{"id":5462,"date":"2013-11-26T22:12:34","date_gmt":"2013-11-27T06:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/?p=5462"},"modified":"2015-08-05T22:41:44","modified_gmt":"2015-08-06T06:41:44","slug":"were-some-of-shel-silversteins-poems-for-where-the-sidewalk-ends-and-a-light-in-the-attic-originally-published-in-playboy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2013\/11\/26\/were-some-of-shel-silversteins-poems-for-where-the-sidewalk-ends-and-a-light-in-the-attic-originally-published-in-playboy\/","title":{"rendered":"Were Some of Shel Silverstein’s Poems for Children Originally Published in Playboy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to poetry and poets and whether they are true or false. Click here<\/a> for an archive of all poetry legends featured so far.<\/p>\n

POETRY URBAN LEGEND<\/span><\/u>: Some of Shel Silverstein’s poems for Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic originally appeared in the pages of Playboy.<\/p>\n

Reader Jeff asked:<\/p>\n

I know that Shel Silverstein, now most famous for his illustrated books of poems for kids, was a songwriter and contributor for Playboy as well. I think I heard a rumor that some of the poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends or A Light in the Attic started out in Playboy, as odd place for a children’s classic to sprout from. Any truth to that?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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As Jeff notes, Silverstein did, indeed, get his start in the entertainment industry working for Playboy.<\/p>\n

While he did not start with the company, he got involved very early on, in 1956, to be precise, when the magazine was not even two years old.<\/p>\n

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A cartoonist, Silverstein first contributed cartoons to the magazine before gradually adding more material, including a popular travelogue series. <\/p>\n

Soon, Silverstein was the second-most popular feature of the magazine – trailing only, well, you know, the naked ladies.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he expanded his work into books.<\/p>\n

His first Playboy-influenced work was 1961’s Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book, an “adult primer.”<\/p>\n

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