Poet’s Style
Shel Silverstein said in an interview that children’s books, poetry and song writing appealed to him the most because “I can write a poem in 10 minutes. I like writing songs, I can write songs in 5 or 10 minutes. My concentration seems very short.” He was always thinking and writing. He even wrote on napkins when an idea came to mind. This method of writing seems to contribute to his unique style. Silverstein’s poetry for children is easy to read, simple rhyme schemes, uses a lot of silly vocabulary and is very light hearted and laid back. For example his poem “Betty’s Spaghetti” uses made up words, is silly and would make kids laugh. He usually adds a simple black and white illustration that is amusing and even sometimes morbid. The picture helps to interpret the poem. This is the case in the poem “The Acrobats”. Reading the poem alone can be a little confusing at first but the illustration helps clarify.
Shel Silverstein said in an interview that children’s books, poetry and song writing appealed to him the most because “I can write a poem in 10 minutes. I like writing songs, I can write songs in 5 or 10 minutes. My concentration seems very short.” He was always thinking and writing. He even wrote on napkins when an idea came to mind. This method of writing seems to contribute to his unique style. Silverstein’s poetry for children is easy to read, simple rhyme schemes, uses a lot of silly vocabulary and is very light hearted and laid back. For example his poem “Betty’s Spaghetti” uses made up words, is silly and would make kids laugh. He usually adds a simple black and white illustration that is amusing and even sometimes morbid. The picture helps to interpret the poem. This is the case in the poem “The Acrobats”. Reading the poem alone can be a little confusing at first but the illustration helps clarify.