Maurice Sendak on The Colbert Report
January 28, 2012 7 Comments
Was Maurice Sendak’s appearance on the Colbert Report the highlight of the week?
Image via Wikipedia
I remember loving it as a child when authors did not talk down to me. I could handle the nudity in Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen or the gruesomeness of the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales, even if the grown-ups couldn’t.
Image via Wikipedia
I didn’t want to wallow in it, but I wanted to explore and understand the world, and books helped me do that. I fear that kids who grow up in a sanitized existence are going to find it that much harder to deal with the so-called real world.
I would have loved (and still do) to hear the Great Man himself say
I don’t write for children. I write and somebody says “that’s for children.” I didn’t set out to make children happy or make life better for them or easier for them. I like them as few and far between as I like adults. Maybe a bit more because I really don’t like adults adults.
The best quote of the interview may be:
Newt Gingrich is an idiot of great renown… There is something so hopelessly gross and vile about him that it’s hard to take him seriously so let’s not take him seriously.
Although there are a few other contenders, such as…
Who’s Vin Diesel?
…and, when Colbert asks Sendak if he believes in the free market…
No.
From part two of the interview, I appreciate Sendak saying:
Everything by Seuss is good.
…and you’ll just have to watch to see what prompts him to utter the sentence…
That pulled a song out of me, right out of my nose.
The man makes me want to rumpus.
Update on 1/28: Motley News has turned Sendak’s quote about Gingrich into a beautiful poster.
About Matthew
Cannot wait to see Colbert’s children’s book!
I haven’t done a search, but wouldn’t be surprised if some enterprising fan hadn’t already started writing it for him.
I am in love with everything about this post.
Thank you, Princess of Cookies! I’m going to have a cookie (or two or three) in your honor.
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saw both of these videos…totally made my week. great stuff!
Reblogged this on polentical and commented:
Maurice Sendak was a major figure in my household growing up, in part due to my brother, who worshiped the man. When Sendak appeared on The Colbert Report, it was a joyful moment for me. One of my favorite authors and an icon of imagination, playing around with one of my favorite satirists. I think it was a testament to the force of the man that he came across so clearly in these segments. It’s a force that will be sorely missed. There is no replacement.