How Did Walter Dean Myer's Life Influence His Writing?

Taylor Runge

Mrs. Blomme

English 11

10 December 2014

Tough Love from Myers

Walter Dean Myers is a well known children’s author with an interesting life story. There have been some arguments over his writing because everyone has a different opinion of his stories because they look at it with different thoughts. Walter Dean Myers is known to be a harsh children’s writer but to him he is just showing them how life in the real world works.

Myers was born to Mary and George Walters with the name Walter Milton Myers on August 12, 1937. When Walter was two his mother died and his father put him in the foster system. Florence and Herbert Dean ended up his foster parents and they raised him in Harlem, New York. When Walter turned 18 he changed his name to Walter Dean Myers so honor both sets of parents. As a child his life consisted of reading and religion, he said, “the church guided me through the rough paths i went through in my life.” Although he loved to read, he didn’t do very well in school besides writing, he also got into multiple fights because other children would make fun of his speech impediment. He ended up dropping out of high school and going into the army when he was seventeen.(“About Walter Dean Myers”) Some may say that his childhood didn’t have anything to do with his writing but it had a big influence on his writing later on.

Florence read to him every night when Walter was younger, this is where Walter got his love for reading. (“About Walter Dean Myers”) Herbert always made sure that Walter was taken care of and had the things he desperately needed growing up but besides that he and Walter weren’t very close. He was too embarrassed to be around Walter because Herbert himself couldn't read or write so he separated himself. (“A Father’s Open Book”) In a way this could discourage a child but in Walter’s mind this was another