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Silverstein and Me: A Memoir
Shel’s fans will question this book. It is a no-holds-barred memoir that may make some laugh out loud, scream, shout, and cry. And it may forever alter one’s view of success. Is this the Silverstein so many have come to know and love? Yes, because it presents his human and humorous side, and goes beyond, into the many hurdles he confronted. Told as a fast-paced narrative, it unveils a spectrum of characters. As a memoir filled with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and insights, it is the first and only close look at the legend and person. Some claim Shel was a genius, a veritable Renaissance Man. Others say he was just another pushy yid. Was he a man of character? Or a caricature of a man he created? Who was the real Shel Silverstein? Very little is known because he was a recluse. At twenty-six he was a flop, at thirty-six a millionaire€”the creator of hundreds of cartoons
208 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 21, 2009
Book Overview
Shel Silverstein was many things—a children's author, a Playboy cartoonist, a songwriter, and a playwright. (He is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, The Giving Tree.) One thing he was not: forthcoming about his personal life. A recluse for most of his adult life, Shel Silverstein did not grant many interviews. And the interviews he did give were often filled with sarcasm, jokes and misinformation. Even the identity of the mother of one of his children is shrouded in mystery. So who is in a position to write about a beloved artist—whose work is known throughout the world but about whom much isn't known about on a personal level? Perhaps a childhood friend who was privy to Shel's early years and maintained a connection throughout his adult life. Enter Marv Gold.
Marv Gold grew up with Shel Silverstein in Chicago and stayed in touch with him throughout his life. They meet in 1935 when Shel is 5 and Marv is 6. They instantly adopt a "big brother-little brother" type relationship—with Marv taking the lead and Shel following along. This pattern starts in grade school and continues through college—with Shel following Marv from school to school.
Eventually, Shel flunks out of one of his four colleges and is drafted into the Army, where he is finally able to pursue his passion for cartooning by drawing for Stars and Stripes. In the mid-1950s, his post-army career is jump-started by a lucky encounter with a young upstart magazine publisher named Hugh Hefner, who signs Shel as one of the first cartoonists for his new magazine Playboy. The relationship between Silverstein and Hefner—which led Shel to live in the Playboy Mansion for several years (when it was in Chicago)—was often contentious but lasted an astounding 40 years.
After cartooning, his next career phase was as children's book author, where he wrote such well-known and loved books as The Light In the Attic, Where The Sidewalk Ends, The Missing Piece, and The Giving Tree. His unique point of view, simple line drawings and ability to create poems that spoke to children made him a giant in the children's book field, which led to numerous awards and acclaim. During this phase of his career, he also recorded children's albums, featuring readings of his poems and songs. This led to the next phase of his career—songwriting.
This was one aspect of Shel Silverstein's career that was a surprise to me. Did you know he wrote the song "A Boy Named Sue" (made famous by Johnny Cash)? Or was responsible for many of Dr. Hook's songs, including "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone"? Or wrote "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"? Or that he was nominated for an Oscar for his song "I'm Checkin' Out" for the movie Postcards from the Edge? Many of his songs seem to have a comedy or novelty aspect to them, but I'm sure you've heard of at least one of them—and I bet you didn't know Shel Silverstein had anything to do with them.
His career came to an end when he was found dead in his home in Key West, where he had lived a reclusive lifestyle for several years. The cause of death was heart failure. He was 67.
My Thoughts
This was a different kind of memoir in that the author was a childhood friend of Shel Silverstein and one of the few to maintain a relationship with him throughout his life. However, it was clear that Mr. Gold and Mr. Silverstein went their separate ways after college. The early parts of the book are more personal and full of details, as this was the phase of Shel Silverstein's life that Marv Gold was actually present for and privy to. The school years in Chicago are filled with lots of little details and stories. Once Shel joins the Army, the book takes on a different tone and becomes more of a biography rather than a memoir. You can tell that the author tried hard to reconstruct Shel's life as best he could based on conversations, letters and interviews, but it was obvious that he was "reconstructing" rather than "recalling."
The book opens with Marv Gold receiving word of his friend's death and his reaction to it, which involves hearing Shel's voice singing to him. He seeks help from a therapist to come to terms with the loss of his friend (though I'm unclear whether this was a literary device for framing the book or if Marv Gold actually did see a therapist) and along the way he remembers the type of person Shel was and how his multi-faceted career developed. At the end of the book, he is able to make peace with his loss and the singing voice stops.
This was one of several areas of this book where I was unsure whether Mr. Gold was trying to be clever or was recounting actual events. The sections where he talks to his therapist are a bit gimmicky and somewhat off-putting. In addition, I found some of the early parts of the book difficult to read because they were written in a choppy almost fragmentary way and often interspersed with song lyrics. An example:
Then it happened—
Sure as hell that same rasping voice was back.
Jeepers, Creepers, Where'd you get them peepers,
Jeepers, Creepers, Where'd you get those—
I sat up and finished the line—"Eyes! Not bad, Mr. Shel. Not great, but not bad. However, as Jolson used to say, "You ain't heard nothin' yet."
Then I belted back my own favorite—
I'm sitting on top, top of the world
Just a-rolling along, just a-rolling along
I'm quitting the blues of the world,
Just a-singing a song, a-singing a song!
A chill wind blew over the shoreline, and I grinned.
He was gone. Silence at last. Where did it all go?
Where did it all begin? Were we in first grade? No, I went to Funston on Central Park, and Shel went to Darwin on Belden. Was it in the old neighborhood? Yes. On California Avenue? Not quite. Logan Square? Yes. How old was I? Maybe six. So Shel must have been five.
But where did it really begin? With our backgrounds? Maybe. We were both Jewish. We both had immigrant Hungarian parents. Lower middle class upbringing. We both had simple, colorless childhoods. We liked to read, draw and write and that was about it.
As the book progressed though, the writing becomes a little more focused and straightforward. And I remember thinking toward the end of the book: "The writing is downright lucid now." In a way, the early parts of the book are like listening to one of your older relatives tell a story—filled with starts and stops, tangents, non-sequiters, details you don't understand, slang that is unfamiliar. Eventually, you start to get into the rhythm of your relative's speech patterns, but it is a bit of work. For these reasons, this book might work better as an audio book rather than as a printed book.
The book is filled with drawings by the author (who also studied cartooning) that serve to illustrate the story. In addition, the book contains a Shel Silverstein FAQ (written by the author) that is fairly straightforward and a bibliography of Shel's personal details, career, artistic works and awards.
My Final Recommendation
This book is part memoir and part biography. The early parts of the book are written in a way that I found off-putting. However, once the narrative picks up some steam and some focus, you begin to get a fuller picture of a multitalented artist. The fact that this artist was a recluse and not much is known about him gives this book more value than if it was a book written about someone who we already knew a lot about or had multiple books documenting their life. If you are interested in Shel Silverstein or love his work and want to know more about the man who created it, this book would be of interest to you. If you want to read an excerpt, visit http://www.magisand.com/silverstein_m.... It will give you a feel for the book's style and includes some of the illustrations.
Shel Silverstein was many things—a children's author, a Playboy cartoonist, a songwriter, and a playwright. (He is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, The Giving Tree.) One thing he was not: forthcoming about his personal life. A recluse for most of his adult life, Shel Silverstein did not grant many interviews. And the interviews he did give were often filled with sarcasm, jokes and misinformation. Even the identity of the mother of one of his children is shrouded in mystery. So who is in a position to write about a beloved artist—whose work is known throughout the world but about whom much isn't known about on a personal level? Perhaps a childhood friend who was privy to Shel's early years and maintained a connection throughout his adult life. Enter Marv Gold.
Marv Gold grew up with Shel Silverstein in Chicago and stayed in touch with him throughout his life. They meet in 1935 when Shel is 5 and Marv is 6. They instantly adopt a "big brother-little brother" type relationship—with Marv taking the lead and Shel following along. This pattern starts in grade school and continues through college—with Shel following Marv from school to school.
Eventually, Shel flunks out of one of his four colleges and is drafted into the Army, where he is finally able to pursue his passion for cartooning by drawing for Stars and Stripes. In the mid-1950s, his post-army career is jump-started by a lucky encounter with a young upstart magazine publisher named Hugh Hefner, who signs Shel as one of the first cartoonists for his new magazine Playboy. The relationship between Silverstein and Hefner—which led Shel to live in the Playboy Mansion for several years (when it was in Chicago)—was often contentious but lasted an astounding 40 years.
After cartooning, his next career phase was as children's book author, where he wrote such well-known and loved books as The Light In the Attic, Where The Sidewalk Ends, The Missing Piece, and The Giving Tree. His unique point of view, simple line drawings and ability to create poems that spoke to children made him a giant in the children's book field, which led to numerous awards and acclaim. During this phase of his career, he also recorded children's albums, featuring readings of his poems and songs. This led to the next phase of his career—songwriting.
This was one aspect of Shel Silverstein's career that was a surprise to me. Did you know he wrote the song "A Boy Named Sue" (made famous by Johnny Cash)? Or was responsible for many of Dr. Hook's songs, including "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone"? Or wrote "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"? Or that he was nominated for an Oscar for his song "I'm Checkin' Out" for the movie Postcards from the Edge? Many of his songs seem to have a comedy or novelty aspect to them, but I'm sure you've heard of at least one of them—and I bet you didn't know Shel Silverstein had anything to do with them.
His career came to an end when he was found dead in his home in Key West, where he had lived a reclusive lifestyle for several years. The cause of death was heart failure. He was 67.
My Thoughts
This was a different kind of memoir in that the author was a childhood friend of Shel Silverstein and one of the few to maintain a relationship with him throughout his life. However, it was clear that Mr. Gold and Mr. Silverstein went their separate ways after college. The early parts of the book are more personal and full of details, as this was the phase of Shel Silverstein's life that Marv Gold was actually present for and privy to. The school years in Chicago are filled with lots of little details and stories. Once Shel joins the Army, the book takes on a different tone and becomes more of a biography rather than a memoir. You can tell that the author tried hard to reconstruct Shel's life as best he could based on conversations, letters and interviews, but it was obvious that he was "reconstructing" rather than "recalling."
The book opens with Marv Gold receiving word of his friend's death and his reaction to it, which involves hearing Shel's voice singing to him. He seeks help from a therapist to come to terms with the loss of his friend (though I'm unclear whether this was a literary device for framing the book or if Marv Gold actually did see a therapist) and along the way he remembers the type of person Shel was and how his multi-faceted career developed. At the end of the book, he is able to make peace with his loss and the singing voice stops.
This was one of several areas of this book where I was unsure whether Mr. Gold was trying to be clever or was recounting actual events. The sections where he talks to his therapist are a bit gimmicky and somewhat off-putting. In addition, I found some of the early parts of the book difficult to read because they were written in a choppy almost fragmentary way and often interspersed with song lyrics. An example:
Then it happened—
Sure as hell that same rasping voice was back.
Jeepers, Creepers, Where'd you get them peepers,
Jeepers, Creepers, Where'd you get those—
I sat up and finished the line—"Eyes! Not bad, Mr. Shel. Not great, but not bad. However, as Jolson used to say, "You ain't heard nothin' yet."
Then I belted back my own favorite—
I'm sitting on top, top of the world
Just a-rolling along, just a-rolling along
I'm quitting the blues of the world,
Just a-singing a song, a-singing a song!
A chill wind blew over the shoreline, and I grinned.
He was gone. Silence at last. Where did it all go?
Where did it all begin? Were we in first grade? No, I went to Funston on Central Park, and Shel went to Darwin on Belden. Was it in the old neighborhood? Yes. On California Avenue? Not quite. Logan Square? Yes. How old was I? Maybe six. So Shel must have been five.
But where did it really begin? With our backgrounds? Maybe. We were both Jewish. We both had immigrant Hungarian parents. Lower middle class upbringing. We both had simple, colorless childhoods. We liked to read, draw and write and that was about it.
As the book progressed though, the writing becomes a little more focused and straightforward. And I remember thinking toward the end of the book: "The writing is downright lucid now." In a way, the early parts of the book are like listening to one of your older relatives tell a story—filled with starts and stops, tangents, non-sequiters, details you don't understand, slang that is unfamiliar. Eventually, you start to get into the rhythm of your relative's speech patterns, but it is a bit of work. For these reasons, this book might work better as an audio book rather than as a printed book.
The book is filled with drawings by the author (who also studied cartooning) that serve to illustrate the story. In addition, the book contains a Shel Silverstein FAQ (written by the author) that is fairly straightforward and a bibliography of Shel's personal details, career, artistic works and awards.
My Final Recommendation
This book is part memoir and part biography. The early parts of the book are written in a way that I found off-putting. However, once the narrative picks up some steam and some focus, you begin to get a fuller picture of a multitalented artist. The fact that this artist was a recluse and not much is known about him gives this book more value than if it was a book written about someone who we already knew a lot about or had multiple books documenting their life. If you are interested in Shel Silverstein or love his work and want to know more about the man who created it, this book would be of interest to you. If you want to read an excerpt, visit http://www.magisand.com/silverstein_m.... It will give you a feel for the book's style and includes some of the illustrations.
August 16, 2012
[This review originally appeared on Andi's Book Reviews.]
Shel Silverstein is best known for his beloved books for children, including Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and The Giving Tree. But did you know that he got his start in the professional world by a young Hugh Hefner, penning cartoons for Playboy magazine from almost the inception of the magazine? Or that he spent two years in overseas jail? Or that the original version of Uncle Shelby's Book of ABZ's was originally intended as a dirty book for adults?
Silverstein & Me: A Memoir, by Silverstein's lifelong friend Marv Gold, provides these "shocking" facts, as well as several other nuggets of information about the reclusive poet and cartoonist. The two met in Chicago, while attending grade school together. They stayed in contact or the rest of Shel's life. And, if you believe the opening story that continues throughout the book, they were still in some sort of contact even after Shel's death. This allows Marv to tell Shel's story in a way that no one else could ever do.
He tells how the two young Jewish boys made trouble in elementary school, and about Shel's childhood introduction to becoming a cartoonist via a correspondence course. He won an award for his work in this course, when he was in high school. Further notoriety was scraped together when he was in the Army, leading him to take his work to Playboy magazine in its infancy. Almost as a joke, Shel then took some of his Playboy pieces, considerably cleaned them up, and became a beloved children's storyteller.
Marv also spends time giving more insight into the private life of the man who preferred to be a recluse. He shares about Shel's love life, family, and offspring, providing a timeline of key events at the end. He also includes a full listing of Silverstein's works.
Those who have a wholesome image of Shel Silverstein are going to be very disappointed by this memoir. Everyone else will enjoy learning of his shenanigans. New rumors may be started, but most of them are laid to rest.
I personally enjoyed learning more about the man, as I was already aware of his more adult persona. I also enjoyed his quotes that headline each chapter. The only aspect of the book that I did not care for was the interspersed bits about Marv hearing Shel's voice and visiting his shrink about it. Those parts seemed too fictional to have a place in a truthful memoir. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Shel Silverstein is best known for his beloved books for children, including Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and The Giving Tree. But did you know that he got his start in the professional world by a young Hugh Hefner, penning cartoons for Playboy magazine from almost the inception of the magazine? Or that he spent two years in overseas jail? Or that the original version of Uncle Shelby's Book of ABZ's was originally intended as a dirty book for adults?
Silverstein & Me: A Memoir, by Silverstein's lifelong friend Marv Gold, provides these "shocking" facts, as well as several other nuggets of information about the reclusive poet and cartoonist. The two met in Chicago, while attending grade school together. They stayed in contact or the rest of Shel's life. And, if you believe the opening story that continues throughout the book, they were still in some sort of contact even after Shel's death. This allows Marv to tell Shel's story in a way that no one else could ever do.
He tells how the two young Jewish boys made trouble in elementary school, and about Shel's childhood introduction to becoming a cartoonist via a correspondence course. He won an award for his work in this course, when he was in high school. Further notoriety was scraped together when he was in the Army, leading him to take his work to Playboy magazine in its infancy. Almost as a joke, Shel then took some of his Playboy pieces, considerably cleaned them up, and became a beloved children's storyteller.
Marv also spends time giving more insight into the private life of the man who preferred to be a recluse. He shares about Shel's love life, family, and offspring, providing a timeline of key events at the end. He also includes a full listing of Silverstein's works.
Those who have a wholesome image of Shel Silverstein are going to be very disappointed by this memoir. Everyone else will enjoy learning of his shenanigans. New rumors may be started, but most of them are laid to rest.
I personally enjoyed learning more about the man, as I was already aware of his more adult persona. I also enjoyed his quotes that headline each chapter. The only aspect of the book that I did not care for was the interspersed bits about Marv hearing Shel's voice and visiting his shrink about it. Those parts seemed too fictional to have a place in a truthful memoir. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 20, 2009
The poetry of Shel Silverstein is a big part of my childhood, so it was with trepidation that I began reading this memoir by a lifelong friend. Sometimes I just don't want to know about people's dark sides. (And, admittedly, sometimes I do.) But this wasn't an expose. Rather, it was a pleasant collection of memories of a guy who was undeniably memorable. Like many people, I was most familiar with Silverstein's children's books, but this tale focuses more on his beginnings, from childhood through college and the start of his 40-year career with Playboy. I enjoyed the little illustrations (Gold was a fellow artist, after all) and anecdotes. Though I wish Silverstein's cartoons, poetry, and lyrics could have been reprinted here when they were referenced, all in all I found this to be a sweet tribute to a talented and unusual man.
February 3, 2010
If you are a fan of Shel Silverstein as poet and children's author, I offer a word of caution. The author, a lifelong friend of Silverstein, focuses mainly on Silverstein's years cartooning and writing for Playboy magazine, and several of Silverstein's sexual experiences are graphically described.
If you are looking to understand more about the reclusive artist that was Shel Silverstein, this book perhaps provides insight into his lonliness, his humor, and his delight in ironies and absurdity.
On the whole, I was disappointed by the graphic nature of the book and wouldn't recommend it, though I did gain a better appreciation for the man's artistic sensibilities and drive to pursue his career on his terms.
If you are looking to understand more about the reclusive artist that was Shel Silverstein, this book perhaps provides insight into his lonliness, his humor, and his delight in ironies and absurdity.
On the whole, I was disappointed by the graphic nature of the book and wouldn't recommend it, though I did gain a better appreciation for the man's artistic sensibilities and drive to pursue his career on his terms.
May 22, 2012
I have loved reading Shel Silverstein's books, so I was intrigued to read this memoir. Marv Gold's recounting of their childhood and how it shaped Shel's life along with the conversational style of the writing was interesting and made it an easy read. I enjoyed learning more about the life of the man who's writings were such a wonderful part of my young life.
June 8, 2010
I am such a huge fan of Silverstein, but I could not get into this book. It was just poorly written, plus nothing truly revealing or fascinating here. I skimmed to the end stopping to fully read a few pages here and there, after reading about the first third of the book. I don't know that I would recommend this to anyone unless they had to read EVERYTHING ever written about Silvestein.
May 7, 2011
This is the author's memoir detailing his relationship with Shel Silverstein. There is nothing truly extraordinary revealed, the book provides some slightly interesting detail to the outline found in the appendix. Not a painful read, but not exactly the most exciting either.
January 3, 2020
A great book about my favorite poet, so many things I didn't know about him and so eloquently written. He created more than 500 cartoons, 600 poems and 800 songs and so much more, what a prolific artist.
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June 11, 2018Read my thoughts over on Reading Rumpus: https://www.readingrumpus.com/2009/10...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews