"If you are a dreamer, come in." This line had an immediate and intense effect on me when I first read it at eight years old. It's the first line of "Invitation," the first poem in Shel Silverstein's wonderful book of poems for children, Where the Sidewalk Ends. I'd been given the book for Christmas, and encountering its humorous, imaginative, magically anarchic poems and drawings was like stumbling upon a magic spring and realizing I'd been thirsty all my life. I felt that invitation had been written with me in mind. Silverstein had created in the pages of his book a meeting place for people like me - people who felt the largeness and gorgeousness and scariness and absurdity of the world on their skin and in their bellies; people who knew that rhymes and jokes, riddles and fairy stories were spells of transformation and doorways into joyous mystery. In other words, it was a book for children, by a grownup who still knew the language.
Some of Shel Silverstein's lines have stayed with me long after childhood, and they still delight. I'm going to re-read Where the Sidewalk Ends this week, and if you want to immerse yourself in a hilarious and enchanting world, I recommend you do the same.
You can read the full (yet quite short) text of "Invitation" here: http://www.lverose.com/littleones/order/poem.htm
Do you have a book from your childhood to recommend?
Enjoying your blog, Mandy. Can I somehow be automatically alerted to new posts? I'm a dreamer after all...
ReplyDeleteWell supposedly you can subscribe somehow the subscribe gadget on the right side of the page, but I don't know how that works. I could just tag you when I post to FB, and would be happy to do so. I'm glad you are enjoying the blog. If you want to be a guest writer some time, let me know -- subject can be anything really.
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