Letter #1: To Shel Silverstein from Beth Spencer

"The stars have lost their shimmer"

Welcome to the very first installment of Letters to Dead Authors & Artists! I’m Kelcey Ervick, the curator of the site, and I’m so glad you’re here. I hope you enjoy this playful, poignant, and poetic letter from Beth Spencer to the singular Shel Silverstein.

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Read along with Beth Spencer

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About Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein wrote and illustrated A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and The Giving Tree. His combination of art and prose grabs readers, gives them a tickle with every page turn, until they reach the end of the book, where they’ll be greeted by a MASSIVE portrait of the artist himself.

About Beth Spencer

Beth Spencer is a human who writes and draws. She is a big fan of painting animals, planning art adventures for Introvert Drawing Club, and sketching around Atlanta.

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Join us for a Substack Live

You’re invited to a Substack Live! Tomorrow/Friday Sept. 5 from 1:00-1:30pm ET. Beth Spencer and I (Kelcey Ervick) will chat about her letter to Shel Silverstein. In Beth’s words: “I'd love to read something from A Light in the Attic, and tell you about how I'm salty that my grandma has given me basically every book she owns except The Giving Tree, which is the only one I want!” Join us here.

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Dear Reader! Thank you for reading Letters to Dead Authors & Artists, a weekly newsletter curated by me, Kelcey Ervick. I’m an author, artist, creative writing professor, and lover of letters. I publish my own illustrated stories and comics over at The Habit of Art. This is a new Substack venture where I’m thrilled to publish letters from the community. I’m open to pitches!