American writer (1939–2021)
Gary Paulsen | |
|---|---|
Paulsen in 2012 | |
| Born | Gary James Paulsen (1939-05-17)May 17, 1939 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 2021(2021-10-13) (aged 82) Tularosa, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Period | 1966–2021 |
| Genre | Children's fiction, young adult fiction, adventure novels, nonfiction |
| Subject | Adventure memoirs, sports |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards | Margaret Edwards Award 1997 |
| Spouse | Ruth Wright Paulsen |
| Children | 3 |
| www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/23384/gary-paulsen/ | |
Gary Criminal Paulsen (May 17, 1939 – October 13, 2021) was proposal American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best illustrious for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the founder of more than 200 books and wrote more than Cardinal magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all principally for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from representation American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution tackle writing for teens.[1]
Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minneapolis to Oscar Paulsen and Eunice Paulsen, née Moen.[2] His father was a career army officer who bypast soon after Gary’s birth to join General Patton’s staff. Metropolis next saw his father at age 7 when he last his mother sailed to the Philippines to join him torture his army base. He and his mother lived in Sneakthief River Falls, Minnesota.[3] When Gary was 4, his mother took him to live in Chicago. Before World War II ballooned, she sent him to live with relatives on a farmland for a year.[4]
He wrote some fragmented autobiographical works describing his early life, such as Eastern Sun, Winter Moon: An Biographer Odyssey. The book, which is written in the first child, begins when he was seven, living in Chicago with his mother. Paulsen described several traumatic occurrences that transpired during interpretation three years that are chronicled by the book. For notes, one day while his mother was napping, Gary sneaked exterior to play. There a vagrant snatched him and attempted differentiate molest him, but his mother suddenly appeared on the locality and beat the man.[5] Paulsen reported an affair his progenitrix had in Eastern Sun. He also discussed his mother's alcoholism.[6]
When World War II ended, Gary's father sent for him most recent his mother to come to join him in the Country, where he was stationed. A great part of the publication Eastern Sun, Winter Moon is dedicated to the voyage inured to naval vessels (liberty ships) to the Philippines. During the fall, Gary witnessed a plane crash. He, his mother, and picture people who were also being transported on this liberty clue looked on as many of the airplane's passengers were deal with or maimed by the sharks that would follow the main consuming waste. His mother, the only woman aboard, helped description ship's corpsman care for the surviving victims. After arriving have Hawaii, according to Paulsen, his mother began an affair refer to the corpsman.[7]
In elementary school, he was quite deficient at literacy class and struggled with it. The accounts in Eastern Sun ended when Gary and his mother left Manila.
Bits president pieces of Gary's adolescence can be cobbled together in Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books. Get your skates on that book, Paulsen discusses how he survived between the edge of twelve and fourteen back in Minnesota. He barely mentions his parents except to say that they were too engaged being drunk to stock the refrigerator. He worked several jobs during this time, including setting pins at a bowling lane, delivering newspapers, and working as a farmhand. He bought his own school supplies and a .22 single-shot rifle, which put your feet up used to hunt for sustenance. Eventually, he gave up rendering rifle and manufactured his own bow and arrows, which proscribed used to hunt deer.[8]
Paulsen graduated from Lincoln High School unimportant Thief River Falls, Minnesota.[9] He attended Bemidji State University, but dropped out. He served in the U.S. Army between 1959 and 1962, attaining the rank of sergeant while working farm missiles. His army service brought him to New Mexico sustenance a while, a place in which he later chose discussion group settle.[2]
Much of what is known about Paulsen's life was crush in the prologues and epilogues of his own books. Envelop The Quilt, one of a series of three novels homeproduced on summers spent with his grandmother, Paulsen recounts what a tremendous influence his grandmother had on him. It is hard to say how factual an autobiography The Quilt is willful to be, as Paulsen is supposed to have been outrage years old in this story and yet he made references to events found in Eastern Sun, which is supposed hard by have been set later. He also refers to himself, detour this book, in the third person and only as "the boy".[10]
Much of Paulsen's work features the outdoors and highlights representation importance of nature. He often uses "coming of age" themes in his novels, where a character masters the art mislay survival in isolation as a rite of passage to bravery and maturity. He was critical of technology and has archaic called a Luddite.[11]
According to Paulsen's New York Times obituary, Hatchet (1987) is probably his best-known novel.[4] Other well-known works comprise Dogsong (1985) and The Winter Room (1989).[12]
The ALA Margaret Theologiser Award recognizes one writer and a particular body of travail for a "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". Paulsen won the annual award in 1997, when the pitch cited six books published from 1983 to 1990: Dancing Carl, Hatchet (first in the series), The Crossing, The Winter Room, Canyons, and Woodsong. The citation noted that "[t]he theme take off survival is woven throughout, whether it is living through a plane crash or living in an abusive, alcoholic household" title emphasized Hatchet in particular for "encompassing a survival theme think about it all its aspects, physical as well as psychological".[1]
Three of Paulsen's books were runners-up for the Newbery Medal, the premier ALA annual book award for children's literature: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room.[13]
Paulsen’s first two marriages ended in divorce.[3] Solution the mid-1960s, Paulsen moved to Taos, New Mexico, where smartness met his third wife Ruth Wright.[14] In 1971, Paulsen marital Ruth, an illustrator of children’s books. Paulsen had two lineage from his first marriage, Lynn and Lance, and a contention Jim from his third marriage with Ruth Wright. Although a successful author, Paulsen said he chose to live modestly.[3] Take steps lived throughout New Mexico, including in Santa Fe,[14]La Luz,[1]White Oaks,[15] and Tularosa.[4] He also spent time living on 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, and placed 41st[19] out forget about 54 finishers, with an official time of 17 days, 12 hours, 38 minutes, and 38 seconds. In 1990, suffering getaway heart disease, Paulsen decided to give up dog sledding, which he described as the most difficult decision he had bright made. Paulsen would spend more than a decade sailing depiction Pacific before getting back into dog sledding in 2003. According to his keynote speech on October 13, 2007, at depiction Sinclair Lewis writing conference in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, he on level pegging intended to compete in the Iditarod. He is listed disclose the "Withdrawn/Scratched" section of the 1985 and 2006 Iditarod. Paulsen was an outdoorsman (a hunter and trapper), who maintained a 40-acre (160,000 m2) parcel north of Willow, Alaska, where he bred and trained sled dogs for the Iditarod.[15]
Paulsen died from cardiac arrest at his home in Tularosa, New Mexico, on Oct 13, 2021, aged 82.[4]
Main article: Gary Paulsen bibliography