One Week After His Passing, LSU's Dr. Steve Bickmore and the YAL Community Reflect on the Life and Work of Author Walter Dean Myers
For this YA Wednesday I want to add my voice to the many voices that are remembering the notable young adult writer, Walter Dean Myers. Only two weeks ago, I was talking out loud about who I would love to invite to the LSU YAL conference. I said Walter Dean Myers, knowing that he was elderly and didn’t travel much. My students quickly said that would be awesome. They were right, it would have been. Now, I lament his passing and revel in the fact that his books, his visions of life’s possibilities survive.
His novel, Monster (Myers & Myers, 1999), was the first novel I selected for the first young adult literature course I taught at the university level in the fall of 2002. It was published in 1999 and I thought it was a “new” selection. It won the first Printz Award, was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor book, and nominated for the National Book Award. It was a rewarding experience for me and the students. As I visited high schools in the Athens, Georgia area, I realized that I wasn't as “cutting edge” as I imagined. It was already in classroom and in the hands of students. I found dog-eared copies everywhere. And so it goes. Teachers who know kids, know what to offer them. If you know Walter Dean Myers’ work, you understand the loss and the great gift he was to young adult literature. If you don’t, you should. I can’t come close to the tributes given by those who knew him and worked with him. I will do my best to point you to some sources. My favorite is from an LSU YAL participant, Chris Crutcher and his post on his Facebook page and I shared it on mine.
You should also bookmark the Wikipedia page, it provides a starting point and a reminder of his life and career. Bookmark a few tributes so that when you are teaching that next YA literature course or sharing with students you can reminded them that real people write the books they love. People who care deeply about who they are writing for and who, as Walter did, work to inspire and offer possibility. Check The Huffington Post, The LA Times, CNN.com, and The New York Times .
Rest in Peace, Walter
Steven T. Bickmore
His novel, Monster (Myers & Myers, 1999), was the first novel I selected for the first young adult literature course I taught at the university level in the fall of 2002. It was published in 1999 and I thought it was a “new” selection. It won the first Printz Award, was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor book, and nominated for the National Book Award. It was a rewarding experience for me and the students. As I visited high schools in the Athens, Georgia area, I realized that I wasn't as “cutting edge” as I imagined. It was already in classroom and in the hands of students. I found dog-eared copies everywhere. And so it goes. Teachers who know kids, know what to offer them. If you know Walter Dean Myers’ work, you understand the loss and the great gift he was to young adult literature. If you don’t, you should. I can’t come close to the tributes given by those who knew him and worked with him. I will do my best to point you to some sources. My favorite is from an LSU YAL participant, Chris Crutcher and his post on his Facebook page and I shared it on mine.
You should also bookmark the Wikipedia page, it provides a starting point and a reminder of his life and career. Bookmark a few tributes so that when you are teaching that next YA literature course or sharing with students you can reminded them that real people write the books they love. People who care deeply about who they are writing for and who, as Walter did, work to inspire and offer possibility. Check The Huffington Post, The LA Times, CNN.com, and The New York Times .
Rest in Peace, Walter
Steven T. Bickmore
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