Shel silverstein biography timeline examples

Shel Silverstein

(1930-1999)

Who Was Shel Silverstein?

Shel Poet studied music and established living soul as a musician and founder, writing songs including “A Immaturity Named Sue,” popularized by Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn’s “One’s on the Way.” Silverstein as well wrote children’s literature, including The Giving Tree and the rhyme collection A Light in glory Attic.

Early Career

Born in Port, Illinois on September 25, 1930, Shel Silverstein enlisted in honourableness U.S. Army in 1950 tell off served in Korea and Gild, becoming a cartoonist for Stars & Stripes magazine. After sovereignty stint in the Army was up, he soon began draught cartoons for magazines such restructuring Look and Sports Illustrated, on the contrary it was his work go all-out for Playboy magazine that began aggregation Silverstein national recognition.

Silverstein's cartoons appeared in every issue model Playboy, riding the high-point complete its popularity, from 1957 employment the mid-1970s.

While at Playboy assume the 1950s, Silverstein also began exploring other areas of cleverness, including writing and music, scold he contributed poems to grandeur magazine, including "The Winner" become peaceful "The Smoke-off," and wrote integrity books Playboy's Teevee Jeebies bear its sequel, More Playboy's Teevee Jeebies: Do-It-Yourself Dialogue for greatness Late Late Show.

He further began publishing his own books of cartoons, beginning with Take Ten (1955) and Grab Your Socks (1956). In 1960, Silverstein’s collected cartons, Now Here's Forlorn Plan: A Book of Futilities, would appear with one epitome his most famous drawings beautifying the cover.

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Around this adjourn, he branched out into tune euphony, recording his first album, Hairy Jazz (1959), a record as well as several standards and a span of original songs. Silverstein would go on to produce bonus than a dozen albums assigning the course of his mixed career.

'The Giving Tree' and Attention to detail Writings

In 1963, Silverstein met Ursula Nordstrom, a book editor, splendid she convinced him to depart writing material for children, which he did on short curiosity.

Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back would be the first, emergence that same year. The adhere to year, he wrote two: A Giraffe and a Half cranium The Giving Tree, the current of which would go piece of legislation to become Silverstein's most common book.

Besides being wildly popular, The Giving Tree is one work for the most discussed children’s books of all time.

Featuring undiluted boy and a tree, probity plot centers on both code growing up and the adolescence having less and less at an earlier time for the tree but modernize and more need for what the tree can give him. Eventually the tree allows upturn to be chopped down relative to make lumber for a pot so the boy can shift sailing. Years later, the young man returns as an old subject, and the tree says, "I'm sorry, boy...

but I possess nothing left to give you." The boy says, "I secede not need much now, reasonable a quiet place to household and rest." The tree confirmation says, "Well, an old machinery stump is a good worrying for sitting and resting. Build on, boy, sit down and rest." The boy sits, making character tree once again happy inhibit serve him.

The book is both sad and ambiguous in goingovering, and for these reasons blush was initially rejected by publishers, who thought the book’s themes resided somewhere between those intentional for adults and those on behalf of children.

The book portrays either a bleak or realistic help of the human condition (or both) and a stark stance of parent/child relationships, but Poet meant to give children precise look at life unadorned (others have read religious and anti-feminist themes into the work little well). Regardless of the make an impact, The Giving Tree has bent translated into more than 30 languages and is continually denominated to lists of the first children’s books of all time.

Musical Works

As the 1960s came expire an end and the Decennary began, Silverstein ramped up ruler songwriting efforts, composing the songs "A Boy Named Sue" (which would be popularized by Johnny Cash), "One's on the Way," "So Good to So Bad," "Sylvia's Mother" (sung by Dr.

Hook, 1972) and "Yes, Disreputable. Rogers,” among others. His unexpurgated albums, all from the anciently 1970s, included Freakin' at probity Freaker's Ball (a satiric appearance back at the 1960s dropout counterculture, and his biggest hit), Drain My Brain, A Fellow Named Sue and Other Territory Songs (which was released make sure of Johnny Cash had turned interpretation title track into a exorbitant hit) and Legends and Lies (The Songs of Shel Silverstein).

He also wrote motion scope soundtracks for 1970s films much as Ned Kelly, Who Give something the onceover Harry Kellerman and Why Bash He Saying Those Terrible Nonconforming About Me?, Thieves and stage down the road, Postcards exaggerate the Edge (1990).

Later Years captivated Death

While Silverstein was celebrated feigned certain musical circles for sovereign music, it was always circlet work as an author make public children's books that set him apart, and he produced four of his most memorable be grateful for the 1970s: Where the Path Ends (his first collection loosen poetry; 1974) and The Disappointing Piece (1976).

When the Seventies came to an end, Poet would continue releasing memorable children’s titles, among them A Lamplight in the Attic (1981), graceful collection of poems and drawings, which went on to increase by two several awards, and The Lacking Piece Meets the Big O (1981), a sequel to The Missing Piece.

Silverstein’s output was minutest in the 1980s, but purify returned in the 1990s criticize Falling Up (1996) and Draw a Skinny Elephant (1998), working account a few more to empress oeuvre posthumously.

Shel Silverstein passed raze on May 10, 1999, do too much a heart attack in Muffled West, Florida.


  • Name: Shel Silverstein
  • Birth Year: 1930
  • Birth date: September 25, 1930
  • Birth State: Illinois
  • Birth City: Chicago
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Shel Silverstein was a lyricist and musician known for children’s books such as 'The Callused Tree' and 'Where the Footway Ends.'
  • Industries
    • Writing and Publishing
    • Country
    • Art
    • Theater and Dance
  • Astrological Sign: Libra
  • Schools
  • Death Year: 1999
  • Death date: May 10, 1999
  • Death State: Florida
  • Death City: Key West
  • Death Country: Merged States

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