"The Impossible Thank-You Note"
In this column Cormier writes on the impossibility of writing a simple thank you note to a mother. He writes of the great encouragement and warmth his mother offered him as a budding writer. He recounted movie plots with her on the weekends and shared his riskiest pieces with her. Included with the column is a photograph of Cormier's mother, Irma Cormier.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
October 1977
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Magazine+column">Magazine column</a>
"One Could Do Worse Than Be a Househusband" <em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em> column, 1177 Main St. USA
In this column, Cormier describes his daily routine as a househusband. He writes at home, does the shopping, cooks dinner, get his daughter off of the bus, cleans house, and meets with friends and neighbors at lunch. He states that none of these activities challenge his manhood.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
May 1981
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Magazine+column">Magazine column</a>
"St. Cecilia's and Me" <em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em> column 1177 Main St. USA
In this column, Cormier writes about the closing of his alma mater, St. Cecilia's. He talks of his memories of the school including the house fire he witnessed from his classroom, his crush on Sister Emile who taught music, the poem on spring he shared with Sister Catherine, and the corporal punishment and shame that was part of a Catholic school.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
May 1977
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The Price of Truth" The Sign</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/117">"The Tenderness" The Sign</a>
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
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1177 Main St. USA, September 1971
In this column, Cormier recounts his wife calling him out on faking the music he is listening to in a previous column. He normalizes the behavior by recounting several instances where, as a parent, he must pretend to have good advice, know the answers, or feign bravery. Some manipulation of the truth is a part of realism and in the spirit of truth-telling.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
September 1971
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/139" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1177 Main St. USA, August 1972</a>
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
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1177 Main St. USA, June 1972
In this column, Cormier writes of staying up late waiting for his college-aged daughter and high school-aged son to come home on a Friday night. He takes pleasure in their little evening rituals and small talk and thinks back to his father's own habit of only sleeping well when all his children were at home.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
June 1972
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Magazine+column">Magazine column</a>
177 Main St. USA, July 1972
In this column, Cormier writes about the age transitions all four of his children are experiencing: 4 to 5, 12 to 13, 15 to 16, and 20 to 21. Each stage is a different moment in time. Near the end of the column, Cormier talks of how parents also pass through different times and how watching a son turn to a man makes for a new friend, but to watch a daughter turn to a woman comes with a sense of loss.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
July 1972
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Magazine+column">Magazine column</a>
1177 Main St. USA, August 1972
In this column, Cormier writes of embracing middle age and the ease that comes from no longer worrying about the hustle and struggles of younger years. While he still feels like the same person, he also notes a disconnect with his aging body. He also recalls being 18 seeing his father sleeping on the couch and pitying him for his disconnect from the world. Now he is that father, content with those same circumstances.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
August 1972
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/143" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1177 Main St. USA, September 1971</a>
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
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"Suddenly She's 10 Years Old" <em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em> column 1177 Main St. USA
This column recounts Cormier's daughter's transitional stage as a ten-year-old. Among the topics of discussion are her love of horses and her new-found preoccupation with getting the right haircut and crushing on television actors.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
August 1977
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Magazine+column">Magazine column</a>
"The Beauty That Lingers"<em> St. Anthony's</em> column 1177 Main St. USA
This short reflective piece is a meditation on the aging process. Cormier's observation of two groups of women at different stages of life leads him to contemplate the nature of beauty. He concludes that our real beauty is our ability to "survive and endure."
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
October 1974
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Magazine+column">Magazine column</a>