The community was made up primarily of those who came from the South at various points to seek freedom and economic opportunity; Wideman traces his ancestry to a woman who left slavery with the white man who wanted to marry her. In Pittsburgh, Wideman's love of sports, especially basketball, began, and he was able to listen to the storytellers in the family. When he was twelve the family moved to the predominantly white area known as Shadyside, where he attended Peabody High School, one of the best in Pittsburgh.
Because basketball and other sports in his new neighborhood tended to be played as organized school activities rather than in informal playground settings, he devoted his free time to becoming even more of an avid reader than he had been. This pastime, in addition to the encouragement that he received all through his school years as a writer, led him to develop a romantic notion of the literary artist as an adventurer and explorer. He had discovered that well-constructed stories could gain him attention and praise. He achieved success and popularity in every endeavor: he was a basketball star, senior-class president, and valedictorian.
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