Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers1937-present

As a child

Born in 1937 in West Virginia in the midst of the Great Depression.

His mother died when he was a toddler. He was adopted soon afterward by a family friend.

Foster father worked as a janitor and foster mother taught him to read.

Adolescence

Grew up in Harlem near Langston Hughes.

Suffered from a speech impediment in school.

Loved to read books.

Family was poor and couldn’t afford to send him to college.

Dropped out of school at age 17 and enlisted in the Army.

The writer

Put himself through college.

Started writing for magazines.

First novel was Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff.

Wrote about Harlem to give positive yet authentic images of African American community.

Filling a Void

Myers didn’t like how African Americans were portrayed as uneducated and “nonserious” in the media.

The characters in his books are thoughtful and real.

Settings are often urban, mixing danger with excitement.

Endings aren’t perfect or overly romanticized.

Notable FactsSenior editor for the Bobbs-Merrill publishing house in the 1970s.

Young adult novels made him famous.

Makes appearances at schools and conventions to encourage writers and talk about his work.

He has had numerous works published, including novels, short stories, essays, poems, nonfiction titles and even plays.

Scorpions (1988)

Realistic fiction story about a 12-year-old boy who takes over a Harlem gang called the Scorpions. He gains possession of a gun, which brings consequences to the life of his best friend.

Won numerous awards, including Newberry Honor Book Award and Best Book for Young Adults.

Harlem, A Poem

Worked on this poem with his son Christopher who illustrated it.

Mixes imagery and history from Harlem.

Coretta Scottt King Award

Caldecott Medal Honor Book.

Monster (1999)

Realistic fiction about a 16-year-old on trial for murder.

Coretta Scott King Honor Book.

Michael L. Printz Award.

YALSA Best Book for Young Adults (2000).

145th Street: Short Stories (2000)

A series of short stories written for young adults about life in Harlem.

Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book.

YALSA Best Book for Young Adults.

Novels

Fast Sam, Cool Clyde and Stuff (1975)

Hoops (1981)

Motown and Didi: A Love Story (1984)

The Outside Shot (1984)

Fallen Angels (1988)

Somewhere in the Darkness (1992)

The Glory Field (1994)

Slam (1996)

Autobiography of My Dead Brother, illus. by Christopher Myers (2005)

Nonfiction

Now Is Your Time! The African American Struggle for Freedom (1991)

Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary (1993)

Harlem, illus. by Christopher Myers (1997)

Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom (1998)

At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England (1999)

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali (2001)

Bad Boy: A Memoir (2001)

Poetry

Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse (1993)

Glorious Angels: A Celebration of Children (1995)

Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam, illus. by Ann Grifalconi (2002)

Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices (2004)

Jazz, illus. by Christopher Myers (2006)

Street Love (2006)

Plays

Cages, in Center Stage: One-Act Plays for Teenage Readers and Actors, edited by Donald R. Gallo, 1990

Frederick Douglass: When the Lion Wrote History, ROJA Productions, 1994

References

Johnson, Anne Janette. “Walter Dean Myers.” Answers Corporation. 2011. March 7, 2011. <http://www.answers.com/topic/walter-dean-myers>

McElmeel, Sharron. “A Profile: Walter Dean Myers.” Sharron L. McElmeel. 2005. March 7, 2011. <http://www.mcelmeel.com/writing/myers.html> First appeared in Book Report, 07314388, Sep./Oct. 2001, Vol. 20, Issue 2.

“Myers, Walter Dean.” Advameg, Incorporated. 2011. February 9, 2011. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Myers-Walter-Dean.html>

“Walter Dean Myers.” ABC-Clio. 2003-2009. March 7, 2011 <http://www.authors4teens.com/wmyers>