Shel Silverstein Biography & Tribute

The Shel Silverstein biography starts on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. Shel (also known as Uncle Shelby) was born on that day. He was a composer, an artist, and the author of numerous books of prose and poetry for younger readers.

Silverstein claimed he never studied the poetry of others, and therefore developed his own style. He also believed that written works needed to be read on paper, and with the correct paper for the work. He usually would not allow his poems or stories to be published unless he could choose the type, size, shape, and color of the paper himself. Being himself a book collector, he took the feel and look - the paper, the type, the binding - of his titles very seriously.

He did not allow his books to be published in paperback, but this doesn't seem to have affected his popularity: his books sold more than 14 million copies. He died in May of 1999.

His immensely popular poetry collections include Where the Sidewalk Ends, which received a Michigan Young Readers Award in 1974, A Light in the Attic, which received a School Library Journal Best Books Award in 1982, and, most recently, Falling Up (HarperCollins, 1996).

You can purchase these books at a discount by visiting our Poetry Shoppe.

You can hear the audio version by my own tribute to Uncle Shel by clicking the play button below. I hope you enjoyed reading this Shel Silverstein biography.

-Bill Buczinsky