Interesting facts about shel silverstein

Shel Silverstein

American poet, cartoonist, writer, and songwriter (1930–1999)

Shel Silverstein

Silverstein c. 1964 as featured on the back cover of The Giving Tree

BornSheldon Allan Silverstein
(1930-09-25)September 25, 1930
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMay 10, 1999(1999-05-10) (aged 68)
Key West, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeWestlawn Cemetery, Norridge, Illinois, U.S.
Pen nameUncle Shelby
Occupation
  • Author
  • poet
  • cartoonist
  • songwriter
  • playwright
Genre
Children2
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1949–1955
Battles / warsKorean War

Sheldon Allan Silverstein (;[1] September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into the United States Army. During his rise to prominence in the 1950s, his illustrations were published in various newspapers and magazines, including the adul

Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein was born on September 25, 1930, in Chicago and began writing and drawing at a young age. 

Silverstein is best known as the author of iconic books of prose and poetry for young readers. His works include such modern classics as A Light in the Attic (HarperCollins, 1981), recipient of the School Library Journal Best Books Award in 1982; Where the Sidewalk Ends (Harper & Row, 1974), a 1974 Michigan Young Readers Award winner; and The Giving Tree (Harper & Row, 1964). Runny Babbit (HarperCollins, 2005), a posthumous poetry collection of spoonerisms, was conceived and completed before his death.

A cartoonist, playwright, poet, performer, and recording artist, Silverstein was also a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriter. His books, which he also illustrated, are characterized by a deft mixing of the sly and the serious, the macabre and the silly. His unique imagination and bold brand of humor is beloved by countless adults and children throughout the world.

Silverstein died

Shel Silverstein

(1930-1999)

Who Was Shel Silverstein?

Shel Silverstein studied music and established himself as a musician and composer, writing songs including “A Boy Named Sue,” popularized by Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn’s “One’s on the Way.” Silverstein also wrote children’s literature, including The Giving Tree and the poetry collection A Light in the Attic.

Early Career

Born in Chicago, Illinois on September 25, 1930, Shel Silverstein enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950 and served in Korea and Japan, becoming a cartoonist for Stars & Stripes magazine. After his stint in the Army was up, he soon began drawing cartoons for magazines such as Look and Sports Illustrated, but it was his work for Playboy magazine that began garnering Silverstein national recognition. Silverstein's cartoons appeared in every issue of Playboy, riding the high-point of its popularity, from 1957 through the mid-1970s.

While at Playboy in the 1950s, Silverstein also began exploring other areas of creativity, including writing and music, and he contributed poems to the mag

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