Browse Items (32 total)
- Type is exactly "Newspaper column"
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"Meet The Bully" John Fitch IV Column
In this bi-weekly column written under the name "John Fitch IV", Cormier recounts his childhood encounters with an unnamed bully after hearing Jonathan Winters share his experience with bullies on a talk show. Cormier wonders whether or not bullies…
"The Days of Sweet Innocence" John Fitch IV Column
In this bi-weekly column written under the name "John Fitch IV", Cormier blends verse and prose to poke fun at our naïve innocence of the world as viewed through the lens of movie clichés. Amongst the roughly three dozen clichés are some on female…
"The SOS Signals Not Always Noticed" John Fitch IV Column
Robert Cormier's adopted persona, John Fitch IV, articulates in this bi-weekly column, how closely related specific positive or neutral qualities are to those that are destructive. He claims that we misunderstand distress signals that reveal…
"Holding To What Is Magic" John Fitch IV Column
This John Fitch IV article is one of a few in which Cormier talks about magic and dad jokes. Here, as in other pieces, he links magic and the belief in magic to the innocence of childhood. When he teaches his daughter a trick, he is sad for the lost…
"Words that Linger" John Fitch IV Column
In this John Fitch IV piece, Cormier shares a conversation he had with his 6-year-old daughter about his 10 favorite words in the English language. Their conversation was spurred on by Cormier's reading of several such lists of beautiful and ugly…
"A Purple Lollipop In Hand" John Fitch IV Column
In this John Fitch IV column, Cormier talks about visiting various places with his daughter. Their divergent observations, preferences, and feelings about the stops - libraries, cemeteries, ponds, etc. - again reveal her innocence and his age. He…
"Dear John: Please Don't Go Away..." John Fitch IV Column
In this John Fitch IV column, Cormier conducts an interview with himself. That is, John Fitch IV talks to Bob Cormier. Cormier praises Fitch's worldliness, finesse, audacity, and charm with the ladies that he cannot get away with himself. Cormier…
"The Hair Cut" John Fitch IV Column
In this John Fitch IV column, Cormier tells the story of his daughter's haircut experience, with all the excitement and anxiety that entails for a young girl. He touches on his own barbershop anxieties and his opinions on women's hairstyles. He is…
"Trying To Convince My Heart" John Fitch IV Column
In this column Cormier shares the bittersweet feeling of a parent saying goodbye to his child, over and over again, as she grows up. Even in the happy moments of children's summer trip to camp, the Cape, or their first crushes, he feels a pang of…
"'Love, The Fantom'" John Fitch IV Column
In this John Fitch IV column, Cormier shares a time when he saw a large, strong man and his very young daughter. The man said that the girl was his 'guardian.' Cormier considers that idea here - unpacking what it means to view your children as your…
"Beauty That Lingers" John Fitch IV Column
In this column, Cormier talks about seeing two groups of women - one older and one younger. He then shares a poem about the fleeting nature of beauty. He talks about "how age has its own beauty despite the sadness of spent years." He encourages…
"Making Her Own Rainbow" John Fitch IV Column
In this column Cormier shares a sweet story about his daughter trying to make a rainbow using sunlight and water. He hopes that she will see a real rainbow one day. He closes with a story of three children and their father whose truck got stuck in…
"Not Exactly Speaking 'Personally'" John Fitch IV Column
This column is one of a handful that deals with Cormier's thoughts on gender-neutral language. On the whole, he seems to think such language is "ridiculous." In an especially telling paragraph, he shares how he wants equal rights for women, in the…
"The Sexes And The Guidelines" John Fitch IV Column
In his column, Cormier rails against the suggestions of publishers that writers be more mindful of gender-linked language - a trend he sees as ridiculous and potentially dangerous to creativity as it could trigger excessive self-censorship. While he…
"As The Hour Nears" John Fitch IV Column
In this column, Cormier discusses the magic of Santa and the innocence of childhood. His daughter, seven going on eight, isn't sure if she believes in Santa any longer. But she writes to him just in case, and she tries her best to stay up late to…