Walter Dean Myers

1. Walter Dean Myers From anacostia.si.edu Curtain Call on Life By Amy Schrader "I understand that as a black person you are always representing the race, so to speak .... So what you have to do is try to write it as well as you can and hope that if you write the story well enough, people won't be offended. I think basically you need to write what you believe in."

2. F.A.Q.(Frequently Asked Questions) • Q: Where was he born and raised? • A: Myers was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia but lived and grew up in Harlem, NY from the age of 3. • Q: How many books has he written? • A: Myers has written more than four dozen books and is still writing. • Q: What famous writers influenced Myers? • A: Harlem Renaissance writers Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. From www.jubileejumpers.com From www.africanamericans.com

3. L.K.F.(Little Known Facts) • Myers was a foster child from the age of 2 • Myers became a voracious reader because of his fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Conway • Myers often skipped high school in order to go to the park and read • Myers dropped out of high school when he was 17 • Myers joined the army for 3 years, until he was 20 • Many of his characters contain pieces and parts of himself and his childhood experiences in Harlem

4. Life Lessons • Despite growing up in poverty, Myers developed a rich literary history. His foster father told him stories and his foster mother had him read aloud to her from her romance novels while she worked around the house. Although he loved reading, he hated school because of a speech problem. This forced him to retreat from the spoken word into the written word, and his fifth grade teacher allowed him to read aloud from his own works so that it would be easier for him. Because he dropped out of school, many of his novels focus on the importance of education. He learned the hard way.

5. Accomplishments/Achievements • Senior trade books editor for Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc. (publisher), New York City, 1970-77; writer, 1977—present • Taught creative writing and black history part-time in New York City, 1974-75 • American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1988 • Coretta Scott King Award, 1980, for The Young Landlords, 1985, for Motown and Didi, and 1989, for Fallen Angels • Newbery Honor Book, 1989, for Scorpions From www.njcenterforthebook.org From www.wiredforyouth.com

6. Works Cited • Writers for Young Adults. 3 vols. Ted Hipple, editor. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1997. • Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC • "Dean Myers, Walter." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vols. 7-26. Gale Research, 1992-99. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

7. Books by Walter Dean Myers From www.brick.net from www.csd99.k12.il.us From www.windowsill.net From www.scc.k12.wi.us From cms.westport.k12.ct.us

8. Final Quote "As writers we face no more formidable task than to bring children and adults together. We need to see the world clearly and to explain it clearly to children so that they, in turn, can explain it back to us without our adult compromises, and without our adult excuses. To do less is to abandon our talents, perhaps even our universe. If we're lucky, we might even get children and adults to trust each other again. If we're lucky."