Browse Items (133 total)

100_%22Author tranforms 'youth' genre%22 Telegram 1.jpg
This profile of Robert Cormier describes how his unflinching look at culture is drawing in new young adult readers. The article also addresses the controversy surrounding his books, especially The Chocolate War. Much of the profile discusses…

%22Readers Responding Creative Writing and YA Literature%22 English Journal.jpeg
This article explores ways in which creative writers can craft better, more engaging Young Adult fiction. The author proposes the use of the YA short story collection Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, edited by Donald…

Beverly Horowitz's letter to Robert Cormier 26 March 1998.jpeg
This one-page typed letter, with Tenderness handwritten and underlined near the top, is from the vice president of Bantam Doubleday Dell congratulating Cormier on his inclusion on the New York Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age" reading list.

%22Advent and the Family%22 Visitor.jpeg
Though this story by "Bob" Cormier is written in the third person, about a girl and her father, it reads as autobiographical. He recounts the daughter's last Christmas party and her father coming to grips with her growing up.

Craig letter to Robert Cormier 16 February 1996.jpeg
In this four-page letter from Cormier's editor, Craig Virden, it is apparent that Craig consulted with his colleague, Karen Wojtyla, and other editors at Bantam Doubleday Dell regarding the Tenderness manuscript. Craig explicitly mentions Karen's…

%22St. Cecilia's Parish 1999-2000 Portrait of a Parich%22.jpeg
This article praises Cormier's work compiling a history of his home parish St. Cecilia's. Notably, this article presents a more circumspect account of Cormier's house burning when he was in the eighth grade, his use of St. Cecilia's for Monument's…

Tenderness Reader's Companion Folder.jpeg
This Reader's Companion includes a biography of Cormier, an interview with him, a summary of Tenderness, and suggested discussion questions. Included with the companion is a promotional letter from the editor, Craig Virden, who talks about the…

%22An Interview with Robert Cormier%22 New Hampshire College Journal.jpeg
In this lengthy interview, Cormier discusses topics ranging from his early school writing, influential teachers, childhood traumas, autobiographical components of his writing, the young adult label, fear of large institutions, censorship,…

99_%22Writer's work travels far%22 Telegram.jpeg
This 1997 article in the Telegram chronicles Cormier's early life growing up in Leominster, from his father's work in the plastic factory and his untimely death, to his beginnings as a writer, through his ultimate success of The Chocolate War and I…

Famed novelist gives Leominster leading role.jpg
This article explores how Cormier's upbringing in the postwar French Hill district of Leominster influenced the setting for many of his novels. "I'm sentimental about French Hill," proclaims Cormier. The article references a free-verse book about his…

%22English students go right to top with their questions%22 The Advertiser.jpeg
This article highlights Cormier's generosity with his readers, as he answers a Lafayette, Louisiana school's questions about his novel I Am the Cheese. Students remark on the impact of talking to a living author as a real person.

J Lattre's letter to Connie and Robert Cormier 6 January 1998.jpeg
In this two-page typed letter, a friend of the Cormiers praises Robert's latest novel, Tenderness, and promises to float it as a possible topic at reading groups. Lattre praises Cormier's ability to write from the perspective of a teenage girl and…

Tenderness and troubled lives.jpg
This article presents an edited interview with Cormier after the publication of Tenderness. Cormier expresses doubts about being able to "pull it off" because the protagonist is a "monster." He discusses his character-driven writing process and sheds…

Judyy's letter to Robert Cormier 13 May 1997.jpeg
This one-page typed letter is from a friend of "Bob and Connie". Judy confesses her fascination with serial killers, especially Ted Bundy, and praises the powerful characterization in Cormier's Tenderness. She speaks about her uncomfortable empathy…

Julie Hack's letter to Robert Cormier 16 December 1995.jpeg
This letter from a freshman in an English gifted and talented class asks Cormier a series of 11 rapid-fire questions. The questions range from personal ("what was your childhood like?") to professional ("how do you get your story ideas?").
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