name: Robert Paul Smith
birth_date: 1915-01-01 00:00:00
death_date: 1977-01-01 00:00:00
genres: Children's Books, Nonfiction, Literature & Fiction
avg_rating: 3.84
ratings_count: 451
about: Authored the classic evocation of childhood: 'Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing.'Graduated from Columbia College in 1936, worked as a writer for CBS Radio and wrote four novels: So It Doesn't Whistle (1946); The Journey, (1943); Because of My Love (1946); The Time and the Place (1951).The classic "battle-of-the-sexes" comedy 'The Tender Trap', a play by Smith and Dobie Gillis creator Max Shulman, opened in 1954 with Robert Preston in the leading role. It was later made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds. 'Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing' is a nostalgic evocation of the inner life of childhood. It advocates the value to children of privacy; the importance of unstructured time; the joys of bo Authored the classic evocation of childhood: 'Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing.'Graduated from Columbia College in 1936, worked as a writer for CBS Radio and wrote four novels: So It Doesn't Whistle (1946); The Journey, (1943); Because of My Love (1946); The Time and the Place (1951).The classic "battle-of-the-sexes" comedy 'The Tender Trap', a play by Smith and Dobie Gillis creator Max Shulman, opened in 1954 with Robert Preston in the leading role. It was later made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds. 'Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing' is a nostalgic evocation of the inner life of childhood. It advocates the value to children of privacy; the importance of unstructured time; the joys of boredom; and the virtues of freedom from adult supervision. He opens by saying "The thing is, I don't understand what kids do with themselves any more." He contrasts the overstructured, overscheduled, oversupervised suburban life of the child in the suburban 1950's with reminiscences of his own childhood. He concludes "I guess what I am saying is that people who don't have nightmares don't have dreams. If you will excuse me, I have an appointment with myself to sit on the front steps and watch some grass growing." ...more