Walter Dean Myers

Hoover, Elizabeth. Walter Dean Myers. 2014. 96p. ISBN 978-1-4205-0859-8. Available at B MYE on the library shelves.

One of the most prolific young adult writers, Walter Dean Myers didn’t start out with the idea of writing. As a young boy, Myer’s father could not take care of him so he sent him to live with his first wife and her new husband. She was barely literate, but read to him every night from magazines, a habit he later picked up and continued. As an African-American youth, Myers was, as he said, “a demographic disaster waiting to happen,” and he was expected to find a menial low-paying job like the rest of the men of the neighborhood.

But Myers wanted more. He read voraciously, but hid this fact from his friends and family so he would not get picked on. A speech impediment was serious enough to prevent him from expressing himself, so he began to write. Not fitting in school, he eventually stopped going at all, and instead roamed the streets of Harlem.

Stuck in a dead-end job, Myers began to write, and a story was accepted for publication. Over the next decade, he established himself as a prolific and well-researched writer, who talks about his experiences growing up and what life was like in the neighborhoods where he grew up. Always pushing the envelope, Myers touched on controversial subjects, and published over 70 books.

An inspiration to many, Myer’s life is worth examining for the lessons in perseverance and on the craft of writing.