Walter Dean Myers

Terry Novak (Johnson and Wales University)

Ed. by Emory Elliott, University of California, Riverside
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

Born 12 Aug 1937
Died 1 Jul 2014
Activity 1966-2014

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Cultural Identities

African American

Activities

Primary

Biographer
Children's/Young Adult writer
Novelist
Story-writer

Other

Historian / Chronicler
Travel writer

Resources

Myers' Works

Save to Bookshelf

Walter Dean Myers, an African-American writer born on 12 August 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, lost his mother when he was only three. This traumatic event led to the youngster being handed over to the Dean family to be raised as their foster son. Myers took the Dean family name as part of his own when he began his writing career. With the Dean family, young Myers moved from West Virginia to Harlem, in New York City. Myers had a good childhood and was an avid reader from an early age. Despite being a good student, Myers knew his foster family would be unable to send him to college. Unhappy with this reality, Myers dropped out of high school and joined the army. After being discharged from the Army, Myers worked at a series of jobs, including a stint at the post office. He also began…

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842 words

Citation: Novak, Terry. "Walter Dean Myers". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3280, accessed 24 November 2024.]