The Legacy of Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein is highly regarded as one of the best poets and authors of the 20th century. As a child, Silverstein had no poetic role model, hence he created his own form of writing; Free Verse. Although, he had no basic knowledge of poetry and his foundation was based purely on free verse, he later quickly became an outstanding poet and even a song composer. “Silverstein grew up in Chicago, and began writing and drawing at a young age” (poets.org). During his military career, Mr. Silverstein began making cartoons for the military’s magazine: Stars and stripes. Later on his early life, Shel Silverstein began to work for Playboy, where his poetry career started to blossom (Shel Silverstein: Biography). Mr. Silverstein made many poems and then was introduced to children’s writing. Here Silverstein’s popularity grew and became well recognized. The Giving Tree was an outstanding innovation of his and is still one of the best books to this day (Biography Channel). His creativity didn’t stop there, he began to compose songs. One exquisite song of Shel Silverstein is The Boy Named Sue. Silverstein even got Johnny Cash to sing it (Shel Silverstein: Biography). Even to an old age, Shel Silverstein continued to write poems and songs; increasing his popularity. Since Shel Silverstein was was a master of free verse, he made poems that equated to most people and became a favorite poet to America and to the World. Though a master of free verse, Silverstein’s diverse talents are evident is his expertise in writing poems, such as the poem, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”

The poignant book known as The Giving Tree, is loved by many people of all ages. “Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois and began writing and drawing a...

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8.Silverstein, Shel. "Where the Sidewalk Ends." Where the Sidewalk Ends. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

9.Silverstein, Shel. "Sick." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

10.Silverstein, Shel. "Mr. Grumpledump's Song." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

11.Silverstein, Shel. "Ticklish Tom." Ticklish Tom. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.

12."Using Shel Silverstein in the Classroom: "I Must Remember," From "Where The Sidewalk Ends."" Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014

13."Using Books and Poems to Teach Personification." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

14.Shmoop Editorial Team. "Where the Sidewalk Ends." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.

15."TEACHERS." Scholastic Teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.