Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925 – November 2, 2000) was an American author and journalist, known for his deeply pessimistic novels, many of which were written for young adults. Recurring themes include abuse, mental illness, violence, revenge, betrayal, and conspiracy. In most of his novels, the protagonists do not win.
Cormier's more popular works include ''
I Am the Cheese
''I Am the Cheese'' is a young adult novel by the American writer Robert Cormier, published in 1977.
Plot
The novel opens with protagonist Adam Farmer biking from his home in the fictional town of Monument, Massachusetts, (based on Cormier's ho ...
'', ''
After the First Death
''After the First Death'' (1979) is a suspense novel for young adults by American author Robert Cormier. The focus is on the complex relationships that develop between the various characters. The novel takes the name from the poem, "A Refusal to ...
'', ''
We All Fall Down'', and ''
The Chocolate War
''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult literature, young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is o ...
'', all of which have won awards. ''The Chocolate War'' has been
challenged in multiple libraries.
Early life and education
Robert Cormier was born in 1925 in Leominster, Massachusetts in the French-Canadian section of the town called French Hill.
He was the second of eight children.
His family moved frequently to afford rent, but never left his hometown. Even when he was much older and owned a summer home, it was only away from Leominster.
In a few of his books, Cormier's hometown of Leominster became the fictional town of Monument, and its village of French Hill became Frenchtown. The nearby city of Fitchburg, Massachusetts became Wickburg.
Cormier attended St. Cecilia's Parochial School, a private Catholic school. He began writing when he was in the first grade and was praised at school for his poetry. He first realized his aspiration to become a writer in 7th grade, when he was encouraged by a nun to write a poem. He attended
Leominster High School
Leominster High School (also known as Leominster High or LHS) is a public high school located in Leominster, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only secondary educational institution found in Leominster. It is situated in a mixed-industrial-r ...
, graduating as the president of his class.
As a freshman at Fitchburg State College, Cormier had his first short story published when a college professor, Florence Conlon, without his knowledge, sent one of his stories to a national Catholic magazine ''The Sign'' for $75.
Career
Cormier began his professional writing career scripting radio commercials. He eventually became an award-winning journalist. Even though he became widely known, he never stopped writing for his local newspaper, the ''
Fitchburg Sentinel
The ''Sentinel & Enterprise'' is a morning daily newspaper published in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with a satellite news bureau in Leominster, Massachusetts. The newspaper covers local news in Fitchburg, Leominster and several nearby towns in north ...
''.
Cormier became a full-time writer after the success of his first adult novel for teenagers, ''Now and at the Hour'' (1960);
others followed, such as ''
The Chocolate War
''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult literature, young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is o ...
'' and ''
After the First Death
''After the First Death'' (1979) is a suspense novel for young adults by American author Robert Cormier. The focus is on the complex relationships that develop between the various characters. The novel takes the name from the poem, "A Refusal to ...
''. He was concerned with the problems facing young people in modern society, which was reflected in his novels.
He soon established a reputation as a brilliant and uncompromising writer. His awards include the
Margaret A. Edwards Award
The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named after ...
of the Young Adult Services Division of the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
, a lifetime award that recognizes a particular body of work that provides young adults with a window through which they can view the world, and which will help them to grow and understand themselves and their role in society.
Cormier won the annual award in 1991, citing ''The Chocolate War''; ''I Am the Cheese''; and ''After the First Death''.
''The Chocolate War'' has been challenged in various libraries and schools for its language and its depictions of sexual activity,
secret societies
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
, and anarchic students.
Between 1990 and 2000 it was the fourth most frequently challenged book in the US, according to the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
.
Awards
In 1991,
The American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
bestowed its
Margaret Edwards Award
The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named after ...
to ''I Am the Cheese'', citing it as one of three 1974 to 1979 books "taken to heart by young adults over a period of years.” The ALA said that "Cormier's brilliantly crafted and troubling novels have achieved the status of classics in young adult literature."
[
''I Am the Cheese'' won the 1997 ]Phoenix Award
The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the bo ...
from the Children's Literature Association
The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman- ...
. Named for the mythical bird, the Phoenix Award recognizes the best English language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published twenty years earlier.
Death
Cormier died on November 2, 2000 due to complications from a blood clot.
Published works
Non-Fiction
* ''I Have Words to Spend'' ollected Newspaper Articles(1991)
Fiction
:''Novels except as stated''
* ''Now and at the Hour'' (1960)
* ''A Little Raw on Monday Mornings
''A Little Raw on Monday Mornings'' is an adult novel published by popular young adult author Robert Cormier
Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925 – November 2, 2000) was an American author and journalist, known for his deeply pessimist ...
'' (1963)
* ''Take Me Where the Good Times Are
''Take Me Where the Good Times Are'' is a novel by Robert Cormier. First published in 1965, it is Cormier's third novel.
Plot
This story features Tommy Bartin, a 70-year-old resident at the Dorchester County, Maryland poorhouse. When another res ...
'' (1965)
* ''The Chocolate War
''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult literature, young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is o ...
'' (1974)
* ''I Am the Cheese
''I Am the Cheese'' is a young adult novel by the American writer Robert Cormier, published in 1977.
Plot
The novel opens with protagonist Adam Farmer biking from his home in the fictional town of Monument, Massachusetts, (based on Cormier's ho ...
'' (1977)
* ''After the First Death
''After the First Death'' (1979) is a suspense novel for young adults by American author Robert Cormier. The focus is on the complex relationships that develop between the various characters. The novel takes the name from the poem, "A Refusal to ...
'' (1979)
* ''8 Plus 1'' (1980), short story collection
* ''The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
''The Bumblebee Flies Anyway'' is a 1999 drama film starring Elijah Wood and directed by Martin Duffy. It is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Cormier.
The film premiered at the Deauville American Film Festival in September 1999 and ...
'' (1983)
* '' Beyond The Chocolate War'' (1985)
* ''Fade
Fade or Fading may refer to:
Science and technology
* Fading, a loss of signal strength at a radio receiver
* Color fade, the alteration of color by light
* Fade (audio engineering), a gradual change in sound volume
* Brake fade, in vehicle brakin ...
'' (1988)
* ''Other Bells for Us to Ring
''Other Bells for Us to Ring'' (1990) is the U.S. author Robert Cormier's first novel for young readers (10–12 years). Prior to this he published three novels for adults, six novels for teenagers and one volume of short stories for teenagers ...
'' (1990); UK title, ''Darcy'' (1991)
* '' We All Fall Down'' (1991)
* ''Tunes for Bears to Dance To
''Tunes for Bears to Dance To'' is a young adult novel written by American author Robert Cormier that discusses themes of morality from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy named Henry. The title originates from a line in Gustave Flaubert's ''M ...
'' (1992)
* '' In the Middle of the Night'' (1995)
* '' Tenderness'' (1997)
* ''Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
'' (1998)
* ''Frenchtown Summer'' (1999)
* '' The Rag and Bone Shop'' (2000)
Film adaptations
* ''I Am the Cheese
''I Am the Cheese'' is a young adult novel by the American writer Robert Cormier, published in 1977.
Plot
The novel opens with protagonist Adam Farmer biking from his home in the fictional town of Monument, Massachusetts, (based on Cormier's ho ...
'' (1983), in which Cormier appears as "Mr. Hertz"
* ''The Chocolate War
''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult literature, young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is o ...
'' (1988)
* ''Lapse of Memory'' (1991), an adaptation of ''I Am the Cheese''
* ''The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
''The Bumblebee Flies Anyway'' is a 1999 drama film starring Elijah Wood and directed by Martin Duffy. It is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Cormier.
The film premiered at the Deauville American Film Festival in September 1999 and ...
'' (1999)
* '' Tenderness'' (2009)
* ''The Assignment'' (2012), a student feature-film adaptation of ''The Chocolate War''
See also
References
External links
*
Robert Cormier
at Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
Authors
Robert Cormier
at Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
Meet the Writers
Robert Cormier
at Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Authorities — with 24 catalog records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cormier, Robert
1925 births
2000 deaths
American children's writers
Margaret A. Edwards Award winners
American writers of young adult literature
Fitchburg State University alumni
American male novelists
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists
20th-century American male writers
Deaths from blood clot