Shel Silverstein Biography

Shel Silverstein Biography

Shel Silverstein Biography

The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and A Light in the Attic are only a few of the children’s books written by American author, poet, cartoonist, and singer Shel Silverstein (1930–1999). Born in Chicago, Illinois, he started writing poetry and drawing cartoons when he was younger.

Silverstein started his career as a cartoonist after serving in the military during the Korean War. His cartoons were published in periodicals like Sports Illustrated and Playboy. He also started penning songs, which were recorded by a number of well-known performers, such as Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, Loretta Lynn, and Johnny Cash.

Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book, Silverstein’s debut children’s book, was released in 1961. Since then, he has written and illustrated other children’s and adult books, such as The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O.

Silverstein’s work is distinguished by its recognizable characters and pictures, its lighthearted, irreverent tone, and its focus on the pleasures and difficulties of childhood. His writings have been translated into many languages and sold millions of copies.

In 1999, Silverstein passed away at the age of 68 from a heart attack. Despite his brief life, he had a huge impact on popular culture and children’s literature, and readers of all ages still adore his writing.

Shel Silverstein Biography

Life of Shel Silverstein

According to Edwin McDowell of the New York Times Book Review, Silverstein “has rejected interviews and promotional tours for some years now… and he even urged his publisher not to give out any biographical information about him” (8 Nov 1981). What is known about Silverstein is that he was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1932, is divorced, and has one daughter. The majority of what is known about his ideas and thoughts comes from an interview with Jean F. Mercier published in Publisher’s Weekly on February 24, 1975, aside from what may be inferred from his publications. Silverstein discussed the beginnings of his career as a child with Mercier:

“When I was a kid—12, 14, around there—I would much rather have been a good baseball player or a hit with the girls. But I couldn’t play ball, I couldn’t dance… So, I started to draw and to write. I was… lucky that I didn’t have anyone to copy or be impressed by; I had developed my own style; I was creating before I knew there was a Thurber, a Benchley, a Price, and a Steinberg. I never saw their work till I was around 30.”

By the time he served in the US armed forces in the 1950s, Silverstein’s talents were well-developed. He was a cartoonist for the Pacific edition of the military journal Stars and Stripes while in the service; also, he was stationed in Japan and Korea. In 1956, after serving in the military, Silverstein began working as a cartoonist for Playboy.

Life of  Silverstein

Uncle Shelby’s Story of Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back, published in 1963, was Silverstein’s first foray into writing for children. He confided to Mercier:

“I never planned to write or draw for kids. It was Tomi Ungerer, a friend of mine, who insisted… practically dragged me, kicking and screaming, into [editor] Ursula Nordstrom’s office. And she convinced me that Tomi was right; I could do children’s books.”

After the publication of The Giving Tree, however, Silverstein rose to prominence as a children’s author. Editor William Cole had rejected the book, believing that it fell between adult and children’s literature and would never sell. It was a story about two people, according to Silverstein: one gives and the other takes. The Giving Tree, a narrative about a tree that donates its shade, fruit, branches, and finally its trunk to make a tiny child happy. This book had slow sales at first, but its audience steadily grew. “Many readers saw a religious symbolism in the altruistic tree; ministers preached sermons on The Giving Tree; it was discussed in Sunday schools,” said Richard R. Lingeman in the New York Times Book Review.

Ultimately, both adults and children embraced the book. But, as Barbara A. Schram noted in Interracial Books for Children (Vol. 5, No. 5, 1974), feminist critics later saw something else in Silverstein’s story: “By choosing the female pronoun for the all-giving tree and the male pronoun for the all-taking boy, it is clear that the author did indeed have a prototypical master / slave relationship in mind… How frightening that little boys and girls who read The Giving Tree will encounter this glorification of female selflessness and male selfishness. “Despite this, the book continues to be popular among both children and adults.

Songs written by Shel Silverstein

In the late 1960s Silverstein also became known for being a composer and lyricist of songs, including “A Boy Named Sue” (sung by Johnny Cash, 1969), “One’s On The Way,” “The Unicorn” (sung by the Irish Rovers), “Boa Constrictor,” “So Good To So Bad,” “Sylvia’s Mother” (sung by Dr. Hook, 1972), “The Great Conch Train Robbery,” and “Yes, Mr. Rogers.” Albums of original motion picture scores include Ned Kelly.

• 25 Minutes To Go – Johnny Cash
• A Boy Named Sue – Johnny Cash
• Daddy What If – Bobby Bare
• Hey Loretta – Loretta Lynn
• I Got Stoned And I Missed It – Shel Silverstein
• Marie Laveau – Bobby Bare
• My Heart Was The Last One To Know – Kris Kristofferson
• One’s On The Way – Loretta Lynn
• Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie – Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
• Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
• The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan – Marianne Faithfull
• The Cover of “Rolling Stone” – Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
• The Mermaid – Shel Silverstein
• The Unicorn – The Irish Rovers

In addition to his books that are popular with adult and child readers; Silverstein’s poetry collection, A Light In The Attic, continues to sell many copies.

Silverstein illustrates his own books with black-and-white line drawings. Being himself a book collector, he takes the feel and look-the paper, the type, the binding-of his titles very seriously. He does not allow his books to be published in paperback. But this has n’t hurt his popularity: Silverstein has millions of copies in print.

Silverstein has focused on writing plays for adults since 1981. The Lady or the Tiger Show (1981), about a television producer who goes to extraordinary lengths, has been presented. Silverstein also worked with writer David Mamet on the screenplay Things Change (1988).

Cause of Death

Read also: Robert Frost Biography