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Gary
Paulsen was born on May 17,l939 in Minnesota. During the first few years of his
life, he was raised by his grandmother and several aunts because his father was
stationed in Europe during World War II. His mother worked in a factory. He
lived overseas after the war in the Philippines between 1946-49. After that
time, he was constantly moving because of his father's military career. His
parents were alcoholics and eventually Gary had to move out and live with
relatives and be self
supporting.
Learn about Gary Paulsen
He
suffered lasting physical or psychological damage from a war experience (again,
Paulsen's father, and the subject of Paulsen's first nonfiction book, The
Special War); and boys who face a direct struggle with nature while they
learn about the interrelationships between man.
Between 1967 and 1976 three books were published that focused on a search for
meaning and a system of values based on the author's personal relationship with
the harsh yet ultimately comic natural world. Richard Bastian's Trout
Fishing in America (1976), Robert Persia's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance (1974), and Norman MacLean's A River Runs Through It and
Other Stories (1976) combined autobiography with fiction as the authors
reexamined moments of their pasts.
Gary Paulsen, beginning his writing career in the same era, addressed the same
concerns in his eighteen young adult books, beginning with Mr. Ticket
(1968) and continuing on through Canyons (1990) and Wood song
(1990), a nonfictional account of his racing a dog-sled team in the Alaskan
Iditarod. Paulsen's books share common characteristics that stem from his
personal experiences. Enclosed in the universal coming-of-age package used by
other young adult novelists are rural Midwestern settings, usually in Minnesota,
Paulsen's native state; a reminiscence of the character's youthful past, often
the 1950s, when Paulsen was growing up; relationships with sympathetic adults,
some related, some not (Paulsen was raised by his grandmother and spent
significant time with aunts and uncles); alcoholic parents (Paulsen's father
was); adults who have people.
Not all of these characteristics appear in each novel. To gain a greater
insight into Paulsen's craft, it is helpful to separate his books by point of
view. The first-person narratives,
Winterkill (1976), The Foxman (1977),
Tiltawhirl John (1977),
Popcorn Days and Buttermilk Nights (1983),
Dancing Carl (1983), and The Winter Room (1989) are in many
ways Paulsen's best because in each novel the reader is drawn immediately into
the protagonist's A librarian offered him a library card while he was warming
himself from the cold. He read constantly, even as much as a book a day. Ever
since he was fifteen, he worked many jobs to support himself.
He attended Bemidji College, now Bemidji State University, in Minnesota, paying
his tuition by being a trapper. He also spent some time in the army. He decided
one day to try writing and tried to become a magazine editor. He spent nearly a
year as an associate magazine editor on a magazine for men in Hollywood,
California. He published his first book, Special War, in 1966. His early
career was very productive. He published nearly forty books and several articles
and short stories. His career was interrupted by a lawsuit in 1977 over
Winterkill. He won the lawsuit but at a high cost. During that time he
picked up the hobby of dog sledding which because the subject of some of his
future works, like Dog song. He later attended the University of Colorado
in 1972. He suffered a heart attack in 1990 which has reduced some of his
physical activity. He continues "on the go" sledding, motorcycling and sailing.
He and his wife Ruth who has illustrated some of his books live in La Luz, New
Mexico and Minnesota.
You'll find critical information on Paulsen's books at Kay Vandergrift's Gary
Paulsen Page. His novels are excellent examples of the person fight nature plot
in young adult novels. His action stories about survival including obstacles
such as alcoholism, death or surviving in the wilderness. He is very visual in
his writing style and uses setting effectively and realistically. Most of his
main characters are not from perfect families and usually find someone such as a
member of the extended family to turn to. As noted in "Gary Paulsen. A Writer of
His Time" in the ALAN Journal, his novels don't always end neatly and
happily ever after, but usually open ended (1). He challenges his readers to
pursue knowledge and treats his audience as human beings. Some of his novels are
about rite of passage. Some have only one character, such as Hatchet and
Voyage of the Frog.
Paulsen was the recipient of the 1997 Margaret A. Edwards Award for his lifetime
achievement in writing for young adults.
Learn about Gary
Paulsen
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