Editing Shel Silverstein (section)

==Views on his own writing==
[[Ursula Nordstrom]], Silverstein's editor at Harper & Row, encouraged Silverstein to write children's poetry. Silverstein said that he had never studied the poetry of others and had therefore developed his own quirky style, laid back and conversational, occasionally employing profanity and slang. In an interview with ''Publishers Weekly'' in 1975, he was asked how he came to do children's books:

<blockquote>"I didn't," Shel said, "I never planned to write or draw for kids. It was [[Tomi Ungerer]], a friend of mine, who insisted—practically dragged me, kicking and screaming, into Ursula Nordstrom's office. And she convinced me that Tomi was right; I could do children's books." The relationship between Ursula Nordstrom and Shel Silverstein is mutually rewarding. He considers her a superb editor who knows when to leave an author-illustrator alone. Asked if he would change something he had produced on an editor's say-so, he answered with a flat "No." But he added: "Oh, I will take a suggestion for revision. I do eliminate certain things when I'm writing for children if I think only an adult will get the idea. Then I drop it, or save it. But editors messing with content? No." Had he been surprised by the astronomical record of ''[[The Giving Tree]]'', his biggest seller to date and one of the most successful children's books in years? Another emphatic no. "What I do is good," he said. "I wouldn't let it out if I didn't think it was." But ''The Giving Tree'', which has been selling steadily since it appeared almost 10 years ago and has been translated into French, is not his own favorite among his books. "I like ''Uncle Shelby's ABZ'', ''A Giraffe and a Half'', and ''Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back''—I think I like that one the most."<ref name=pw/><ref>{{Cite web |title=WorldCat |url=http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79-45309 |access-date=February 27, 2013 |publisher=WorldCat}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Otto Penzler]], in his crime anthology ''Murder for Revenge'' (1998), commented on Silverstein's versatility:

{{blockquote|The phrase "[[Renaissance man]]" tends to get overused these days, but apply it to Shel Silverstein and it practically begins to seem inadequate. Not only has he produced with seeming ease country music hits and popular songs, but he's been equally successful at turning his hand to poetry, short stories, plays, and children's books. Moreover, his whimsically hip fables, beloved by readers of all ages, have made him a stalwart of bestseller lists. ''A Light in the Attic'', most remarkably, showed the kind of staying power on the ''New York Times'' chart—two years, to be precise—that most of the biggest names (John Grisham, Stephen King and Michael Crichton) have never equaled with their blockbusters. His unmistakable illustrative style is another crucial element to his appeal. Just as no writer sounds like Shel, no other artist's vision is as delightfully, sophisticatingly cockeyed. One can only marvel that he makes the time to respond so kindly to his friends' requests. In the following work, let's be glad he did. Drawing on his characteristic passion for list making, he shows how the deed is not just in the wish but in the sublimation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Penzler |first=Otto |title=Murder for Revenge |year=1998 |author-link=Otto Penzler}}</ref>}}

This anthology was the second in a series, which also included ''Murder for Love'' (1996) and ''Murder and Obsession'' (1999). All three anthologies included Silverstein contributions. He did not really care to conform to any sort of norm, but he did want to leave his mark for others to be inspired by, as he told ''Publishers Weekly'':

<blockquote>I would hope that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with in my books, pick up one and experience a personal sense of discovery. That's great. I think that if you're a creative person, you should just go about your business, do your work and not care about how it's received. I never read reviews because if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones too. Not that I don't care about success. I do, but only because it lets me do what I want. I was always prepared for success but that means that I have to be prepared for failure too. I have an ego, I have ideas, I want to be articulate, to communicate but in my own way. People who say they create only for themselves and don't care if they are published... I hate to hear talk like that. If it's good, it's too good not to share. That's the way I feel about my work. So I'll keep on communicating, but only my way. Lots of things I won't do. I won't go on television because who am I talking to? [[Johnny Carson]]? The camera? Twenty million people I can't see? Uh-uh. And I won't give any more interviews.<ref name="pw" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Joseph Thomas |date=October 11, 2013 |title=My Shel Silverstein biography can't quote Shel Silverstein. Why? |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/10/my_shel_silverstein_biography_can_t_quote_shel_silverstein_why.html |website=Slate}}</ref></blockquote>