Going back to ‘Kindergarten’

A literary classic is set to celebrate its 15th anniversary this month with a whole new outlook on life. Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” which spent 43 weeks at the top of the New York Times best-seller list, has been “reconsidered, revised, and expanded,” the minister emeritus for Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church explains. The book and the author behind it are set for a special celebratory appearance at Third Place Books at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25.

Featuring 25 brand new essays, it was Fulghum’s idea to revisit and expand upon the themes that had been at the core of the original “Kindergarten.”

“This is not just the same old book,” Fulghum said. “The way I think of my life and writing, it’s always under construction — you can always remodel your ideas.”

What began as a simple essay on universal truths — ones that we ultimately learn a very tender age — took on a life of its own through what he calls the “people’s press.” As readers distributed his words by copy machine, bulletin board and refrigerator door, the circulating copies eventually drew the attention of a literary agent.

With the release of “Kindergarten” Fulghum experienced a staggering response to his book and garnered worldwide acclaim. He performed in two television adaptations of his work for PBS, was a Grammy nominee for the spoken word award, conducted speaking engagements across the United States and became a nationally-syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was ultimately adapted for the stage in two theater pieces: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” and “Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas,” performed in more than 700 national and international productions.

Fifteen year later, Fulghum has published seven best-selling books, including “It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It,” “Uh-Oh,” “Maybe (Maybe Not),” “From Beginning to End — The Rituals of Our Lives,” “True Love” and “Words I Wish I Wrote.” There are currently more than 16 million copies of his books in print, published in 27 languages in 103 countries. Yet the author has laid low for the last five years, taking a break from writing and making few public appearances.

“I thought I had said what I had to say and was done with what I set out to do — at least with the written and spoken word,” Fulghum said. “The gods of fame and fortune had not just smiled on me, they had laughed out loud. Success can be overwhelming and all-consuming. Time to downscale, get offstage, go see the world. And also time to shut up and sit still.”

What Fulghum did do was travel, visiting the island of Crete in Greece. He began working on a novel, with no real thought of publishing it. “But since I think of myself primarily as a storyteller, I wondered if I could shift from writing short stories to writing a really long story,” Fulghum said. “And I did — a multi-volume fiction. Every time I come to a stopping place and think it’s finished, I get another idea for another volume involving the same characters.” The result is “Third Wish,” a manuscript he expects to be published next year.

But back to this unusual re-issue of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Traditionally, the anniversary edition of a wildly successful book is simply dusted off like a museum artifact — unveiled to reveal its original, unadulterated state.

But this edition is special, Fulghum said. “For one thing, it’s not the same book published in 1988. I re-read it, reconsidered the stories, and revised and rewrote most of them.” Fulghum went ahead and outright eliminated old material that “seemed out-dated or stale,” then added new essays and stories.

“These changes in the book reflect changes in the world and in me over the last 15 years,” Fulghum said. “I think it’s important to revisit one’s basic ideas from time to time. Some things hold true — some things don’t — and I wanted ‘Kindergarten’ to be up-to-date as long as it remained in print.”

While writing essays that “reflect the truth in everyday form,” Fulghum is reluctant to include himself among the authors with whom his books share shelf space in the self-help section of bookstores. “I’m just a man writing about the life I see and live — trying to make sense of it,” Fulghum said. “I’m looking for company, not followers or devotees or customers.

“A friend suggested my books belong in Lost and Found. Once, in a small bookstore in Cortez, Colorado, I noticed my books were located in the Gardening section of the store. I don’t know why. I didn’t ask. Let it be. I liked the thought of being there where the cultivation of growing things was being considered.”