Dominguez,+Eric


 * __ Eric Dominguez __**

**__ Gary Paulsen __**

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

__Gary Paulsen : Voice of Adventure and Survival__ By: JoAnn Early Macken

__Gary Paulsen__ By: Ann Gaines



**Eric Dominguez Period 2 ** **__Gary Paulsen __**

· Born on May 17, 1939 · In Minneapolis, Minnesota · Father Oscar Paulsen, an army officer in Europe · Mother Eunice Paulsen, worked in a munitions factory · Moved to Chicago at age 5 · Spent most of his time alone or with babysitter · Babysitter drank too much and listened to the radio · Went to the Philippines to join father at end of the war · Took a ship there · Witnessed a plane crash and shark attack · Meets father for the first time at age 7 · Parents drink heavily and fight a lot, don’t spend time with Gary · 1949 return to the U. S.   · Father starts chicken farm in Minnesota · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Parents still drinking and fighting, Gary is miserable · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gary spends a lot of time with relatives were he feels safe · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Calls them his “safety net” · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At home tries to avoid parents · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hides in the basement of his apartment building and in the woods · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At 12 he starts hunting · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spends much time in the woods alone: hunting, camping, cooking · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Parents don’t even notice · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Very sad and rough childhood, spent mostly alone · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moved a lot because father was in the army · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Called an army brat · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Never spent more than 5 month in the same school · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Was very unhappy, did poorly in school, was very shy, had no friends, was bad at sports · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Barely passed the ninth grade · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">His family was very poor · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Worked wherever he could to make money for food and clothes · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One cold winter night, he went into a library to keep warm · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Librarian gave him a library card and a book even though he looked poor · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Changed his life forever · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1st book took one month to read, but soon was reading a book a day · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nobody ever gave him anything before · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Life at home still horrible · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ran away to work on a beet farm · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joined a traveling carnival for a short time · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Realized this was not the life he wanted so went back home · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Barely graduated high school with a D average · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Next went to Bemidji State Teachers College · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Paid for tuition by working at trapping animals for the state · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Had horrible grades again and flunked out of college · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At 19 with nothing else to do, he joined the army · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Studied electrical engineering and missile technology · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hated the army, but it gave him important job skills · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Got married while in the army · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Later had two children: Lance and Lynn · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marriage fell apart and he got a divorce · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Made a sudden decision to become a writer while at work reading an article about test flying new planes · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Quit his job on the spot · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wanted to find a job as a magazine editor · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Had no experience · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Created a fake resume · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Got a job in Los Angeles editing a men’s magazine · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He wrote at night after his job · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Editors helped him with his writings · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Skills improves quickly, soon wrote first article · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Worked at other jobs including a movie extra and at wood carving · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Got married again · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Did not last, got divorced again · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Did not like Hollywood, so quit his · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moved back to Minnesota · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wrote first book __The Special War__ about the Vietnam War · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Second book: __Some Birds Don’t Fly__ about the missile industry · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First children’s book: __Mr. Tucket__ about a boy traveling with a wagon train · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moved back to California, bought and lived on a boat for six months · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1967 moved to Taos, New Mexico · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Life fell apart when he started drinking heavily, continued for six years · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing got harder to do as drinking grew worse · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1969 met Ruth Ellen Wright and got married · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruth was a teacher and an artist · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They moved to Denver, Colorado · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Had a son named James · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gary still drinking heavily, not writing, hard to keep a job · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Has worked many different jobs: farmhand, soldier, actor, sailor, truck driver, editor, animal trapper, field engineer, professional archer, construction worker, even cleaned out sewage tanks · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Got into many bar fights · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruth stayed with him · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Woke up one day 400 miles from home at a friend’s house with his son, had no idea how he got there · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Realized he was in trouble, promised to stop drinking · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On second wedding anniversary May 5,1973, Gary quit drinking for good · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Two years later started writing and selling books again · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1979, he signed a contract with a publishing company that did not pay him · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Put him in serious financial trouble · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moved back to Minnesota · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Were very poor, lived without plumbing and electricity · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Grew and hunted their own food · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Someone sued Gary for libel · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thought Gary’s book __Winterkill__ was about him · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gary eventually won when a judge dismissed the case · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Legal costs left him almost bankrupt · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Extremely poor, did not even have a car · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Friend gives him a broken sled and some old dogs · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gary fixes the sled and learns to dogsled · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Loves dog sledding, does it every day · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gains so much love and respect for his dogs and animals, that he stops trapping animals · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1983 enters Iditarod, 1200 mile dogsled race across Alaska · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Needed money for supplies, but was very poor · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An editor from Bradbury Press offers Gary a cash advance for books that he would write for him later · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While training for the race, Gary continues to write · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Different attitude than other racers · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Focus on having a great adventure not on winning · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Loved his dogs and the beauty of nature · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Took 17 days to finish the race, placed 42nd out of more than 70 teams · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After 1st Iditarod, Gary started training to run a second race in 1985 · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Did not finish second Iditarod · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Got caught in a storm and went out to sea on a broken piece of ice · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stranded for two days before they were saved by a pilot · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Still raced for fun afterwards · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wrote many, many books · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wrote books about his Iditarod adventures including: __Woodsong__, __Winterdance__, __Doglean__, __My Life in Dog Years__, __Puppies__, __Dogs__, __Blue Northers__, and __Dogsong__ · __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dogsong __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> first of Gary’s books to receive the Newbery Honor Award, also won many other awards · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hard work paying off · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Started to do book signings and visit schools · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1987 wrote Hatchet, his most popular book ever · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Millions of copies sold · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Second book to win Newbery Honor Award · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Story about a 12 year old boy named Brian Robeson, who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. He must learn to survive on his on with only a hatchet in the Canadian wilderness. · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1990,Gary wants to train for another Iditarod · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Doctor tells him he can’t because he has heart disease · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Has to give up running dogs · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moves to New Mexico · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Fills his days by concentrating his energy on writing · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spends 18-20 hours a day writing · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Third book to be given the Newberry Honor Award: __The Winter Room__ · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tours schools and bookstores discussing life and books · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Continues to stay close to nature · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Enjoys horseback riding · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1994 fixes up a boat (Felicity) and sails from Mexico to Alaska and back in 12 days · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1995, buys a Harley Davidson motorcycle and rides from New Mexico to Alaska and back with a friend · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Against the odds has become a great writer · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Author of more than 200 books as well as magazine articles, short stories and plays · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stories are about his own life experiences and adventures · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing is very realistic and believable · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Readers identify with characters · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many books have won several awards · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1997 Gary received Margaret A. Edwards Award, for lifetime contribution to young adult books · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Loves writing, writes every day · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gives him balance and focus · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Turns life experiences into many stories · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Memories give him many ideas to write about · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Writes one book and thinks about the next three · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Still very active today · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Always looking for adventures that will become stories in his books

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 48pt; line-height: 115%;">GARY PAULSEN **

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">By: Eric Dominguez **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father, Oscar Paulsen, was an army officer stationed in Europe. He was not around for Gary’s early years. Gary lived with his mother, Eunice in an apartment in Minneapolis. Then when Gary was five, his mother moved them to Chicago. There she worked in a munitions factory making ammunition for the war. A babysitter took care of Gary while his mother was at work. However, the babysitter did not spend any time with Gary. She spent most of her time listening to the radio and drinking. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">After World War II ended, Gary and his mother took a ship to the Philippines in order to join his father. During the trip Gary witnessed a horrible accident. A plane crashed into the sea. Gary and the other ship’s passengers watched in horror as many of the crash victims were eaten by sharks. When they finally arrived in the Philippines, Gary met his father for the first time. However while they were there, Gary’s father spent most of his time working and his mother spent most of her time with her new friends. Gary spent most of his time alone. Gary’s parents were also very heavy drinkers and fought a lot. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In 1949, the Paulsen family returned to the United States. They went back to Minnesota, where Gary’s father started a chicken farm. Gary’s parents continued to drink and fight, so Gary’s home life was miserable. Gary spent a lot of time with his relatives. He felt safe and happy with his grandmother and aunts, who gave him security and support. He called them his “safety nets.”1 At home he spent most of his time avoiding his parents. He would escape by going into the basement of his apartment building. He would also often go into the woods to hide from his parents. He would even sometimes spend the night there. If he got hungry, he would look for wild food that he could eat. When Gary was twelve, he began hunting. He spent a lot of time alone in the woods hunting, camping and cooking. Most of the time his parents did not even know that he was gone. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary’s family moved often due to his father’s military career. They never stayed in the same place for very long. Gary changed schools many times. He never spent more than five months in the same school. He felt that he never fit in anywhere and was very unhappy. He was very shy, had no friends, was bad at sports and was terrible in school. He skipped school often and barely passed the ninth grade. His childhood was full of unhappy experiences. Gary’s family was poor, so to make money for food, clothing, and school supplies, Gary took jobs wherever he could. On the way home from selling newspapers one cold winter night, Gary passed by a library. Gary walked into the library in order to warm up. The librarian gave him a library card and a book. She told him that he could have another book when he returned that one. Gary couldn’t believe it. Nobody had ever given him anything before. It took him one month to read that first book. He became a voracious reader from that point on and soon he was reading a book a day. This event changed his life. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">But life with Gary’s parents was still so horrible, that when Gary was sixteen he ran away to work on a beet farm in North Dakota and also briefly joined a traveling carnival. He soon realized that this was not the life for him, and since he had nowhere else to go he went back home. Gary struggled through the rest of high school and barely graduated with a D average. Then he went on to Bemidji State Teachers College. He paid for his tuition with money that he earned by trapping unwanted animals for the state of Minnesota. Once again his grades dropped and he soon flunked out of college. At nineteen Gary didn’t know what to do so he joined the army. There he studied electrical engineering and missile technology. While Gary was in the army he got married and later had two children, Lance and Lynn. Gary hated the army, but it gave him the job skills that he used in order to get a job. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary left the army in 1962 and became an electronics engineer. He got a job tracking satellites for an aerospace company in California. By then Gary’s marriage was falling apart. He was in the middle of getting a divorce when he realized what he really wanted to do with his life. One day while he was reading an article about test flying new airplanes at work, he made a sudden unexpected decision to become a writer. He quit his job on the spot and decided to find a job editing a magazine. There was one problem, Gary knew nothing about writing. So he created a fake resume and got a job editing for a men’s magazine in Los Angeles. There he learned how to be a proofreader. During the day he worked at his job and at night he wrote. His editors at work helped him with his writing. His writing skills improved quickly and soon he sold his first article. He also worked as a movie extra and did wood carving work while he was there. He also got married again. His marriage did not last long and he soon got divorced again. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary soon realized that he did not belong in Hollywood, so he quit his job and moved back to Minnesota. There he wrote his first book, //__The Special War__//, which was about the Vietnam War. His second book was //__Some Birds Don’t Fly__//, which was about the missile industry. Soon after that he sold his first children’s book //__Mr. Tucket__//, a story about a boy traveling with a wagon train. Next Gary moved back to California for a short time, where he bought and lived on a boat for six months. Then in 1967, he moved to Taos, New Mexico. This is when his life fell apart because he started drinking heavily and continued drinking for six years. As his drinking grew worse, writing got harder and harder. One good thing that happened in New Mexico was that in 1969, Gary met his third wife Ruth Ellen Wright. She was a teacher and an artist. They got married and moved to Denver, Colorado. Later that year, their son James was born. At that time Gary was still drinking heavily and battling alcoholism. He was not writing. He was working many different jobs in order to pay the bills. Due to his alcohol abuse he could not write or keep a job. He has had many different jobs throughout his life including: a farmhand, soldier, actor, sailor, truck driver, editor, animal trapper, field engineer, professional archer, construction worker, and even cleaned out sewage tanks. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">During his drinking days, Gary often got into bar fights. Ruth stayed by his side through it all. Finally one day, Gary woke up at a friend’s house 400 miles from home with his son sleeping next to him. He couldn’t remember how he got there. He realized that he was in terrible trouble and promised to stop drinking. So on May 5, 1973, his second wedding anniversary to Ruth, Gary stopped drinking for good. He started writing again. After two years, he began selling his books. Over the next few years he wrote several books. Then in 1979 he signed a contract with a publishing company, which did not pay him for the books that he had written. This put Gary and his family into serious financial trouble. He moved back to Minnesota again with his wife and son. They were so poor that they lived in a cabin in the woods without plumbing or electricity. They ate only what they grew in their garden and the animals that Gary hunted. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Then Gary faced another horrible problem. Someone sued him for libel. A man claimed that one of Gary’s books //__Winterkill__// was about him and that it ruined his reputation. Gary eventually won the legal battle, when a judge dismissed the case. The legal costs left Gary almost bankrupt. He was so upset that he stopped writing for a while again. Gary and his wife were extremely poor. They did not even have a car. Gary started trapping unwanted beavers for the state of Minnesota in order to make some money. One day a friend heard about Gary’s struggles and gave him a broken sled and four old dogs. Gary fixed the sled. It took a long time for him to learn how to use the sled and to teach one of the dogs to be a leader. Once he learned how to dogsled he loved it. He did it every day. He gained so much love and respect for his dogs and other animals that he stopped trapping animals. He decided that it was wrong to kill animals. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In 1983 Gary decided to enter his first Iditarod, a 1200 mile dogsled race across Alaska. He began to buy more dogs and train them. The problem was that running in the race was very expensive and Gary was very poor. He needed money in order to move his dogs to Alaska and to pay for all his supplies. While training for the race, he continued to write. Then one day an editor from Bradbury Press, a famous children’s publisher, called Gary. He had read some of Gary’s work and asked Gary to write for him. He told Gary that he would pay him in advance for books that Gary would write in the future. This money paid for Gary’s race expenses. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary’s attitude towards the race was different from the other racers. His focus was not on winning, but rather on having a great adventure. For Gary it was a long run with the dogs not a race. He wanted to be one with the beauty of nature and his dogs. It took seventeen days for Gary to finish the race. His team took forty- second place out of more than seventy teams. This was amazing for a first time racer. After the first Iditarod, Gary started training for a second race. In 1985, he entered his second Iditarod. This time he did not finish the race. Eighty miles before the finish line Gary’s team got caught in a storm. The ice that they were on broke loose and they went out to sea. They were stranded for two days until a pilot finally spotted and rescued them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">After the races, Gary still raced for fun. He also wrote many, many more books. He wrote many books about his remarkable Iditarod adventures and his great love of dogs. Some of these books include: //__Woodsong__//, //__Winterdance__//, //__Doglean__//, //__My Life In Dog Years__//, //__Puppies__//, //__Dogs__//, __//Blue Northers//__, and //__Dogsong__//. //__Dogsong__// was a very important book. It was Gary’s first book to receive a Newbery Honor Award. This is one of the highest awards in children’s literature. //__Dogsong__// also won other awards including Best Book for Young Adults in 1986. His hard work was really starting to pay off. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary started to do book signings and go on school visits. He wanted to learn about his readers and find out what they wanted to read. Then in 1987, Gary wrote __//Hatchet//__, his most popular book ever. Millions of copies were sold. It is one of the best selling young adult books ever. It won a Newbery Honor Award, as well as many other awards. It is the story of a twelve year old boy named Brian Robeson, who is the only survivor in a small plane crash. He must learn to survive on his own, with only a hatchet in the Canadian wilderness. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In 1990 Gary wanted to train for another Iditarod race. However his doctor told him that he had heart disease. He had to give up running dogs. So, Gary and his wife sold their house and moved to New Mexico. Now Gary filled his days by concentrating his energy on writing. He spent 18-20 hours a day writing. Another one of his books, //__The Winter Room__// was given a Newbery Honor Award. Gary also spent a lot of time touring schools and bookstores talking about his life and books. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary continues to want to stay close to nature. He enjoys many interests including horseback riding. Sailing is another of Gary’s passions. In 1994, he fixed up an old boat named Felicity, and sailed from Mexico to Alaska and back again in only twelve days. In 1994, he bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle and rode from New Mexico to Alaska and back again with a friend. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Against the odds, Gary Paulsen has become a very successful award winning writer. He is now the author of more than 200 books, as well as many magazine articles, short stories, and plays. His stories are about his own life experiences and adventures. This is why his writing is so believable and so many readers identify with his characters. His books are popular with adults as well as young adult readers. Many of his books have won several honors and awards. In 1997, Gary himself received the Margaret A. Edwards Award. It was given to him for his lifetime contribution of writings for young adults. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Gary loves writing. He writes every day. It gives him balance and focus. He says that he will never retire. Writing is everything to him. Gary has a gift of being able to turn his life experiences into one story after another. His memories give him a never ending supply of ideas for him to write about. While he is writing one book, he is already thinking of the next three. His readers are always looking forward to the next one. Today Gary still lives an extremely full and active life. He is constantly seeking out adventures that will surly become stories in his future books.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">1 Macken, JoAnn Early, //Gary Paulsen: Voice of Adventure and Survival// (New York: Enslow Publishers, 2008), p.23. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">

**__ Bibliography __**

Gaines, Ann. __Gary Paulsen__. Bear: Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2002.

Macken, JoAnn Early. __Gary Paulsen: Voice of Adventure and Survival.__ New York: Enslow Publishers, 2008.

<[]> “Authors and Artists for Young Adults on Gary Paulsen”. December 29, 2010

<[]> Holt. “Elements of Literature: Gary Paulsen”. December 29, 2010

<[]> Gary Paulsen’s Website at Random House Publishing December 29, 2010

<[]> Trelease, Jim. “Gary Paulsen: Author Profile”. February 16, 2009. December 29, 2010

< []> Greenville Public Library. “Juvenile Books Author of the Month”. December 29, 2010

Eric Dominguez Period 2