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| Maurice Sendak, 1928-2012 Photo: Joyce Dopkeen/NY Times |
Prior to his passing, I knew what most people know about Sendak - that he authored the children's classic, Where The Wild Things Are, and that he was a legendary curmudgeon.
Media outlets offered abundant coverage of Sendak's life and death today, and NPR re-ran a series of interviews Sendak did over the last twenty years with Terry Gross on Fresh Air. I had the incredibly good fortune of hearing those interviews, and I've linked the highlights here for you.
Sendak, the author/illustrator of numerous children's titles, fathered no kids himself, and never wished he had.
He also hated bookstore events, because as parents shoved their unknowing children forward to his signing table, his presence as a stranger sometimes frightened the kids.
Sendak presented himself as a tough growly man, who didn't gladly suffer fools, or people in general given the choice, but underneath his abrasive exterior, he sheltered a scarred but tender heart.
That's some of what I learned today about Maurice Sendak. Here are five other salient details of the author's life that surprised me.
