Walter Dean Myers by Lisa Bufka

Biographical Information

The author Walter Dean Myers was born Walter Milton Myers on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. However, at the age of three years old he was given up by his father and raised by Florence and Herbert Dean in Harlem, New York City. He later changed his middle name to honor his foster parents.

Growing up was not easy for Myers. He struggled in school and was often bullied for his speech impediment. This is where writing came into his life. A teacher encouraged him to use writing as a way to express himself. As he developed into a writer, he also grew a love for reading. After dropping out of school at age 17 to join the Army, Myers continued writing while working odd jobs including construction in Chicago, IL. He began to reflect and write about his childhood - inspired by the book Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, set in Harlem and with African American characters. During his 45 years as an author, Myers wrote over 100 children’s and YA books that centered around the struggle of growing up.

On July 1, 2014, at the age of 76 years old, Myers was hospitalized in Manhattan, New York City and later passed away. He is survived by his wife; son, author and illustrator Christopher Myers; son, Michael; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Themes

1. “Reading is not optional.”

- This phrase was coined by Myers as he toured the US advocating for teenage literacy. He worked to show at-risk youth that reading is an essential tool in life. According to his website,“His personal mission: To create literature about the people whose stories had been left off the shelf.” From 2012-13 Myers was appointed by the Library of Congress as a National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Through his books and his actions, Myers message to his audience was that reading will guide you through life, it will keep you on the right path and help you make better decisions.

2. Stories can save us.

- As Walter Dean Myers once said, “I found solace in books.” He remembers fondly the comfort of sitting in his mother’s lap while characters danced in his head. Stories gave him a sense of hope in his darkest moments, and that is what he strives to show his audience. As seen in one of his most famous works, Monster, the main character, Steve Harmon, a teenage black boy uses storytelling through film to cope with and overcome trials and tribulations of prejudice.

Style

Myer’s style can best be described as realistic fiction. He draws inspiration from his own personal struggles and writes for young people to relate and deal with their own struggles. Again with his novel, Monster, Myers visited prisons and juvenile detention centers, engaged in interviews with these inmates, and developed a storyline that dealt with real experiences, emotions, and decisions. He writes about young people for young people. He also specifically writes for young people of color who have unique struggles and who have been historically underrepresented in literature. He draws from his own culture as an African American writer to write for and give representation to other African Americans growing up in the United States.

Bibliography

* Author’s Website - https://walterdeanmyers.net/
* Complete list of works in publication order - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter\_Dean\_Myers#Works
* Monster (HarperCollins, 1999). Ages 13+.
	+ Republished Monster: A Graphic Novel (Amistad, 2015). Adapted by Guy Sims and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile.
* Virginia Hamilton Liberary Award (1999)
* Anne V. Zarrow Award (1996)
* Margaret Edwards Award (1994)
* Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement (1994)
* Alan Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Young Adult Literature (1994)
* Katharine Drexel Award from the Catholic Library Association (2008)
* West Virginia Library Association Literary Merit Award (2008)
* University of Minnesota Kerlan Award (2008)
* Jeremiah Ludington Award (2009)
* U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award (2010)
* Chicago Tribune Prize for Writers of Young Adult Literature (2010)
* Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement (2010)
* Rutgers University Medal for the Literature of Children and Young Adults (2011)

Criticism

There are many credible reviews that praise Walter Dean Myers for his work, everything from the New York Times, to NPR, Publisher's Weekly… the list goes on and on. Each article details how Myers used his life as literary influence to help and inspire teens overcoming real struggles in life, tackling hard to deal with issues and deliberating on moral decisions. The author’s mission to support an underserved literary community is highlighted in almost every critique.

However, some parents have a hard time with their children reading about realistic yet unfortunate hardships. Some do not want their children exposed to certain struggles that they themselves have not encountered regardless of reality for others. You can find these parent reviews on commonsensemedia.org

* https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/monster/user-reviews/adult

Additional Information

Walter Dean Myers’s son, Chris Myers, collaborated with him on many of his books as an illustrator and has also received the Coretta Scott King Award.

Video with Walter Dean Myers

* Biography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=funK7DKaPwI&t=81s
* A Writer’s Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34WS\_E8gAnw
* Reading Is Not Optional: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUJ37nrfNV4