robert cormier

Robert CormierRaziq Mohideen

If you’re looking for a happy ending, you’ve got the wrong author…

Early Life

Born on January 17, 1925- Leominster Massachusetts

First Poem-Age 12 Wrote radio commercials Married Constance Senay First young adult book- The

Chocolate War

Leominster, MA

Later Years

Newspaper journalist for over 30 years

Rarely ever stopped writing Visited libraries to meet people Published I Have Words to Spend:

Reflections of a Small-Town Editor Died on November 2nd, 2000

The newspaper Cormier wrote for

Society

Raised in French-Canadian region The Chocolate War received mixed

reviews President of his senior class Society classified his books as young

adult Factory worker during WWII

Society(cont.)

Loved being contacted Observed the youth in his town Compared to Salinger and Golding Lived during Great Depression

J. D. Salinger William Golding

Influences

Monument modeled after Leominster Bitter feelings towards church Wrote his first poem in 7th grade College short story sent to magazine Journalism contributed to realistic

writing style

Influence From Other Authors

Thomas Wolfe Graham Greene Hemmingway Saroyan

Brian Moore John O’Hara J.D. Salinger

Influence(cont.)

His son inspired the The Chocolate War

I Am the Cheese inspired by U.S. Witness Relocation Program

Greatly influenced to write by parents

Writing influenced by his kids’ lives Poor health spared him from serving

in army

Contributions

Known primarily for : Great realism Focus on adolescent life Dark themes Controversial Issues Distinct Writing Style Originality

Contributions

Didn’t restrict himself to readers’ expectations

Some novels considered classics 15 young adult novels, 3 adult

novels Excellent Columnist

Awards for Contributions

Margaret A. Edwards Award Best Young Adult Book

ALA, New York Times, and School Library Journal

Phoenix Award K.R. Thompson Newspaper Award Best Human Interest Story of the

Year

Margaret A. Edwards Award Phoenix Award

Sources for Information: "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books by Decade." ALA. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 02

Sept. 2013. <http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top100>. “1991 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner." Yalsa. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 02 Sept.

2013. <http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/margaretaedwards/maeprevious/1991awardwinner>.

"Biography for Robert Cormier." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0180068/bio>.

"Biography of Robert Cormier (1925-2000)." Gradesaver.com. Gradesaver, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.gradesaver.com/author/robert-cormier/>.

Campbell, Patricia J. Robert Cormier: Daring to Disturb the Universe. 1st ed. New York: Delacorte, 2006. Print.

Cengage, Robert. "Robert (Edmund) Cormier 1925." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.enotes.com/robert-cormier-essays/cormier-robert-edmund>.

"Phoenix Award." ChLA. Children's Literature Association, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.childlitassn.org/index.php?page=about&family=awards&category=06--Phoenix_Award>.

"Robert Cormier London, July 2000." ACHUKA. ACHUKA, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.achuka.co.uk/special/cormier01.htm>.

"Robert Cormier." A City of Words. WPI, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://users.wpi.edu/~cityofwords/cormier.html>.

"Robert Cormier." BN.com. Barnes&Noble, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?z=y>.

"Robert Cormier." Ipl2. ISchool, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ipl.org/div/askauthor/Cormier.html>.

"Robert Cormier." PenguinBooks. Penguin Books Ltd, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000023069,00.html>.

"Robert Cormier." Scholastic. Scholastic Inc., n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/robert-cormier>.

"The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000." ALA. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bbwlinks>.

"Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." American Library Association. ALA, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009>.

ALA Logo. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Ala_logo.gif>.

Brian Moore. Digital image. BBC. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/250000/images/_253500_young.jpg>.

Edwards Award. Digital image. ALA. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://www.ala.org/Images/yalsa/edwards/EdwardsSeal.jpg>.

Ernest Hemingway. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Ernest_Hemingway_1923_passport_photo.jpg>.

Fitchburg State College Seal. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://www.forfatterweb.dk/forfatterweb/billeder/Golding.jpg>.

Graham Greene. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/Graham_Greene.jpg>.

I am the Cheese. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/i/i-am-the- cheese/9780375840395_custom-b9621a21f0417c4ca3171c1106b82cef8695aeb5-s6-c30.jpg>.

I am the Cheese. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/I-am-cheese- cover.jpg>.

I Have Words to Spend. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347661992l/668479.jpg>.

J. D. Salinger. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://www.algemeiner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/JD_Salinger.jpg>.

J.D. Salinger. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/S/JD- Salinger-9470070-1-402.jpg>.

John O'hara. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/23/John_Ohara.jpg/220px-John_Ohara.jpg>.

Leominster High School Mascot. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://www.hendricksonadvertising.com/images/decals/lhs.gif>.

Old Fashioned Journalist. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://kevin.lexblog.com/uploads/image/journalism%20law%20career%20for%20law%20grad.jpg>.

"Popular Robert Cormier Books." Popular Robert Cormier Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/robert-cormier>.

Thomas Wolfe. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/W/Thomas-Wolfe-38959-1-402.jpg>.

William Saroyan. Digital image. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://free-stock-photos.com/celebrity/pics/william-saroyan-1.jpg>.

Worcester. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 8 November 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Leominster_ma_highlight.png>.

Sources for Pictures: