http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Tucker/Sendak%20on%20WNPR.mp3
Children's book author and Connecticut resident Maurice Sendak died this morning at the age of 83 in Danbury.
Sendak moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut in the early 1960s, around the time of his greatest commercial and literary success, "Where The Wild Things Are."
His work was famously controversial for its sometimes dark themes and difficult subject matter - traits that set him apart from most of his contemporaries in children's literature. Throughout his career, some of his books were banned, or not considered "suitable" for kids. He said that his work was often misunderstood, especially by adults.
"That's always been a quality of my work, people either get it fast, or don't get it at all. And look for complicated reasons for what it means, rather than the little girl who just dives into the middle of it. But that's okay...you don't expect everybody to get it," he told WNPR in 1993.
In 2005, Yale Repertory Theatre collaborated on a production of Brundibar, a work he and playwright Tony Kushner based on a Czech opera that had been performed by children in a Nazi concentration camp.
In an interview with The New York Times, Sendak said he moved to Connecticut to get away from the stress of the city. He told the paper, "In the movies, everyone used to move to Connecticut. That's where you went when you made it."
In the attached audio file, you can hear Maurice Sendak in a 1993 interview at his home studio with interviewer Nancy Cobb. It was part of the series Connecticut Voices on WNPR.
He talked about how children are "underestimated" in their ability to deal with tough issues like death, and told a story about a visit to a children's hospital and his encounter with a young patient who was dying of cancer.