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Quote by Maurice Sendak

“I had been reading a fabulous book [The Man Verdi, by Frank Walker] about [Giuseppe] Verdi, whom I adore.”

Quote by Maurice Sendak

Author

Maurice Sendak, born on June 10, 1928, was a renowned American illustrator. His works are known for their unique style and profound themes, with his most famous book being 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Sendak's work is beloved by children and appreciated by adults alike, and has had a profound impact on children's literature. more

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“A whole new world of Italian music was springing up, and [Giuseppe] Verdi was seen as old. Boito got Verdi all excited about the possibility of doing another opera, another kind of opera. In fact, Verdi composed his two best operas, Otello and Falstaff, in his eighties.”

World Kind Two Whole Facts Possibility Excited Italian New World Opera Eighty Falstaff Verdi

Author:Maurice Sendak

“I thought that if I were going into old age I would want to do what [Giuseppe] Verdi did, which is to write extraordinary things, and to really find myself.”

Ifs Want Writing Age Extraordinary Old Age Extraordinary Things Verdi

Author:Maurice Sendak

“Bumble-Ardy is a very wicked little child as far as I'm concerned. He's not to be trusted.”

Children Littles Concerned Wicked Trusted

Author:Maurice Sendak

“Thank God that Bumble-Ardy's parents are dead so we don't have to wonder what they did to him. We only know that they were famous, and famous people have unhappy children for the most part. They don't have the time to take care of them. So he's a troubled pig-boy, a kid you've got to watch.”

People Knows Children Care Kids Parent Wonder Boys Watches Take Care Unhappy Thank God Pigs

Author:Maurice Sendak

“I started work on my first French history book in 1969; on 'Socialism in Provence' in 1974; and on the essays in Marxism and the French Left in 1978. Conversely, my first non-academic publication, a review in the 'TLS', did not come until the late 1980s, and it was not until 1993 that I published my first piece in the 'New York Review.'”

Firsts Book Left Pieces New York Late Socialism Reviews Academic Essays Marxism Publication History Books Provence

Author:Tony Judt

“In another project I worked on just a few years ago, a staging of Peter and the Wolf, which I translated into Yiddish and sang on a stage in New York City. Thank God very few people knew I was doing it! But the kids in the audience loved it - even though it was all in Yiddish.”

People Years Kids Cities Audience Stage New York Projects Years Ago New York City Thank God Peter Yiddish Staging

Author:Maurice Sendak

“I had lost my sister recently, too, which meant that my whole family was gone. I was the baby of the family. There were five Sendaks and there were five Wild Things, and now there's only one Sendak, and he's about to bite the dust, too! Life, as I said before, was very difficult at that time and so it was natural that there would be a change in the look of things. Also, I was very impressed with my own strength in doing this under the circumstances in which I was living.”

Looks Said Whole Would Be Lost Difficult Natural My Own Gone Five Baby Circumstances Dust Bites My Sister Impressed Whole Family Wild Things

Author:Maurice Sendak

“I never thought of Bumble-Ardy in that way. But I still have that same deep feeling for children who are in dire trouble. I see Bumble-Ardy as a lonely, unhappy kid who is doing the very best he can to be in the world, to have a party.”

World Way Children Stills Feelings Kids Party Trouble Lonely Unhappy Deep Feeling

Author:Maurice Sendak

“For my father the one calamity was that my brother and sister and I never learned to swim. My father, who was very macho, was a strong swimmer and was terribly disappointed to have children who didn't swim. Once when my mother was sitting in a beach chair - I can still see the big umbrella - she called to my father, "Throw them in! Throw them in! They'll swim!" So he did. Then he looked down, and there were the three Sendak children lying perfectly still underwater, not fighting for life!”

“[Drawing] and making things was all we ever did. My brother and I built the entire New York World's Fair of 1939 in miniature out of wax. The floor of our room was covered with little waxen buildings. Nobody else could come in.”

World Littles Rooms New York Building Brother Built Fairs Drawing My Brother Covered Miniatures

Author:Maurice Sendak