Walter Dean Myers: Amazing Author

Raymond Palacio
4/26/12
Period 1

Walter Dean Myers is a well established author who writes compelling stories of the struggles of young adults. Walter Dean Myers became well known by his astounding achievements and amazing literature. A big part of what made Walter who he is today is his early life and how it affected his writing, his first success, his background, how his writing contributed to our youth, the controversies about him, and the fact of should his books be red in a high school. The great quality that Walter Dean Myers possesses is the quality to understand the everyday problems of children young adults; this quality was greatly mastered by events that affected Walter Dean Myers Early life and how this inspired him to write. As a child, Walter Dean Myers had speech impairment in school. This problem with his speech meant that he had trouble reading regular written or printed words. Soon after an incident in class, which involved a speech to the class, Walter Dean Myers’s teacher noticed that it was much easier for him to read his own written words. This inspired him to write poems and short stories. Later when Walter was seventeen, he dropped out of high school and served in the army for three years. The struggles of being in the army only intensified his love towards writing. Shortly after exiting the army, Walter only had low paying jobs to do such as working in post office, as a messenger, and as a factory interviewer for the New York State Bureau of Labor. To any person; these are all great examples of early life events that affected his writing and his writing style. In 1968, Walter Dean Myers challenged himself to further his love for writing by entering in a children’s book competition geared towards African American writers. Little did he know but, this competition would change his life. Walter Dean Myers decided to enter a book that he wrote called “Where Does the Day Go?” Walter’s Book won the competition, and officially became published and was also Walter’s first success in 1969. Recalling what he said that day,” I won the contest!” said Walter Dean Myers. This was the first and best achievement he has done, and once he did it, he wanted to make this his life’s work. Walter Dean Myers is without question one of the best authors of today even though he had some struggles in his life. Walter was born in the middle of the great depression in 1937. He was a born in a town called Martinsburg, Virginia. Walter’s mother died while giving birth to him, so without hesitation, Walter’s mother’s good friend to adopt. Walter’s new parents changed his middle name from “Milton” to “Dean”. Soon after the adoption, Walter and his new parents moved to Harlem in New York City. Walter became accustomed to the city life and was in school. One day in class, Walter’s teacher caught him reading a comic book; he remembered that moment very well. Walter’s teacher took the comic book and ripped it into a million pieces. He was really upset, but she brought him a giant pile of books from her personal library. Walter remembered it being the best thing that ever happened to him. Walter Dean Myers soon became a book worm and grew into a man who loved books and wrote amazing stories of the struggles of young adults. Walter Dean Myers has contributed a lot to our youth. He provides a compelling perspective on the hard-hitting issues faced by at risked teens and young adults. Walter Dean Myers can understand young adults. He makes teens, which read his books; seek to portray the beauty of the African American experience, requiring young adults to question their values and decisions. Walter Dean Myers was also elected the National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature by the Librarian Congress for 2012 and 2013. To meet the criteria, means you have contribution to young adults and relate to children. Though Walter Dean Myers is an expressful and outspoken author for our youth, some concerned parents raised some controversies about one of Walter dean Myers’s best books, “Fallen Angles”. This controversy was challenged by Texas, Virginia, Kansas, Illinois, Idaho, and North Carolina. The book was challenged for its racism, offensive language and the violence of war. The book was also challenged for its slang terms for homosexuals. Even the though there were only a few controversies about one of Walter Dean Myers’s books, He still is an intelligent author who understands and relates to young adults. Many schools over go the one question of whether Walter Dean Myers’s books should be read in their high schools. With out a doubt this author is the perfect role model to influence young adults; in what any better way than a high school library. The role of the modern high school library is run by a librarian and this librarian has to go through vigorous amounts of schooling and English degrees. The librarian decides what should be allowed into the library and is a very influential person when it comes to references and connections to the modern societies’ literature. Our schools sometimes have to ban some books but not many have been banned. If a book is challenged, the book then will go through different stages to determine whether it is truly an inappropriate book for our youth. But with Walter Dean Myers, you will not find a better insight on the struggles of today’s youth. The famous Walter Dean Myers is truly an influential figure and a great author that decisively depicts the struggles of today’s youth and young adults. His work has continuously acknowledged today’s generation of youth and writes compelling struggles of young adults. Walter Dean Myers grew up to be an amazing, aspiring, writer and has truly proven to everyone that he indeed has unlocked that secret to understanding young adults. Anyone reading one of his books will grasp the terminology and theme of which is written in his multiple award winning books. All in all Walter Dean Myers is and will always be one of the greatest authors of today’s literature aiming for the younger age group, such as young adults and children.