Walter Dean Myers

<p> Walter Dean Myers preeminent author of teen fiction biography and verse refines the image of black characters that are frequently trivialized or vilified in juvenile literature advertising television and film. From his saga <I>The Glory Field</I> to his novel <I>The Young Landlords</I> Myers's canon surveys the complex realm of the teen years as colliding settings in home school and the street.</p><p> This volume introduces readers to both the writer and his work with an emphasis on the characters dates events motifs and themes from the books. Myers's 101 A-to-Z entries offer concise analytical discussion on all topics and include generous citations from primary and secondary sources. Each entry concludes with a selected bibliography on such subjects as segregation Malcolm X urbanism writing metafiction drugs and alcohol slavery and the Vietnam War. Appendices offer a timeline of historical events in Myers's writings and forty topics for group or individual projects oral analysis background material and theme development. A map of Harlem (where many of the stories are set) genealogical diagrams for characters and an author chronology contribute to a comprehensive presentation.</p>