What happened when Myers first sent his poems and stories to publishing houses?

Answer: "they were unwilling to print Myers work"

The publishing houses rejected his poems and stories.

Explanation:

Walter Dean Myers shared the story of his life and his effort to see that young people succeed in the face of hard times in an interview with BBC news on 5/6/2012.

There he told them he was committed to writing based on the advice that was given to him by one of his high school teachers.

He said in his attempt to get his works published, he sent his poems and stories to publishing houses and they were rejected on countless occasions. His first book to be published is "where does the day go?" after several failed attempts.