Our Growth. Our Story. Our Impact. is a web series highlighting the rich history of Grand Rapids Public Schools.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) -- As a South High School student in the late 1950s Walter Lockwood was a serious young man. Voted Most Likely to Succeed by classmates when he graduated in 1959, Lockwood had thoughts of becoming an engineer.
One of his South High teachers, Marinus Swets, told Lockwood he was disappointed in the young man's career choice, that he believed Lockwood would someday make a great teacher. Lockwood reconsidered and enrolled in Michigan State University's Honors Program. He earned a B.A. with honors, as well as a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellowship to Indiana University where he completed an M.A. in English.
Not long after, he joined his former teacher at Grand Rapids Junior College as a member of the English Department.
In addition to teaching classes in English and film, Lockwood was instrumental in creating the College's literary magazine, Display, which featured the written work, and visual art of the college's students. He also maintained a busy writing schedule that included newspaper feature writing, novels, poetry, short stories, and screenplays. One of his earliest works, the novel Jones Unbound, was published by Prentice-Hall in 1973.
His first major screenplay Finnegan, Begin Again, was produced in 1985 by HBO and starred Robert Preston, Mary Tyler Moore, and Sam Waterston. Other film work produced Movie of the Week programs for CBS and documentaries on dyslexia and physical education for PBS. Print work included Open Door, a history of GRCC's first 100 years, as well as a still growing collection of stories, among them the Young Adult Fiction fantasy The Green Room, and the short story selections Drinking with Dead Friends and Magic in the World.
Lockwood taught at Grand Rapids Community College for 36 years and was recognized as one of the college's more popular teachers. Former student James Cooper, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the Attica Prison riot, was just one of many who credited Lockwood's influence on his career.
Lockwood is the father of five, a grandfather, and a great-grandfather. He and his wife, Pamela, live in Grand Rapids' north end and spend much of their time traveling.
Article by GF Korreck
Sources: Author squeezes GRCC's entire 100-year history in captivating book, Tom Rademacher, The GrandRapids Press, December 14, 2014; Michigan Authors and Illustrators, Library of Michigan; Schuler Books & Music
Image: ©mlive.com, Emily Rose Bennett
