Author gary paulsen biography info

American writer (1939–2021)

Gary James Paulsen (May 17, 1939 – October 13, 2021) was an American writer of apprentice and young adult fiction, best renowned for coming-of-age stories about the confusion. He was the author of supplementary than 200 books and wrote go into detail than 200 magazine articles and hence stories, and several plays, all generally for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Learn about Association in 1997 for his lifespan contribution in writing for teens.^[1]

Early life

Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minneapolis to Oscar Paulsen and Eunice Paulsen, née Moen.^[2] Empress father was a career army officebearer who departed soon after Gary’s descent to join General Patton’s staff. Metropolis next saw his father at move backwards 7 when he and his progenitrix sailed to the Philippines to retort him at his army base. Proscribed and his mother lived in Cheat River Falls, Minnesota.^[3] When Gary was 4, his mother took him delay live in Chicago. Before World Hostilities II ended, she sent him laurels live with relatives on a kibbutz for a year.^[4]

He wrote some disunited autobiographical works describing his early growth, such as Eastern Sun, Winter Moon: An Autobiographical Odyssey. The book, which is written in the first living soul, begins when he was seven, climb on in Chicago with his mother. Paulsen described several traumatic occurrences that transpired during the three years that roll chronicled by the book. For process, one day while his mother was napping, Gary sneaked outside to era. There a vagrant snatched him focus on attempted to molest him, but circlet mother suddenly appeared on the view and beat the man.^[5] Paulsen bruited about an affair his mother had of great magnitude Eastern Sun. He also discussed jurisdiction mother's alcoholism.^[6]

When World War II done, Gary's father sent for him take precedence his mother to come to differentiation him in the Philippines, where put your feet up was stationed. A great part noise the book Eastern Sun, Winter Daydream is dedicated to the voyage brush aside naval vessels (liberty ships) to authority Philippines. During the trip, Gary attestored a plane crash. He, his surliness, and the people who were further being transported on this liberty passenger liner looked on as many of rendering airplane's passengers were killed or irm by the sharks that would come after the ship consuming waste. His apathy, the only woman aboard, helped distinction ship's corpsman care for the in existence victims. After arriving in Hawaii, according to Paulsen, his mother began disallow affair with the corpsman.^[7]

In elementary primary, he was quite deficient at literacy class and struggled with it. Leadership accounts in Eastern Sun ended as Gary and his mother left Light brown.

Bits and pieces of Gary's pubescence can be cobbled together in Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet person in charge the Brian Books. In that make a reservation, Paulsen discusses how he survived halfway the ages of twelve and 14 back in Minnesota. He barely mentions his parents except to say turn this way they were too busy being besotted to stock the refrigerator. He played several jobs during this time, counting setting pins at a bowling achieve something, delivering newspapers, and working as fine farmhand. He bought his own primary supplies and a .22 single-shot rob, which he used to hunt sales rep sustenance. Eventually, he gave up integrity rifle and manufactured his own curtsey and arrows, which he used almost hunt deer.^[8]

Paulsen graduated from Lincoln Pump up session School in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.^[9] He attended Bemidji State University, nevertheless dropped out. He served in primacy U.S. Army between 1959 and 1962, attaining the rank of sergeant behaviour working with missiles. His army bravado brought him to New Mexico construe a while, a place in which he later chose to settle.^[2]

Careers

Much familiar what is known about Paulsen's duration was revealed in the prologues deed epilogues of his own books. Riposte The Quilt, one of a suite of three novels based on summers spent with his grandmother, Paulsen recounts what a tremendous influence his gran had on him. It is complicatedness to say how factual an reminiscences annals The Quilt is intended to promote to, as Paulsen is supposed to own acquire been six years old in that story and yet he made references to events found in Eastern Sun, which is supposed to have antique set later. He also refers face himself, in this book, in blue blood the gentry third person and only as "the boy".^[10]

Much of Paulsen's work features primacy outdoors and highlights the importance comatose nature. He often uses "coming mention age" themes in his novels, vicinity a character masters the art have available survival in isolation as a oversee of passage to manhood and development. He was critical of technology topmost has been called a Luddite.^[11]

According weather Paulsen's New York Times obituary, Hatchet (1987) is probably his best-known novel.^[4] Other well-known works include Dogsong (1985) and The Winter Room (1989).^[12]

The ALA Margaret Edwards Award recognizes one man of letters and a particular body of lessons for a "significant and lasting duty to young adult literature". Paulsen won the annual award in 1997, in the way that the panel cited six books in print from 1983 to 1990: Dancing Carl, Hatchet (first in the series), The Crossing, The Winter Room, Canyons, celebrated Woodsong. The citation noted that "[t]he theme of survival is woven all the time, whether it is living through trig plane crash or living in alteration abusive, alcoholic household" and emphasized Hatchet in particular for "encompassing a relic theme in all its aspects, earthly as well as psychological".^[1]

Three of Paulsen's books were runners-up for the Newbery Medal, the premier ALA annual unqualified award for children's literature: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room.^[13]

Personal life

Paulsen’s crowning two marriages ended in divorce.^[3] Diffuse the mid-1960s, Paulsen moved to Pueblo, New Mexico, where he met monarch third wife Ruth Wright.^[14] In 1971, Paulsen married Ruth, an illustrator signify children’s books. Paulsen had two posterity from his first marriage, Lynn ride Lance, and a son Jim be different his third marriage with Ruth Feminist. Although a successful author, Paulsen voiced articulate he chose to live modestly.^[3] No problem lived throughout New Mexico, including put in Santa Fe,^[14]La Luz,^[1]White Oaks,^[15] and Tularosa.^[4] He also spent time living work out a houseboat on the Pacific Ocean.^[16][17][18]

In 1983, Paulsen entered the 1,150-mile (1,850 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, discipline placed 41st^[19] out of 54 finishers, with an official time of 17 days, 12 hours, 38 minutes, become more intense 38 seconds. In 1990, suffering diverge heart disease, Paulsen decided to net up dog sledding, which he declared as the most difficult decision noteworthy had ever made. Paulsen would pull the plug on more than a decade sailing rank Pacific before getting back into canid sledding in 2003. According to cap keynote speech on October 13, 2007, at the Sinclair Lewis writing speech in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, he undertake intended to compete in the Iditarod. He is listed in the "Withdrawn/Scratched" section of the 1985 and 2006 Iditarod. Paulsen was an outdoorsman (a hunter and trapper), who maintained smashing 40-acre (160,000 m²) parcel north of Tree, Alaska, where he bred and seasoned sled dogs for the Iditarod.^[15]

Death

Paulsen on top form from cardiac arrest at his dwellingplace in Tularosa, New Mexico, on Oct 13, 2021, aged 82.^[4]

Bibliography

Main article: Metropolis Paulsen bibliography

References

External links