Death of Dr. Seuss

Hearing of the death of Theodor Geisel, memories of a one-on-one interview with him came rushing back into my consciousness. As a third-year English-writing major, I did a term paper about the writing and illustrations of this creative man.

He worked in a round turret room with a single manual typewriter, a small drawing board and a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean.

He talked to me about writing books, not for children, but for people--some of whom happened to be children. He talked about learning how to be brief and to the point, and how to keep a story moving along. He talked about how he wasn’t really an artist or an illustrator but just someone who loved to draw.

Thanks, Dr. Seuss, for “The Cat in the Hat,” and “Green Eggs and Ham,” and “Hop on Pop” and “The Lorax” and all the others too.

TOM GROENER, West Hills