A Decade of Studying Sendak

Signpost in a practice of appreciation for an artist who consistently delights me.

A watchful eye and knowing mind will probably notice that the title of my newsletter comes from a line in Where the Wild Things Are, which is my favorite picture book of all time. We just recently came upon the 10-year-anniversary of the day Maurice Sendak passed away to the outside over there. On that day (May 8, 2012) I was changed and affected profoundly by his final interview on NPR, when he proclaimed his love for the world and his fascination with otherworldly mysteries that ignited his storytelling. That morning began a trajectory for my own devotion to spending the rest of my days "putting books together," as he so humbly put it.

I listened to it again to mark the occasion, and it still brought tears to my eyes. It’s hard to put into words what these 19 minutes mean to me, and how they affected me.

Listen here.

Since that day I’ve been collecting copies of his books (often with the help of friend and fellow book collector Kurtis Findlay who texts me when he finds one) at used book stores, library sales, thrift shops, or wherever I come across them (as of this post, 33 titles so far).

I giggled like a schoolboy when I found this one in Calgary, for instance.

ken.a.priebe

A post shared by Ken Priebe (@ken.a.priebe)

I’m drawn to him in a way I can’t really explain, and studying his work has become a delightful pastime and mission for inspiration.

For a deeper dive, I’ve written a couple of pieces for The Rabbit Room which pay tribute to his work, which can be found here:

Outside Over There: A Window into the World of Maurice Sendak

Habitations and Names at Hutchmoot