1939: born
1944: First book
1957: College
1964: First Jobs
1966: First Years of Writing
1971: Later in his Life
Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939 in Minnesota.
During the first few years of his life Gary was raised by his Grandmother
and several aunts because his father was stationed in Europe in World War
II. His mother worked in a factory. Then they became drinkers and were
always on the run.
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His parents hadn't given him much. About all he got was a name, some food, and some clothes. When he was six his parents asked him if he wanted a library and he said yes ,so they handed him a card with his name. Then he went to the library and asked the librarian for a book and she gave it to him, so that turned into a habit.
"If it weren't for the library I would've never made
through school let alone be a writer" quotes Gary.
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He attended Bemidji College at the age of 18, which is
now Bemidji State University in Minnesota. He worked his way through school
paying his tuition by being a trapper.
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He decided one day to try writing and tried to be 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, for adults in 1966 when he was 27 years old.
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In his early years he was very productive. He published nearly forty books and several articles and short stories. His career was interrupted on a lawsuit in 1977 over "Winterkill" (which is some other writer's pen name). He won the lawsuit, but at a high price.
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During that time he picked up the hobby of dog sledding
which became the subject of some of his future works, like Dogsong.
For a better education he attended the University of Colorado in 1972
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