Shel Silverstein Quotes

“Freedom Entitles You To Do Something”

Silverstein once said “If you want to find out what a writer or a cartoonist feels, look at his work. That’s enough.”("Shel Silverstein Quotes", 2010, p. 1). This quotes describes Silverstein because he developed a style of writing unique to himself. Silverstein explored a variety of writing genres throughout his lifetime. Another way that Silverstein contributed was that in his writings he taught children themes that would help them in their adult life. Shel Silverstein was a poet who became successful because he created a different type of writing that was unique to himself.

Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois("Shel Silverstein Biography", p. 1) . Silverstein was influenced to
1). Silverstein then became a cartoonist for Stars and Stripes magazine("Shel Silverstein Biography", p. 1). Then in 1952, Silverstein launched his career in writing when he started writing and drawing cartoons in the Playboy magazines("Shel Silverstein Biography", 2001, p. 1). Silverstein began writing poems when his book editor, Ursula Nordstrom persuaded him to do so. Silverstein’s work is usually meant for younger children, and isn’t very deep. The repeated images and themes have their own styles. Silverstein made contributions to literature when he developed his own style of writing that no one else had.

In Shel Silverstein’s poem “People Zoo”, he shows a flipped reality in which people are caged in zoos instead of animals. The poem was written from the viewpoint of a child that got locked up in the People Zoo, and is mocked by the animals while he is in his cage. At the end of the poem, the child tells anyone who visits to act like an animal or they will get thrown in too. Silverstein uses rhyme throughout the poem, for example
“I got grabbed by the elk and the caribou.
They tied me up with vine