WOJCIECHOWSKA, Maia (Teresa) 1927-2002

(Maia Rodman)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born August 7, 1927, in Warsaw, Poland; died after a stroke June 13, 2002, in Long Beach, NJ. Author of books for young adults. Wojciechowska wrote nineteen books, including The Hollywood Kid, Tuned Out, and Shadow of a Bull, the last which was translated into eighteen languages and was in its 68th printing by 2000. The necessity of finding one's own identity was a recurring theme in her books, though they also dealt with contemporary teen problems like divorce, suicide, and drug abuse. At age twelve Wojciechowska and her family fled Nazi-occupied Poland for France, then moving to the United States where she and her brothers had difficulty adjusting. After graduating from high school, she attended Immaculate Heart college for a year before leaving in 1946. After her first novel was rejected by more than thirty publishers, she tried her hand at various careers, at one point holding more than seventy jobs during one year. Finally, as an accompaniment to the artwork of Wilson Bigaud, her Market Day for Ti Andre was published in 1952 under the name Maia Rodman, launching Wojciechowska's writing career. Shadow of a Bull, her next major work, was awarded the Newberry Medal in 1965. The story about a young man torn between fulfilling his village's expectations as a bullfighter or following his own dreams received critical praise. Wojciechowska herself had received training as a bullfighter, and had killed a bull in the ring. Of her subsequent works, Tuned Out (1968) was adapted for film and released as Stoned: An Anti-Drug Film by Learning Corp. of America in 1981 and her A Single Light (1968) was adapted and released by the same company five years later.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, July 4, 2002, section 2, p. 8.

Los Angeles Times, July 1, 2002, p. B9.

New York Times, June 21, 2002, p. A23; June 21, 2002, p. C13.

Record (Bergen County, NJ), June 15, 2002, p. A15.

St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, FL), July 12, 2002, p. 6A.

Washington Post, June 23, 2003, p. C8.