Every Thing on It

This blog post is dedicated to, and about, a life long hero of mine, Shel Silverstein. If you are not familiar with this man, he is an author and poet of children's literature, including such popular titles like The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and many other titles to his name.

His books were some of the first pieces of written art I have in living memory. My parents would always read to me and my brother before we could really read (and even a little while after), and my dad would usually select some poems from one of Shel's books. His unique illustrations and accessible children's poetry are iconic for me, as well as (dare I say) a great percentage of those from my generation.

Recently, his estate (or publishing company) decided to release a new book of his previously unpublished materials, titled Every Thing on It. I personally like to believe his estate allowed this, because to me it would be insulting to such a brilliant man's memory to just go ahead and capitalize on a dead man's B sides, which were unpublished for reasons. So if his estate deemed it was ok, then Shel probably wanted these snippits to improve, but ultimately his wish was for this art to make it to the public.

In any case, reading through this posthumous tome, I feel almost that Shel knew his end was coming, and had a sense of the weight his writings would have on so many people. The book feels more like it applies to my life now as a 20-something than even his children's books did when I was a child. To me it seems that Shel understood he was more than just a children's author, but that he himself was a writer for our generation. Admittedly, I am being a bit presumptous about his importance, but that is only because I only know what it is like to have him as such a huge influence. Nevertheless, when reading the collection, it feels like it wasn't written with children in mind, but how Mr. Silverstein envisioned those children he was writing for would grow up to be, the things they would need to hear, or the feelings they would need reminded of.

Generations X and Baby Boomers both had one Dr. Suess, another beloved author who not only had a unique poetic flavor, but also very unique illustrations and huge impact on a countless number of lives. It is well known that Seuss did write for all ages, his topics were very controversial, but also humbling, or just plain silly. His writing was ear marked, and a lot of posthumous material has fabricated over the decades since. And his material speaks to the generation he wrote for when he was just in it for the kids.

So please don't ever forget those that were able to move you as a child, teen, adult, or whenever. As artists, they understand the scope of what they are accomplishing, and hope that they can deliver it in the safest and clever manner available to them. So even in his death, Mr. Silverstein has been able to remind me of what it is in life that sometimes I forget, or need and want. And he is able to do this with just a few lines of silly, simple, lyrics.

I tip my hat to you, whatever plane you may be roaming Shel.