Fulghum, Robert
"To look this way is to see. To see is to have vision. To have vision is to understand. To understand is to know. To know is to become. To become is to live fully. To live fully is to matter. And to matter is to become light. And to become light is to be loved. And to be loved is to burn. And to burn is to exist. Off and on. (05/29/2023)
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Robert Fulghum | |
|---|---|
 Robert Fulghum in 2007 | |
| Born | Robert Lee Fulghum June 4, 1937 Waco, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Essays, fiction |
| Subject | Spirituality |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 3 |
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Robert Lee Fulghum (/ˈfʊldʒəm/ ; born June 4, 1937) is an American author and Unitarian Universalist minister.[1]
Early career
[edit]He grew up in Waco, Texas and received his Bachelor of Arts at Baylor University in 1958. He received his Bachelor of Divinity at Starr King School for the Ministry in 1961 and was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. Fulghum served the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship in Bellingham, Washington from 1960 to 1964, and the Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church in Edmonds, Washington, where he is Minister Emeritus.[2]
Writing
[edit]Fulghum came to prominence in the United States when his first collection of writings, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (1988), stayed on The New York Times bestseller lists for nearly two years. The collection of essays is subtitled "Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things".[1] A twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Kindergarten has been published – updating and revising the original text, with the addition of twenty-five new stories.
There are currently more than 17 million copies of his books in print, published in 27 languages in 103 countries.[citation needed]
Performances
[edit]Fulghum performed in two television adaptations of his work for PBS, and is a Grammy nominee for the spoken word award. He has been a speaker at numerous colleges, conventions, and public events across the United States and Europe. He has been a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist.
Novels
[edit]Fulghum wrote a novel in three volumes. The first, Third Wish, was continued in Third Wish II, The Rest of the Story, Almost, and completed with the third volume, Third Wish, Granted. The novel was published in several languages, including English.
His next novel, If You Love Me Still, Will You Love Me Moving? Tales from the Century Ballroom, was inspired by Fulghum's love of dancing, especially tango, and was first published in Czech (as Drž mě pevně, miluj mě zlehka) in 2011.
Eventually, his books of essays were transformed into two stage productions. The first shares the same title as his first book, and was conceived and adapted by Ernest Zulia, with music and lyrics by David Caldwell. The play is based on all eight books, and is an optional musical. The second is entitled Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas. To date there have been more than 2,000 national and international productions of these plays.
Personal life
[edit]Fulghum has been married three times. He has four children and six grandchildren. He lives in Moab, Utah and on the Greek island of Crete.[1]
Works
[edit]His collections include:
- All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
- It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It
- Uh-Oh: Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door
- Maybe (Maybe Not)
- From Beginning to End—The Rituals of Our Lives
- True Love
- Words I Wish I Wrote
- What on Earth Have I Done
- The Ongoing Adventures of Captain Kindergarten
- If You Love Me Still, Will You Love Me Moving?
- The Argentine Tango Chronicles
- Crisis In The Cheese Aisle (in Czech only)
- The Mender of Destinies (in Czech only)
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All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a book of short essays by American minister and author Robert Fulghum. It was first published in 1986.
The title of the book is taken from the first essay in the volume, in which Fulghum lists lessons normally learned in American kindergarten classrooms and explains how the world would be improved if adults adhered to the same basic rules as children, i.e. sharing, being kind to one another, cleaning up after themselves, and living "a balanced life" of work, play, and learning.
The book contains fifty short essays, ranging in length from approximately 200 to 1,000 words, which are ruminations on topics ranging from surprises, holidays, childhood, death, and the lives of interesting people including Mother Teresa. In his introduction, Fulghum describes these as having been "written over many years and addressed to friends, family, a religious community, and myself, with no thought of publication in book form."
Reception
[edit]Although widely published, quoted and cited in other essays, Fulghum's essays (especially the title piece) have also been criticized as trite and saccharine.[citation needed] Fulghum addresses this in an essay in his subsequent book, It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It wherein he mentions "grown-up" subjects such as sexuality.
Musical adaptation
[edit]Fulghum worked with Ernie Zulia (director) and David Caldwell (composer and music director) to create a musical based on Kindergarten, bearing the same title. It was premiered at Mill Mountain Theatre (Roanoke, VA) in June 1992, and was also presented by the Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis) in 1996. The same personnel also created another musical production of the third book in his trilogy, Uh Oh, called Uh Oh, Here Comes Christmas, which also premiered at Mill Mountain Theater, in December 1998.
Cultural influence
[edit]Over nearly two decades, the title essay, "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten", has spawned countless parodies involving television shows, movies, books, and other phenomena.[1] The standard format mirrors Fulghum's own work, starting with "All I Really Need To Know I Learned From [name]", followed by a list of quotes and/or in-jokes from the subject being parodied.
Bart Simpson's chalkboard gag in "You Only Move Twice" is "I did not learn everything I need to know in kindergarten." Fulghum was a member of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock and roll music group of authors whose members also included Simpsons co-creator Matt Groening, and author Stephen King.
References
[edit]- All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum. New York: Villard Books, 1988. 196 pages ISBN 978-0-394-57102-7
- All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten by Robert Fulghum openlibrary.org
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