Famed writer and illustrator of children’s literature, Maurice Sendak, appeared in a two-part segment on The Colbert Report this week. This is not a child-friendly interview, but adults will get a kick out of the ornery Sendak going head-to-head with Colbert in these videos.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1 | ||||
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| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2 | ||||
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Notable quotes
“There is something in this country that is so opposed to understanding the complexity of children. It’s quite amazing.”
“I don’t write for children. I write. And someone says, that’s for children.”
Colbert: “Why not do a Where the Wild Things Are sequel?” Sendak: “Because it is the most boring idea imaginable.”
Colbert: “What do you think of the current state of children’s literature?” Sendak: “Abysmal.”
“Most books for children are very bad.”
Sendak on books by celebrities: “Start by being an idiot … after that you know the formula.
All you need is a popular illustrator with a horrible sense of design, no taste for type, nothing about the aesthetics of what a picture book should look like.”
Sendak on e-books: “Fuck them is what I say, I hate those e-books. They can not be the future… they may well be… I will be dead, I won’t give a shit!”
