Sheldon Allen Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago Illinois to Nathan and Helen Silverstein. He had one sister named Peggy Myers. Shel Silverstein attended Highschool at Roosevelt High, attended college at the University of Illinois and got expelled. He then attended Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and Roosevelt University (three years, until drafted in 1953). Shel served in the U.S. Army in Japan and Korea in the 1950’s. He was the cartoonist for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. After the was over he became good friends with Hugh Hefner and drew many cartons for the magazine Playboy.
Shel Silverstein had two children. His first child was daughter Shoshanna (Shanna), born June 30, 1970. She died at age 11 from an aneurism. Silverstein's other child was his son Matthew, born on November 10, 1983.
Shel initially never intended to write children’s books. He was quoted as saying "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."
Of his writing Shel said, "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, 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."
Shel illustrates all of his own books and refused to allow any of his work to be published in paperback. He did not want his work to be ruined or diminished in any way. Since he was a book collector Shel went so far as to pick out the paper, font, ink, and bindings for his books.
Not only was Shel an author and artist, he was a singer, songwriter, and playwright. He has won numerous awards including a Grammy Award, Best Country Song for "A Boy Named Sue," 1969 and another Grammy Award, Best Recording for Children for Where the Sidewalk Ends, 1984.
Shel died from a heart attack on May 10, 1999 at his Key West Florida Home. Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
I don't think a satirist has any greater obligation to society than a bricklayer or anybody else.
Shel Silverstein
I believe that if you don't want to do anything, then sit there and don't do it, but don't expect people to hand you a corn beef sandwich and wash your socks for you and unzip your fly for you.
Shel Silverstein
I know a way to stay friends forever, There's really nothing to it, I tell you what to do, And you do it.
Shel Silverstein
I myself do not believe in explaining anything.
Shel Silverstein
I will not play tug o' war. I'd rather play hug o' war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins.
Shel Silverstein
If the track is tough and the hill is rough, THINKING you can just ain't enough!
Shel Silverstein
If you want to find out what a writer or a cartoonist really feels, look at his work. That's enough.
Shel Silverstein
If you're behind the times, they won't notice you. If you're right in tune with them, you're no better than they are, so they won't care much for you. Be just a little ahead of them.
Shel Silverstein
Imagine - four years you could have spent travelling around Europe meeting people, or going to the Far East of Africa or India, meeting people, exchanging ideas, reading all you wanted to anyway, and instead I wasted it at Roosevelt.
Shel Silverstein
Never explain what you do. It speaks for itself. You only muddle it by talking about it.
Shel Silverstein
Stand-up comics reflect less of a visual humor and more of a commentary.
Shel Silverstein
Tell me I'm clever, Tell me I'm kind, Tell me I'm talented, Tell me I'm cute, Tell me I'm sensitive, Graceful and wise, Tell me I'm perfect - But tell me the truth.
Shel Silverstein
To me, freedom entitles you to do something, not to not do something.
Shel Silverstein
You'd better get your laugh while you're making your point, or you won't be doing it very long.
Shel Silverstein
Thanks...I perform Shell's "The Waves Roll Out" song that he wrote for the great Bob Gibson's "Where I'm Bound" 12-String Guitar LP. Have loved & listened to that one a long time....
...I always loved your humour.... thanx for your friendship! our new (double)cd “ …we used to cut the green grass…/…the war is over…” will be released in springtime 2009 now, here they are! You can listen to 4 first rough mixes out of 17 songs on our new double-cd on www. myspace. com/greenwavesaar from the south-west of germany rainer
T'is not just a season, but it is the beginning. We are evolving and growing and becoming. We are going to make changes and honor within the goodness around us and inside us and then... We will generate this energy and surround our soul with all that makes us feel happy and whole.
And with this we share, with others of like mind, honoring all that is gentle and kind. We'll surrender the negative and with this be true, to a Happy New Year, as change has become due. We will address any problem and develop a solution, and we will move forward with Zen Evolution.
Happy 2009!
~~~NAMASTE~~~ Your Friends at Zen Evolution TV ..Adding a little bit of ZEN...to your EVERYDAY Life!' (tm)
Found a copy of "Where The Sidewalk Ends," in a "Half Priced Books" store yesterday, and thought that it was no place for such a treasure! So I brought it home and wrapped it up, because I have a little boy who will be delighted on Christmas morning when he opens it up : )
a friend is like a flower that blooms just for you..and we can be our real selves when we see what's true..a friend is like a gentle rain when you thirst..and we are dancing rings around a rose called mother earth..a friend is like the moon choosing to reflect the light..and we couldn't see the beautiful stars unless it was for the dark of nights..a friend is like a flower we send to ourselves..a gift that just keeps on opening until the light of love is shown and felt.
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