Sheldon Alan "Shel" Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American poet, songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He sometimes styled himself as Uncle Shelby especially for his early children's books.
Silverstein confirmed he never studied the poetry of others, and therefore developed his own style: laid-back and conversational, occasionally employing profanity, and slang.
Silverstein was already writing by the time he served in the U.S. army. Silverstein was stationed in Japan and Korea in the 1950s, and during his tour, he worked as cartoonist for the Pacific military newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
He is most commonly known for writing and illustrating his children's literature including The Missing Piece, A Light In The Attic, Lafcadio, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, The Giving Tree, A Giraffe and a Half, and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. For adults he wrote Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book, a satirical mock children's book, and created Different Dances, a coffee table book of wordless, adult-themed cartoons. He continued to write colloquial poetry on occasion throughout his life, including a beatnik-hipster version of Shakespeare's Hamlet in Playboy magazine in 1998. He also co-wrote the screenplay Things Change with David Mamet.
In 2005, Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook, was published posthumously. As the title suggests, every poem and illustration in the book consists of spoonerisms. In an NPR interview, Mitch Myers, Shel Silverstein's nephew, who wrote the liner notes for a "Best of Shel Silverstein" CD and helped compile the new collection of poems, said, "I think he wasn't sure about how it would be received. It is and was very different. And it's not easy, even for adults to read. I think, actually, younger children have a better time at it because they're not so preconceived in their notions of how words work. And the playfulness of it really comes across." Silverstein said "I did not have any inspirations, my talent formed, because that was what I loved to do....(and forever will)", "Many kids should know their talents form in their heart and soul."
