Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein, although being a nationally known poet and a popular children's book writer, has been somewhat betrayed by his target audience. The kids that grow up on his books, like I did, forget about him when it comes time to delve into poetry on a deeper level later in life. Perhaps Silverstein is not the most underrated poet of all time, but I do think that we deserve another reminder about Silverstein's poetry and its impact. 

Silverstein's first poetry collection, Where the Sidewalk Ends, was a book that was read to me when I was a child learning to read. Its irreverent and darkly funny poetry shaped how I think about poetry today. For instance, here's The Edge of the World by Shel Silverstein: 

The Edge of the World is a great example of Silverstein's poetry. It appeals to kids beyond just the form of the poem, although the rhyme scheme seems to be a modified limerick in both form and topic matter and is very appealing to say out loud, as lots of his poetry is meant to be read to small children. But beyond just the rhymes, the subject of the poem is about something that parents and other adult figures have claimed to be true, but is actually a lie that only the children know about. Lots of Silverstein's poetry is meant to appeal to kids by directly addressing them, or, feeding on a sense of independence and opinion that differs from those given to children by authority figures. No matter how silly or downright incorrect the facts that Silverstein provides are, his poems are some of the first poems that kids like me are introduced to. And in this way, these poems that tell you to think about commonly known pieces of information from a new perspective are some kids' first introduction to critical thinking in the form of poetry. Silverstein's poetry is a great way of looking through the mind of a child, but with a more mature lense.