Teenreads.com -- Author Profile: Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers is the renowned author of AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY DEAD BROTHER; SHOOTER, a Children's Book Sense Summer Pick; MONSTER, the first winner of the Michael L. Printz Award; THE DREAM BEARER; HANDBOOK FOR BOYS: A Novel; BAD BOY: A Memoir; and the Newbery Honor Books SCORPIONS and SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS. He wrote THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS: WHEN PRIDE MET COURAGE; PATROL: AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN VIETNAM, illustrated by Ann Grifalconi; I'VE SEEN THE PROMISED LAND: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and MALCOLM X: A Fire Burning Brightly, both illustrated by Leonard Jenkins; and the Caldecott Honor Book HARLEM and BLUES JOURNEY, both illustrated by Christopher Myers. He makes frequent appearances with the National Basketball Association's "Read to Achieve" program. Mr. Myers lives with his family in Jersey City, New Jersey.

I came to Harlem from West Virginia when I was three, after my mother died. My father, who was very poor, gave me up to two wonderful people, my foster parents.

Thinking back to boyhood days, I remember the bright sun on Harlem streets, the easy rhythms of black and brown bodies, the sounds of children streaming in and out of red brick tenements. I remember La Marqueta, in East Harlem, where people spoke a multitude of languages. I remember playing basketball in Morningside Park until it was too dark to see the basket and then climbing over the fence to go home.

From my foster parents, the Deans, I received the love that was ultimately to strengthen me, even when I had forgotten its source. It was my foster mother, a half-Indian, half-German woman, who taught me to read, though she herself was barely literate. I remember having her read to me every day from True Romance magazine. Eventually, I was able to read magazines or newspapers to her. My father and my grandfather used to tell me stories. My father would tell scary stories. My grandfather's stories--he was a very religious man--were Old Testament, God's-gonna-get-ya kind of stories.

I read a lot of comic books and any kind of thing I could find. One day, a teacher found me. She grabbed my comic book and tore it up. I was really upset, but then she brought in a pile of books from her own library. That was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Books took me, not so much to foreign lands and fanciful adventures, but to a place within myself that I have been exploring ever since. The public library was my most treasured place. I couldn't believe my luck in discovering that what I enjoyed most --reading -- was free.

I was a good student in that I could read well, but I was a behavioral problem. I had this very severe speech difficulty, and I arrived in school ready to conquer the world, but no one could understand a thing I was saying. That was very frustrating for me, and I responded by being angry.

One of my teachers decided that among many of my speech problems, I couldn't pronounce certain words at all. She thought that if I wrote something, I would use words I could pronounce, so she said, "Why don't you write something yourself? Whatever you choose to write." I began writing little poems, and they helped me because of the rhythms. I began to write short stories, too. My writing was about the only thing I was praised for in school.

By high school, I'd identified my own "avenue of value" as an intellectual, because I couldn't speak well and had a limited social life. But I knew my family couldn't afford college for me. So I dropped out of high school, at age 15. I was brought back to school, but I dropped out again at 16, and on my seventeenth birthday I joined the Army. When I got out of the army, I didn't have any skills, I had no confidence, and I had that speech problem. So I loaded trucks. Then I worked in the post office, and I wrote at nights.

I wrote for magazines, I wrote adventure stuff, I wrote for the National Enquirer, I wrote advertising copy for cemeteries. Then I saw that the Council on Interracial Books for Children had a contest for black writers of children's books. I won the contest and that was my first book--Where Does the Day Go? Eventually I got into writing for teenagers. Actually, I had done a short story about teenagers. An editor read the story, thought it was the first chapter of a novel, and asked how the rest of it went. That sounded like opportunity banging on my door, so I made up the novel on the spot and I got a contract. That was my first YA book, FAST SAM, COOL CLYDE, AND STUFF. It changed my life because I had no real education, and I needed something to validate myself. I needed to find value, and publishing gave me that value.

I so love writing. It is not something that I am doing just for a living, this is something that I love to do.

I get up early, between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. I have a vest that I wear that weighs 20 pounds, and I walk with that about five miles a day. I'll try to get home by 7:00, shower, and start to work. I try to get ten pages done. Once I do my ten pages, that's it.

When I work, what I'll do is outline the story first. That forces me to do the thinking. I cut out pictures of all of my characters, and my wife puts them into a collage, which goes on the wall above the computer. When I walk into the room I can see the characters, and I just get very close to them. I rush through a first draft, and then I go back and rewrite, because I can usually see what the problems are going to be ahead of me. Rewriting is more fun for me than the writing is.

My ideas come largely from my own background. I write a lot about basketball, and I've played basketball for years and years. I was in the army and I wrote FALLEN ANGELS. I lived in Harlem, and I write about Harlem. I'm interested in history, so I write about historical characters in nonfiction.

If I accomplish what I set out to do, then I'm happy with the book. If I've compromised, then I'm unhappy. Ultimately, what I want to do with my writing is to make connections--to touch the lives of my characters and, through them, those of my readers.

Walter Dean Myers lives with his wife, Constance, and his son, Christopher, the youngest of his three children, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was recently awarded the first ever Michael Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature for MONSTER.

Past Interview

June 5, 2001

TRC: Considering all you've accomplished as a writer --- your body of work includes over 30 critically acclaimed books --- did now just seem like the "logical" point in your career to write a memoir? Was there a specific moment when it struck you that, yes, the world should know more about Walter Dean Myers? Do you think it's at all odd that some people start off their writing careers with a memoir?

WDM: I think the "logic" of BAD BOY lies with the idea that it is acceptable to be an African American from the inner city, a basketball player, and a voracious reader and I've reached an age at which I needed to say to young people: These "different" identities are too often considered mutually exclusive.

I'm not surprised that some people begin their writing careers with memoirs. I am surprised that people publish them.

TRC: Coming to terms with your "blackness" is a major theme throughout BAD BOY. Now that you are an adult, have you figured out what being Black means? Did forging relationships with writers like Langston Hughes and James Baldwin help you to understand yourself, as both a Black man and writer? And while defining one's cultural identity is a major theme in the life of all teenagers, do you think it is a particularly important crossroads for minorities?

WDM: I'm still working on the "blackness" issue. The problem is that people bring their own definitions of being Black. Hearing Baldwin say that he had gone through the same problems trying to find an identity as a writer and thinker helped somewhat. But I know that tomorrow I might meet somebody who will tell me that 1) I am not really Black 2) I make too much of being Black 3) I am trying to deny I am Black.

This is an important concept for minorities because in nailing down one's racial identity one has to consider several aspects; do you identify with the people you see around you? This can be a real problem if your neighbors are crack heads. Do you identify only with the biology? White people will expect you to have rhythm and know something about the blues. Are you abandoning your race if you love Beethoven more than B. B. King?

TRC: As a native New Yorker, I felt especially connected to BAD BOY (most of your books, for that matter). I'm familiar with Stuyvesant High School and its academic rigors and I've spent many an afternoon reading in Central Park (although I'd be lying if I claimed to be reading A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN). Obviously, New York played a huge role in your adolescence, and you couldn't possibly underplay it's impact in your memoir, but were you at all concerned that people not as in-the-know about Manhattan wouldn't "get" certain things in the book?

WDM: I don't think that you have to be absolutely familiar with a place to experience it successfully in reading. You bring your own interpretation to most texts. I read, and loved, DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON by George Orwell despite never having been there at the time of the reading. When I finally did get to London it was still the imagined London that I held in my imagination.

TRC: What ever happened to Frank Hall, the tragic, fascinating and altogether strange guy you hung around with when you were 15? In what way(s) was your friendship with him influential or formative?

WDM: Frank was a deeply disturbed young man who sank ever deeper into his psychosis. I was attracted to Frank because he looked a bit like me, because he had, through his father, an artistic background, and because there was an other worldly aspect to his tortured life. I think that, through him, I began to understand all of those people who wander through the streets talking to themselves and who occasionally express themselves with violence.

TRC: After 160-plus pages of chronicling the discipline problems you had throughout childhood and adolescence, on the last page you come to the conclusion that "by today's standards I might have been described as hyperactive." As you probably know, today's hyperactive kids are often diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and prescribed drugs like Ritalin. Had times been different when you were a kid, and you were diagnosed with A. D. D. and given medication, do you think your life --- on both a personal and professional level --- would have turned out differently? In what ways?

WDM: I don't know, of course, but I think that my hyperactivity was an integral part of my personality. I've published 67 books and have another dozen in the pipeline. I might have published more total "pages" than any other African American writer and I think this is an extension of my high activity level. It's difficult for me not to be active. I still drive most people crazy.

TRC: Throughout BAD BOY you talk about reading some pretty heavy, intellectually demanding literature --- like Balzac, Joyce, and Camus. If this is where your literary tastes lie, how did you come to write books for children and teens?

WDM: I think my own teen years were so troublesome that I'm constantly exploring them. Also, because I didn't have much in the way of formal education, most of my jobs sucked. I was working as a messenger when I made the decision to seriously turn to writing. What was available to me at the time were cheap journals (Yes, I wrote for the National Enquirer), sports magazines, and as the result of a contest, books for young people. I was glad to take it. I have also published in literary quarterlies and, under other names, in even cheaper journals than the one mentioned.

TRC: Like so many other angst-ridden and existential-crisis-suffering teens, myself included, you wrote and read a lot of poetry. What is it about poetry --- as opposed to, say, novels or short stories --- that really strikes a chord with teenagers?

WDM: Young people connect most directly with their passions. When we talk about angst-ridden and existential suffering we are most often talking about very young people. The same sturm und drang in older folks is a preamble to suicide.

TRC: Did writing BAD BOY affect your relationship with your family? For better or worse?

WDM: BAD BOY has not been reviewed by most of my family. My adult daughter, having invested me with a total lack of emotional fragility and sure that my being a pain in the butt in her life as she grew up was a natural extension of my "not understanding what it meant to be young," was suitably shocked.

TRC: BAD BOY takes the reader through the first 17 years of your life. Have you given any thought to writing about your adult life?

WDM: The rest of my life gets to be boringly introspective, with a few side trips into an often amusing social ineptitude. I might scribble a few notes before my final walk into the waning tide.

TRC: As a former bad boy yourself, what advice might you have for today's bad boys and girls --- teens struggling with school, at odds with their parents, coming to terms with their sexuality and trying to figure out who they are, who they should aspire to be and where they fit in?

WDM: The trick, of course, is understanding that there is no inherent fairness in life, and that ultimately we are our own salvation. It is only when we become spectators, rather than participants, in our lives, that we truly fail. There are important things in life and you have to discover them for yourself. For me the important things are love for at least one other person and enough tolerance for myself to get through the weekend.

TRC: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. It was quite an honor!

Past Interview

February 4, 2000

Walter Dean Myers is the author of numerous books for Young Adults and children, but we think that most people can relate to his gritty and realistic coming of age stories. We're not his only fans --- his latest novel, MONSTER, was nominated for a 1999 National Book Award and won the Michael L. Printz Award. The book's main character, Steve Harmon is called a "Monster" by the man prosecuting him for his alleged role in a fateful shooting. As the reader you serve as witness and jury while trying to determine Steve's innocence or guilt. Myers does not make it easy for you to decide. Find out what fuels Myers' writing, what he does during his down time (hint: he's often found chasing his cat Askia around the house), his research for MONSTER and more in this interview.

TRC: Your 1999 young adult novel MONSTER, about a 16-year-old boy who has been charged as an adult accomplice in the murder of a Harlem drugstore owner, has just won the newly created Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults. It was also a nominee for the 1999 National Book Awards. What inspired you to write it?

WDM: The other side of the "war on crime" is the huge number of young people caught up in the juvenile justice system. They're getting involved with drugs, gang fights, petty robberies, etc. More and more teenagers like Stephen are being tried as adults. Everyone writes and talks about stopping crime, I thought I needed to write about it from the teenagers1 point of view.

TRC: The story itself reads like a screenplay. What made you decide to tell Steve's story in this fashion?

WDM: People who commit crimes know what they have done, or been charged with, was wrong. They often attempt to separate themselves from their deeds. In this case, Stephen, when he writes about himself, writes in journal form. When he writes about the crime, he attempts to move away from it by picturing it as a film.

TRC: In MONSTER, you display a very thorough understanding of law and courtroom procedure, as well as life behind bars. What kind of research did you do to prepare for writing the book?

WDM: I interviewed about 25 inmates in prisons in New York and New Jersey. I also attended a seminar on Criminal Justice run by the New York City prosecutor's office.

TRC: Possibly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Steve Harmon's story is truly tragic. What were you hoping to convey in telling his story?

WDM: Almost every major crime is preceded by a series of small moral lapses. Perhaps it is bullying in school, or shoplifting. What Stephen has done is permitted himself to deny his role in this affair. It is this denial ("I was onlyS") that allows us to maintain the beliefs that we are really good people caught up in bad circumstances.

TRC: Much of your work is written for the teen reader, yet it is sophisticated enough in plot structure and subject matter to entertain adults. What made you decide to write for young adult and middle-grade readers?

WDM: The young adult and middle grade periods of my life were so vivid and, in looking back, so influential in how I would live the rest of my life, that I am drawn to it over and over again.

TRC: Have you ever considered writing fiction for adults?

WDM: I have considered writing adult fiction but, alas, no one has asked me.

TRC: Are you conscious of the age of your audience when you write? How do you find ways to connect with those readers?

WDM: I think about the story I'm writing, never about the reader. Later, during the editorial process, the editor will probably put questions to me that considers the age of the reader.

TRC: You currently have a couple of new books out --- MALCOLM X: A Fire Burning Brightly for young readers and 145TH STREET STORIES for young adult readers. Are you working on anything right now? If so, can you give us a preview?

WDM: I'm working on a biography of Muhammad Ali, a play about the legendary John Henry (with music!!) and a book about growing up in the inner city.

TRC: What do you think teens are looking for when they read?

WDM: They want an interesting story that touches the issues with which they are involved or, at least, concerned. They also want to be entertained.

TRC: You are probably best known for exploring the lives of young urban blacks in your fiction, yet you also write original folk tales, poetry, ghost stories, and nonfiction. Where do your ideas come from? What inspires you?

WDM: My stories are an extension of my life. I've always been a person who wanted to explore every facet of life and different ways of expressing the human experience.

TRC: How old were you when you started writing? When did you decide to become a writer?

WDM: I've been writing since I was nine. For a person with speech difficulties, writing was a way of communicating easily. It was my hobby more than a way of making a living. I'm surprised to actually be able to make money doing this thing I love.

TRC: Inspired by the success of your first picture book, WHERE DOES THE DAY GO, you went on to produce more books for children. Was it difficult at first finding a Amistad Press for your work?

WDM: I didn't consider it difficult to find a Amistad Press, although I had quite a few rejections. I was used to rejections and didn't expect a quick acceptance. After the second or third book it began to be easy.

TRC: How has your life changed since gaining acclaim as an author?

WDM: The biggest change is that I don't have to leave home to go to work. There's a lot of boring moments in this job, but lots of excitement as well. Also, this is one of those jobs where people tell you what they think of your performance via reviews, awards, etc.

TRC: Where do you do your best creative thinking? Is there any particular place that tends to inspire you?

WDM: My best ideas come as I lie in bed in the mornings after a good night's sleep.

TRC: What's a typical work day like for you?

WDM: I usually wake up around four in the morning. Lying in bed until four thirty, I consider what I want to do for the day. By five I'm up and about, and often engaged in a fight with Askia, my cat. We have differences of opinion about how soon he needs to be fed in the mornings. Five thirty finds me at the computer working to complete the seven pages, which will be my day's work. By eight, when my wife finally gets out of bed, I've done my seven pages for the day. The rest of the day I'm fairly casual about planning new work or revising a work already completed. I also like to chase Askia, which he doesn't tolerate very well. If he hides I'll spend some time aggravating my wife, who does tolerate it quite well.

TRC: We know you spend a lot of time researching and writing, but how do you spend your free time? Do you have any hobbies?

WDM: I play flute for fun and do crossword puzzles. Sometimes I write short stories simply because I like to write them. I've also written short plays, which I will probably never publish. My major hobby, writing, is also my job.

TRC: With over 30 published books and numerous literary awards, your writing career has proved enormously successful. What advice would you give to kids out there hoping to be writers someday?

WDM: What I earnestly believe is that writing can be learned by anyone truly interested in language and literature. The trick is not to wait for inspiration, but rather to train yourself to sit down and write on a regular basis. Writers don't fail because they don't write well, they fail because they don't produce. My advice to young writers is to read as much good literature as they can so they will experience the best uses of language and the most sensitive storytelling, and then train themselves to write on a regular basis.

TRC: And finally, if you could sum up the message carried through all of your work in one sentence, how would it read?

WDM: We are responsible for our own lives, and fulfill our lives when we look to understand the lives of others.