Speaking on the PBS “Newshour” program he said: Some fifty poetry collections have been published and, in recognition of this, in 2006, he was named the Poetry Foundation’s first Children’s Poet Laureate.

A Gopher in the Garden and Other Animal Poems appeared in 1964 and it so impressed Ms Hirshman that she stuck with him until the end of her editing career, thirty seven years later.įor someone who had no interest in poetry at an early age Jack has certainly been prolific in his output over the years. The publisher Susan Hirshman loved his words more than his drawings and a book was commissioned. He met the up and coming singer Bob Dylan and the two struck up a friendship to go with their mutual appreciation of each other’s singing talent.Īlthough he had done nothing to exploit his artistic talents to any great degree he was encouraged to contact a publisher when friends noticed that Jack was very good at drawing imaginary animals and putting a few lines of verse alongside them. Life drifted along fairly aimlessly – working in a store that sold books in Greenwich Village, singing in coffee houses, but it was during the latter that he had a stroke of luck. Two more years of college study followed but still there was no leaning towards writing and he followed this up with odd jobs such as cab driving and selling stuff door-to-door. He did, however, display some talent for music and developed a good singing voice at The High School of Music & Art, graduating from there in 1958. Poetry bored him but that may have had a lot to do with a lack of enthusiasm for the subject from his teachers.

He had no inkling during his school days that he would grow up to be a successful children’s poet and seemed to have received little encouragement to do so at that time. Born in New York in 1940, Jack Prelutsky describes himself as a sensitive kid who had a bit of a rough time growing up in a poor neighbourhood.

Nightmares by jack prelutsky