The following is an Archived biography. For current information, see the Abstract for links. Spinelli's childhood in Norristown—full of sports, races, bicycles, yo-yos, girls, and comics—would provide the whimsical backdrop to and the inspiration for his poignant and celebrated children's books. Throughout his youth, Spinelli never imagined himself as a future writer and never read more than the literature printed on the back of cereal boxes.
Instead, he dreamed of becoming a cowboy. He loved country tunes, Roy Rogers, and cowboy apparel, and sporting spurs on his heels in grade school. By the time Spinelli reached age eleven, though, the cowboy phase had passed and was replaced by a passion for sports, baseball especially. During his adolescence, Spinelli fantasized about playing professional shortstop, preferably for the New York Yankees. It was not until his junior year of high school that he wrote a poem that would change his dream of homeruns and the World Series to a dream of bestsellers and, eventually, a Newbery Medal.
In , while Norristown was celebrating after the victory of an intense football battle, sixteen-year-old Spinelli was at home, writing a poem about the event. He titled the short piece "Goal to Go," gave it to his father to read, and then forgot about it. Louis Spinelli recognized his son's potential and submitted the poem to the Norristown Times-Herald. About a week later, to Jerry Spinelli's surprise, "Goal to Go" graced the front page of the sports section.
The community loved the poem and praised Spinelli. It was the start of his writing career. After graduating high school, Spinelli pursued writing at Gettysburg College where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in At Gettysburg, he began writing his first short stories and was the college's literary magazine editor. A year later, Spinelli received his Masters of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University, where he studied creative writing.
He was also a student at Temple University during this time. After college and serving six months on active duty with the U. Naval Air Reserves, Spinelli began writing his first novel in between his work shifts as an editor for a department store magazine. Nearly two decades would pass, however, before Spinelli would publish his first book. In , Spinelli married Eileen Mesi, a writer and mother of six, and settled into his role as suburban husband and father.
Despite working a full time job as a writer and editor at the Chilton Company in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Spinelli would come home at night, fill his ears with cotton to drown out the noise of half a dozen children, and write. He refused to give up on his high school dream, even though his first four novels, thirteen years of work, were never published. Four big-deal, important, grownup, adult novels," Spinelli wrote in an autobiography.
The inspiration behind Spinelli's first published book, Space Station Seventh Grade , came from a small, domestic dispute in the Spinelli household over chicken wings. After dinner one night, Jerry hid five leftover chicken wings in the refrigerator so he could take them to work the next day.
When he awoke in the morning, the chicken was mysteriously gone and only the picked over bones remained. Spinelli knew that one of his six kids had stolen his wings, although none would confess to the crime. That day, instead of eating lunch, he began to write—"One by one my stepfather took the chicken bones out of the bag and laid them on the table.
He laid them down real neat. In a row. Five of them"—the opening sentences to Space Station Seventh Grade. It was, or so Spinelli thought, his fifth adult book. In , it became his first published kid's book and the start of his career as a children's author. Space Station Seventh Grade , Spinelli's favorite among his works, catalogs thirteen-year-old Jason Herkimer's awkward transition into adolescence, his struggle to accept divorce and a new stepfather, and his first crush.
To write the story, Spinelli observed the brood of young adults in his household, but also heavily drew upon his own experience, recalling childhood feelings, stunts, and places.
James Guide to Young Adult Writers contributor. Spinelli's refusal to censor the rawness of teenage life received varying criticisms, from inappropriate and appalling to "sensitive and always uproariously funny" as Marilyn H. It's a totally honest book. His novel Eggs outlines a relationship that develops between two children out of loneliness. Spinelli published Love, Stargirl the sequel to his previous bestseller in This novel was published by Knopf Books and was followed by Smiles to Go in He is married Eileen Mesi in and together they have six children.
Jerry served in the United States Navy Reserve between and In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence.
If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new. Where did you go to school? Was it anything like John W. It resembled Satterfield Elementary only in the broadest sense. I do remember one or two classmates who seemed to incite the others' disapproval. As I wrote the graduation chapter, I pictured the so-called "all-purpose room" where mine took place, but the resemblance ends there.
The teachers in the story do not resemble my own, nor did we have a field day. Are there any of your own school experiences that you used in the book? If so, could you tell us about one or two? There probably are, but I can't remember any offhand. When I went looking for Zinkoff's experiences, I think I found them on the other side of my own coin.
For example, Zinkoff is slow, I was fast 50 yard dash champion of Norristown grade schools ; Zinkoff is awkward, I was athletic; Zinkoff gets one A, I got lots.
If Zinkoff had been in my class, I probably would have thought he was a loser too. Despite the A's, I had a lot to learn. After a difficult day at school, how did you make yourself feel better, or how do you make your children feel better? There was always a In , Spinelli delved into the world of historical fiction with Milkweed. We strive for accuracy and fairness.
If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Langston Hughes was an African American writer whose poems, columns, novels and plays made him a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the s. Jerry Seinfeld is an actor and comedian best known for his starring role in the hit television sitcom 'Seinfeld.
Pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the autobiographical 'Little House' kids' book series, the basis of the popular television show 'Little House on the Prairie. Anne Rice is a best-selling author of popular series including 'Vampire Chronicles,' which includes the books 'Interview with the Vampire' and 'Queen of the Damned.
William S. Burroughs was a Beat Generation writer known for his startling, nontraditional accounts of drug culture, most famously in the book 'Naked Lunch. Lois Lowry is a popular children's book author responsible for such critically acclaimed titles as 'The Giver' and 'Number the Stars. Olivia Rodrigo —.
0コメント