Theodor Geisel

Theodor "Ted" Geisel might have been born to a particular privilege. But starting comfortably in life doesn't mean you won't have difficulty in realizing your dreams.

Having grown up in Springfield Massachusetts, Ted attended college at Dartmouth and worked on a college paper called Jack-o-Lantern where he eventually became the editor-in-chief. However, he was caught drinking gin with friends in his room. As prohibition was in full force at that time, school officials demanded he must cease all extracurricular activities, including the paper. But since writing was his passion, Ted found a way to continue to serve on the paper; he merely signed his work with his mother's maiden name and his middle name: Seuss.

After Dartmouth, he went to Oxford to pursue a degree as an English teacher. There he met Helen Palmer who encouraged him to go in a completely different direction: drawing. Sadly, the world wasn’t quite ready for his vibrant and innovative drawing style and after several rejections, he’d made only a single sale to the Saturday Evening Post for $25. 

Not daunted by the setbacks, he persisted in sending his portfolio everywhere he could. The reward eventually came with the offer of a job as a writer and illustrator at a humor magazine called Judge. Feeling like he’d ‘made it,’ he quickly married Helen and settled down in New York, eventually signing his work for Judge as being by “Dr. Seuss.”

But life wasn’t easy. The world changed, and suddenly the Great Depression was upon them. At a time when poverty was becoming the rule of the day, Ted struggled to stay afloat through his artwork. But amazingly, he was able to support himself and his wife through the Great Depression with his artwork and stories alone. He managed to do so well that he was able to live comfortably, at a time when few did.

Later, while on a ship he was inspired by the rhythm of the ship’s engine to write a children’s book called 'And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street.' It was the story of a young boy who dreams up an elaborate fantasy of comings and goings he’d seen (at least in his mind).

It was the start of the landmark work that would define his career forever after. The book was rejected though, not just once, but dozens of times. He’d already struggled hard to make a living by his craft. But, the very thing he’d evolved into as a writer was not something the public wanted. Ted was on the way home one day to burn the book in frustration. He intended to give up on children’s literature entirely. If not for a chance meeting with an old college acquaintance from the Jack-o-Lantern days, that book would no longer exist.

This meeting would go down in history as the start of not only a new career but a change in how people viewed children's literature. Vanguard Press published the book, and it was to become the first of many. Four more books were written and released before America entered WWII, with approximately sixty more books following in the years to come.

Children’s books would never be the same.

Theodor Geisel is an example of a life lived without compromise. When told he couldn't live by his art, he found a way to make it happen, despite constant rejection. The fact that Theodor succeeded in a time when few did, only goes to show his tenacity, even when the world around him was one where success ought not to have happened. He was the very embodiment of what it is to stay true to yourself, despite criticism. Indeed, he is a person worthy of being thought of as inspiring.

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