Missing Piece, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up.  Published in 1963, his personal favorite, Lafcadio: the Lion Who Shot Back, is the story of a lion that refuses to fit in with society’s standards (Friday, Paditsone). He is threatened by a hunter, but then eats him and learns to use his gun, becoming world famous and discovering that he does not like success as much as he thought he would. He questions if he fits in better as a man or as a lion (Paditsone).

His next book, The Giving Tree, was published in 1964 (Friday). It took Harper Children’s Books four years before they finally decided to publish it because they feared that it would not become successful, as it falls in between children and adult literature (About, Friday). The book produced very slow sales in the beginning, but now over 5 and a half million copies have been sold, and it is widely used in schools (Bengtsson, Shel 4).  The story is “based on two people, where one gives and the other takes” ( Bengtsson). Through the stages of a boy’s life, he takes more and more from a tree, which is personified as a woman; from swinging on branches and eating its apples, to using it to build his house, and later cutting it down to build a boat. When the boy becomes an old man, the tree offers him a place to rest on her stump. She is  content, but the story ends sadly as she has given up all that she had for a boy who has now grown to be bitter (Friday). The book has been interpreted in many ways; as sexist, and as a Christian example of self-sacrifice and a lesson of “more blessed to give than to receive” (Friday).

Where the Sidewalk Ends, a collection of 176 pages of poems, was published in 1974. It won the Michigan Young readers award in 1981 and a Grammy in 1984 (Friday, Shel 4). In 1993, Central Columbia Pennsylvania pulled Where the Sidewalk Ends from libraries because it was believed that children were encouraged to consider cannibalism after reading the poem “Dreadful” (Peters). This is interpreted by saying, “We’ll give away her toys and clothes. /We’ll never have to wipe her nose. /Dad says, ‘That’s the way it goes.’ / Someone ate the baby (Silverstein 4).” Mark Peters sarcastically writes on this issue, “The eating-babies fad never really caught on in America, but perhaps protesters stopped the madness in time,” (Peters).

Silverstein went on to write The Missing Piece in 1976, a story about the adventures of a circle who has a missing wedge. The circle goes through his life singing and searching for the missing piece, however once it is found, the circle realizes that he was happier and more fulfilled while on the search. This silly story with a deeper meaning produced a sequel in 1981; The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. This time, the story is told by the wedge’s point of view, who also discovers self-sufficiency, and that he can get around happier and easier by himself (Bengtsson ).

A follow up of Where the Sidewalk Ends was published in 1981 (Bengtsson). Titled, A Light in the Attic, the book contains 136 poems (Friday). Publisher’s Weekly called it, “A big fat treasure for Silverstein devotees, with trenchant verses expressing high-flown, exhilarating nonsense as well as thoughts unexpectedly sober and even sad,” (Bengtsson). A Light in the Attic was named one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of 1981, and acquired a record 182 week stay on the New York Times Bestsellers List (Friday, Shel 4). Like the previous book of humorous poems, A Light in the Attic also had critics. Cunningham Elementary School in Wisconsin Banned the book in 1985 because of the belief that it “encourages children to break dishes so they won’t have to dry them” (Sager). This is suggested by the poem, “How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes,” which says,”If you have to dry the dishes/ And you drop one on the floor/ Maybe they won't let you/ Dry the dishes anymore (Silverstein 3).”

In 1996, Silverstein wrote Falling Up (Bengtsson). In Publisher Weekly’s review, they described the third to the series of collections of poems, saying, “By turns cheeky and clever and often darkly subversive, the poems are vintage Silverstein, presented in a black-and-white format that duplicates his earlier books (…) Silverstein's cartoons and poems are humorously seditious, often giving voice to a child's desire to be empowered or to retaliate for perceived injustice: one child character wields a "Remote-a-Dad" that will instantly control his father, and another dreams of his teachers becoming his students so that when they talk or laugh in class, he can "pinch 'em 'til they [cry]” (Falling).

Silverstein also wrote plays and songs including The Lady or the Tiger Show(1981), Things Change, (collaboration with playwright David Mamet in 1988), Johny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue,” Dr. Hook’s “The Cover of the Rolling Stones,” and “I’m Checking out,” which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1991, for the film Postcards from the Edge (Bengtsson, Shel 4).  Mitch Myers, Silverstein’s nephew and member of the Shel Silverstein Archive, says, “Although Shel had written numerous songs that have remained popular, his impact as a poet and storyteller is worldwide and continues today.”

It has been said that no discussion of poetry can ignore Silverstein’s work. His style has even given him the name of a “literary cult figure,” (Friday).  Silverstein’s writing had a “flair for fun, tinged with a bit of naughtiness,” that pushes the envelope and displays humor and the joy of life (Peters, Shel 3, Silverstein 1). The silly style consisting of made up words and fun sounds is often compared to Dr. Suess’, however Silverstein’s poems are easier to mentally picture and contain a wild streak (Allison). Cartoonist and friend of Silverstein, Jules Feiffer, says, “He imagined things the way kids do when they’re little, and it goes away when they’re older- only in this case it didn’t go away,” (Smolowe).

            This appeal to children is perhaps what made Silverstein so influential. He was able to “understand common childhood thoughts and anxieties,” and he shared a mutual respect for them (Shel 2, Peters). Eric Kimmel, award winning children’s author, says, “His poems read like those a fourth grader would write on the back of his notebook when the teacher’s eye was turned (…) That may be precisely their appeal,” (Friday). Silverstein is credited for transforming children into poetry lovers, and for encouraging them to develop an appreciation by writing them poems that are understandable and appeal to their humor (Friday , Shel 2).  Kimmel says that Silverstein’s style was able to, “Convince children that poetry is neither difficult nor threatening,” (Friday). Aletha Meyer says this about reading Silverstein’s poems to her children, “I feel like such a hero when I can make them laugh by reading Shel’s poems or stories in an alerted voice with an animated expression. My children’s responses are memories I store away,” (Meyer). Silverstein’s work is used as an introduction to poetry, and has transformed how it is taught in schools (Friday).

            Silverstein changed the status quo of typical children’s stories with “happily ever after” endings (Peters). He “presented fantasy as an exaggerated fantasy, and not as a life possibility,” (Silverstein 2). Silverstein believed that creating stories with super heroes “20 ft tall” would put an enormous burden on a child who can never live up to the heroes in their favorite books (Silverstein 2). He said, “Happy endings, magic solutions in children’s books create alienation in the child who reads them. 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,” (Silverstein 2). Myers says, “Shel was simply saying that always giving children simple and unrealistic outcomes, and not ever dealing with the harsher realities of life, might shortchange a young person and not fully prepare them for adult life. There are varying theories on the function of fables, and his opinion is just one valid way to look at things” (Meyers).

            Silverstein’s work didn’t only have an influence on children. It was able to be related to by all people. His simple, understandable poems and books are fun to read, but hold deeper and diverse meanings to different people (Ung). Silverstein was able to reach to all people, despite age and gender by writing about common experiences everyone has, and by using versatility to connect with different audiences (Ung, Meyer). Silverstein said, “I would hope, that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with my books, pick one up and experience a personal sense of discovery. That’s great,” (Silverstein 1).

            In conclusion, Silverstein’s style has been implanted into the hearts of many children and adults. His work cannot be read without forcing one to smile or giggle, but they also carry realistic meanings and life lessons. Silverstein describes his success by saying, “I was always prepared for success. But that means I have to be prepared for failure too,” (Silverstein 1). However, it is a near certainty that his work will continue its success and influence for generations to come.

 

 

 

Works Cited

“About Shel.” Shelsiverstein.com. 2010. Web. 5 September 2010.

Allison, C. “Falling Up- Don’t Drink Chocolate Milk and Read it.” Book Consumer Help Web. 2008. Web. 22 September 2010.

Bengtsson, Gunnar. “Biography of Shel Silverstein.” American Poems. 2009. Web. 31 August 2010.

“Falling Up.” Amazon. 2010. Web. 22 September 2010.

Friday, Sely. “Shel Silverstein.” Scep.nl.nasio. 1999. Web. 3 September 2010.

Meyer, Aletha. “Put Something In: The Contributions of Shel Silverstein.” Estu Writing.2007. Web. 1 September 2010.

Myers, Mitch. Email Interview. 16 September 2010.

Sager, Jeanne. “Banned Books Week: Shel Silverstein.” Babble. 2008. Web. 1 September 2010.

“Shel Silverstein 1932-1999.” Kids Reads. 2010. Web. 31 August 2010.

 “Shel Silverstein.” Contemporary Musicians – Answers.com. 2010. Web. 3 September 2010.

“Shel Silverstein.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2010. Web. 3 September 2010.

“Shel Silverstein Biography.” Famous Poets and Poems. 2010. Web. 31 August 2010.

Silverstein, Shel. Interview with Jean Mercier. Publisher’s Weekly. 24 February 1975.

Silverstein, Shel. Interview with Richard Lingeman. New York Times Book Review, New York Times. 30 April, 1978.

Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper Collins, 1981. Print.

Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper Collins, 1974. Print.

Smolowe, Jill. “Bard Brain.” People.com. People, 24 May 1999. Web. 1 September 2010.

Ung, Meghan. “Shel Silverstein: Introduction.” Weber.edu. 2002. Web. 2 September 2010.

Paditsone, Dohn. “Lafcadio- The Lion That Shot Back.” Enzine Articles. 2010. Web. 22 September 2010.

Peters, Mark. “Shel Silverstein’s Unlikely Ride to Kid Lit Superstardom.” Mental Floss Magazine. 8 August 2009. Web. 5 September 2010.

Weinman, Sarah. “The Shel Silverstein Archive.” Shel Silverstein Tripod. 2003. Web. 22 September 2010.