Few writers of the twentieth century have made nearly the same impact on the literary society than Sheldon Allan Silverstein. His writing encompasses a broad range of styles, from adult to children’s, comical to unusual. One of his most common styles was that of fantasy: actions and events that cannot logically happen. This style was evident in his works, the Loser, Thumb Face, Warning, Squishy Touch, and Skin Stealer. Through the description of these absurd circumstances, Silverstein was able to entertain readers of all ages.
	In Sely Friday’s reference to a biography, Shel Silverstein was quoted as saying, " . . . 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. Luckily, the girls didn't want me; not much I could do about that. So, I started to draw and to write." Because of his rejection by some of his peers, he found his own hobby: entertaining others. During the 1950’s, Silverstein even served as a member of the United States Armed Forces. While in this position, he was employed as a cartoonist to help cheer up the troops during the Korean War. In 1956, the writer worked again as a cartoonist, but this time for a little-known magazine called Playboy. Despite this wide range of literary audiences, Silverstein’s main purpose was to entertain.
	Two of his major collections of works of literature are the critically acclaimed Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. They have no real historic significance; they were written to entertain. These two books contain some of Silverstein’s most accredited work. Since the books are children’s literature, not many critics have taken the time to review the works. However, Shel Silverstein Book Reviews reference to a review of Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic said, "Despite such moments of banality, and there aren't many, Mr. Silverstein's work remains a must for lovers of good verse for children. Quite like nobody else, he is still a master of delectable outrage and the ‘proprietor’ of a surprisingly finely tuned sensibility." In other words, there were some ordinary poems in this book, but for the most part, Silverstein reaffirmed his status as an excellent writer for children with the use of both absurdity and deep feeling.
	Silverstein’s the Loser, presented in...
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...yboy, he was able to touch the lives of many adults. However, more noticeably, his work affected the lives of countless children through his two collections of poetry, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. Of the broad range of styles his work consisted, one of the most notable was the use of fantasy. In each of his poems, the Loser, Thumb Face, Warning, Squishy Touch, and Skin Stealer, Silverstein presented an illogical situation, but made it entertaining to the reader by using end rhyme, creating an amusing story, and including a vivid picture. His writing ability made his poems enjoyable for both children and adults and will continue to delight his readers for years to come.
Works Cited
Friday, Sely. "Biography." Shel Silverstein Collected Information. 1999. http://195.114.233.19/Silverstein/bio.html (25 Oct. 1999).
(Author unknown). "Shel Silverstein Book Reviews." Shel Silverstein’s Adult Works. 1999. http://www.banned-width.com/shel/misc/breviews.html (25 Oct. 1999).
Silverstein, Shel (1974). Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper and Row.
Silverstein, Shel (1981). A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper and Row.
There are many writers that write poems and books with the same styles. This essay will compare the styles of Greasy Lake by T. Coraghessan Boyle and the fictional Pet Fly by Walter Mosley.
hooks, bell. "Seduction and Betrayal." Writing as Re-Vision: A Student's Anthology. Ed. Beth Alvarado and Barbara Cully. Needham Heights: Simon & Schuster Custom Publishing, 1998. 108-111.
Wershoven, Carol. "Insatiable Girls." Child Brides and Intruders. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993. 92-99. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
Mother Night. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1963. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slapstick. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1976.
As a child, Ray Bradbury loved to read fantasy novels. Inspired by his favorite writers, he longed to become a fantasy writer himself. Bradbury lived during the Great Depression with very little money, therefore he could not put himself through school. Instead, Bradbury went to the library every other day for ten years. During this time, he realized that he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. To get money, Bradbury started publishing his works in a newspaper. Because he wanted practice, he used several pseudonyms to make it look like he had several authors publishing their stories in his newspaper, but in fact, it was written entirely by Bradbury himself. “Bradbury uses [his] stories not only to entertain, but to cause readers to think about their own lives” (Clark, Tracy). He focused more on the message of his story than the popularity of it. “When ask...
John Cheever was a mastermind of irony, drama, and depth. Cheever was able to create stories that not only entertained readers but also made them think. He has received numerous awards for his writing and is considered one of the greatest American writers in history. Cheever wrote stories that drew from his life experiences. He accurately depicted life in the suburbs during the 1960s through his tales of folly and scandal. Cheever’s writing extended beyond just that of short stories, and he had several successful novels. Although he was not always well received by critics, his writing was some of the best of the time. Cheever’s death in 1982 signified the death of a great chapter in the history of American literature.
All of these are components of J. D. Salinger’s writing style. While the tone of The Catcher in the Rye may suggest a lighthearted, entertainment centered novel, the work is, in actuality, a deep study of human emotion and sympathy, as well as a dark portrait of the wickedness in the world.
Beacham, W. (Ed.). (1986). Beacham’s Popular Fiction In America, Volume 3. Washington DC: Beacham Publishing.
Parini, Jay ed. American Writers, Supplement V. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons - The Gale Group. 2000. 275-93.
Macnee, Marie J. “Ray Bradbury.” Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Writers. Eds. Martin H. Greenburg and Joseph D. Olander. Vol. 1. New York: Gale Research Inc., 1995. 58. Print.
...ew York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 109-124. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
Brown, Rosellen. “Honey Child.” Women’s Review of Books. Vol. 19. No. 7. Philadelphia: Old City Publishing. 2002. 11. Print.
Not much is known about Shel Silverstein’s personal life because he very rarely gave interviews or spoke in public. Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the US Forces in Korea and Japan in the early 1950s. While in the military he was an artist for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. After he arrived home, he became a photographer, writer, and cartoonist for Playboy magazine. He was also a song writer. He wrote hit songs for Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Bobby Bare. In 2002, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also produced a few films and wrote screenplays. Though never honored for his technical aspects of his poems, he is considered one of America’s greatest poets.
Heller, Joseph. The Chelsea House Library of Literary Criticism. Twentieth-Century American Literature Vol. 3. New York. Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.