Wild Thing, I Love You!

Author Maurice Sendak (left) with actor Max Records at the Where The Wild Things Are film premiere.

I owe my love of Maurice Sendak to Mrs. Elise Landis, my 4th grade teacher at Longfellow School in Hazel Park, MI. One day during the early 1980s, Mrs. Landis played for our class the book-and-record of the Maurice Sendak/Carole King collaboration, Chicken Soup With Rice. Afterwards, using the overhead projector, we traced onto poster-sized paper the book’s various pictures, which we then colored, and hung in the hallway for our schoolmates to admire.

Mine was January, when it’s “so nice, while slipping on the sliding ice, to sip hot chicken soup with rice…”

It wasn’t until I was an adult and had moved to New York City that I truly began to appreciate Sendak’s other works. Sure, I’d read Where the Wild Things Are. What kid hadn’t? But other books like In the Night Kitchen, Kenny’s Window, and even the story where Rosie got her start, The Sign on Rosie’s Door, were obscure to me. Until 1995 when Lady Luck landed me a temp job at HarperCollins Publishers.

To my delight, I discovered that the former Harper & Row published many of childhood favorites…including Maurice Sendak. Quickly, I befriended the Children’s editorial assistant, who helped me build my collection of books! Imagine my surprise when perusing the authors’ files, I came upon the home address of one Mr. Maurice Sendak. Of course I jotted it down -- phone number and all. Not that I’d ever actually call the man. But it didn’t stop me from writing a letter…

I was curious to learn how Mr. Sendak came to collaborate with Ms. King on Really Rosie. Was he a fan of her music? Was she a reader of his books? Were they perhaps friends? As an aspiring actor, I’d also learned there was a Really Rosie stage play adaptation with additional songs not found in the TV special… How did the whole thing come about?

Fast-forward to a few weeks later… In my mailbox in Brooklyn (which, incidentally, is where Sendak hailed), I found a letter. The signature on the return address matched one I’d seen on the sign outside the Brooklyn Public Library. Needless to say, I was psyched!

Inside, Mr. Sendak’s response was brief, though he provided me with his phone number (which I already had!) and invited me to give him a call, which I did a few days later. I couldn’t believe there I was, sitting on the terrazzo-tiled floor of my kitchen, chatting with Maurice Sendak. I tried not to gush too much.

Three things I remember most from our conversation: #1 -- He never returns letters to children as most likely they have been forced to write to him. #2 -- His collaboration with Carole King came about because Paul Simon wasn’t available. #3 -- When Really Rosie first aired, the network executives weren’t too pleased, as they thought Rosie came off as being “a dyke.” (She was a girl with strong opinions and she bossed the boys around.)

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that something in his voice that day made me speculate on Mr. Sendak’s sexuality. Could it be the “it takes one to know one” theory? Also, there was the fact that here he was, a successful man in his 60s, and he wasn’t -- nor had he ever been, to my knowledge -- married. What was up with that?!

The answer came in 2008 when Maurice Sendak, beloved children’s book author, revealed himself as being gay in a New York Times interview. To me, this was big news! Not in an “I knew it!” snarky kind of way. More like “Yay!”

Over a year later, I can’t help but wonder why more wasn’t made of this event. Yes, it was mentioned in The Advocate and here on AfterElton, but have the folks in Middle America heard? Or is this yet another attempt at the mainstream media trying to protect people? Personally, I’d like to know what it was like for Maurice Sendak being a gay children’s book author. Was there even greater fear of coming out because of his profession? And what about the love of his life who had recently passed away? I needed to know more!

So I dug through my treasure chest of keepsakes and found the letter dated October 1995. Again I wrote to Mr. Sendak, asking if he might speak with me the way he did almost exactly 14 years ago. Surely an interview posted here on AfterElton to coincide with the long-awaited release of the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are -- which hits theatres this week -- would be perfect!

Sadly, this time Mr. Sendak did not write back... Perhaps good things will come those who wait?