"Head Over Heels" John Fitch IV Column
In this column Robert Cormier, writing under his pseudonym John Fitch IV dons the hat of a film and television critic. He extolls the virtues of Julie Nixon Eisenhower while deriding Jack Paar and his show; he praises the film Paper Moon and its star Tatum O'Neal, and he admits to preferring Roger Moore's James Bond in Live and Let Die to Sean Connery's. All of his filmic comments include his infatuation with a female actress in those films.
<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%0D%0A">Robert Cormier
</a>
<em>Fitchburg Sentinel</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
3 July 1973
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5x14
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Newspaper+column%0D%0A">Newspaper column
</a>
"And So On -- Ten Years Old" John Fitch IV Column
<p>In this John Fitch IV column Cormier shares stories of his daughter as she turns 10, "a magic moment in life, poised between childhood and adolescence." Still obsessed with horses, she is now also becoming aware of fashion and her own appearance. Cormier recounts a particularly significant haircut, the piercing of her ears, and a crush on television star, David Soul, from <em>Starsky and Hutch</em>.</p>
<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%0D%0A">Robert Cormier
</a>
<em>Fitchburg Sentinel</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
10 June 1977
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/51" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span>"The Hair Cut" John Fitch IV Column</span></a>
JPG, 8.5x11
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Newspaper+column">Newspaper column</a>
Robert Cormier's email to Paul Swaddle 12 February 1999
Cormier responds to the "In Brief" team's follow-up questions, He sees the challenges of honest storytelling as timeless; he describes his adolescence as normal with "pits and peaks"; and he finds it difficult to put into words his affinity for Frenchtown.
<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>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
12 February 1999
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/97" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paul Swaddle's email to Robert Cormier 11 February 1999</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/96" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Robert Cormier's email to Fiona, Gudrun, Lucy, and Paul 4 February 1999</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/95" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paul Swaddle's email to Robert Cormier 3 February 1999</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/39">Robert Cormier's email to Fiona, Gudrun, Lucy, and Paul 3 February 1999</a>
JPG, 8.5x11
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Email">Email</a>
<em>Heroes</em> marked typescript
In these eight typewritten pages of a <em>Heroes</em> draft, Cormier has added handwritten notes for revision. Scenes of Francis crushing on Nicole (called Dominique Cavalier in this draft) feature heavily as do the nuns and Catholic school. Also included are brief mentions of boyhood, French Canadian migration to New England, and the Wreck Center.
<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>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
Annamary L. Consalvo Katharine Covino Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/109" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes handwritten notes</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/111" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes marked typescript miscellaneous pages</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes cut and pasted typescript pieces</a>
JPG, 8.5x11
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Marked+typescript">Marked typescript</a>
<em>Heroes</em> marked typescript miscellaneous pages
Thirty pages of <em>Heroes</em> manuscript, most of which show hand-written revisions and markings. Pages show pasted strips of salvaged sections from earlier drafts. Repeated versions of war scenes sliced with scenes of playing soldiers as children in the street appear. Included is a moment of Cormier writing about his own childhood memory of his house on fire. Frequent mentions of insomnia, eyes, and Francis's crush on Nicole appear. Fragments of Francis's final meeting with Nicole also feature heavily.
<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>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
Annamary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/109" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes handwritten notes</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/110" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes marked typescript</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroes cut and pasted typescript pieces</a>
JPG, 8.5x11, several cut and scotched taped together
English
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Marked+typescript">Marked typescript</a>
"The Tenderness" <em>The Sign</em>
This story recounts the efforts of thirteen-year-old Phillip as he tries to impress his piano teacher Sister Angela and win a spot in the orchestra for the Christmas recital.
<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>The Sign</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
December 1947
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/145" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"St. Cecilia's and Me" St. Anthony's Messenger column 1177 Main St. USA</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The Price of Truth" The Sign</a>
JPG, 8.5x11
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+article+xerox+copy">Magazine article xerox copy</a>
"The Price of Truth" <em>The Sign</em>
This story in <em>The Sign</em> tells how 11-year-old Jerome takes up painting in an effort to impress his teacher, the nun Marie-Thérèse, whose later departure from the convent serves as the story's subplot. The story takes place in Frenchtown, the setting for several of Cormier's stories.
<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>The Sign</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
July 1963
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/145" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"St. Cecilia's and Me" St. Anthony's Messenger column 1177 Main St. USA</a> <br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/117" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The Tenderness" The Sign</a>
JPG, 8.5x11
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+article">Magazine article</a>
"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>
"Anniversary"<em> The Sign<br /></em>
This story's protagonist is not a youth, but a 43-year-old librarian celebrating 25 years at her post. An old lover chooses this day, of all days, to resurface in her life, causing her to consider the role her life has played in the community and what role a man should have in her life.
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<em>The Sign: National Catholic Magazine</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
September 1954
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine paper
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+short+story">Magazine short story</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
<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>
<em>Scholastic Scope</em> Stories by Robert Cormier including "President Cleveland, Where Are You?" and "Protestants Cry, Too"
This complete Scholastic Scope booklet includes two stories by Robert Cormier along with fill-in-the-blank word puzzles, a word search, a crossword puzzle, jokes, a comic strip, and queries and advice from readers. Furthermore, readers will find a brief collection of fictional anecdotes about plagiarism. The booklet also includes a brief biography and introduction to the two Cormier stories set in Frenchtown. The introduction mentions how Cormier writes from his life experiences.
"President Cleveland, Where Are You?" is narrated by an 11-year-old Jerry who competes with the neighborhood kids to win a baseball glove by collecting President cards. When he has a chance to win, he sacrifices the win for the benefit of his brother.
"Protestants Cry, Too" continues with Jerry Renault's family, but focuses on Arnaud, the older brother, who decides to marry Jessica Stone, a Protestant, against his father's wishes. He enlists in the army beforehand and his father has a change of heart when he sees Jessica as a human, crying as Armaud leaves. Following the story are a number of questions and activities about writing letters.
<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>Scholastic Scope,</em> vol. 30, no. 3
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
25 September 1981
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5 x 11 newsprint paper
English
"That Summer"
In this short story, 15-year-old Jean-Paul visits his uncle in Canda to recover from an extended illness. During his stay, he develops a crush for an older woman from Montreal, as does his uncle. While Jean-Paul comes of age through this unrequited love, his uncle comes to admit his own timidness in life.
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<em>The Sign</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
February 1958
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+feature">Magazine feature</a>