Browse Items (133 total)

Charlie Mitchell You Rat Be Kind to My Little Girl.jpg
This short story features a father coming to grips with his daughter falling in love for the first time. It is difficult not to read this story as autobiographical or to overlook the gender bias regarding a woman's ability to think logically. This…

The Trouble with Parents.jpg
This piece recounts a boy's discomfort with watching his parents argue, as told in his trademark detailed narrative style. By talking to his parents, he finds their similarities. His sister's observations also inform him of the role of nonverbal…

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…

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…

A Bad Time for Fathers Womans Day001.jpg
This short piece recounts Cormier's bittersweet feelings as his daughter prepares to leave for college in Boston. The father shares an awkward exchange with the daughter's boyfriend, who is also distraught that he will be far away from her. While the…

Mine on Thursdays Womans Day001.jpg
This story recounts a father's visit with his daughter Holly, who is "his on Thursdays." The father realizes that he has been bribing his daughter for her love rather than having a meaningful role in her life.

Bunny Berigan Wasnt He a Musician or Something Redbook Magazine001.jpg
In this story, two middle-aged men meet at a restaurant, where Walt tells Jerry he's leaving his wife for another woman. The situation becomes even more awkward when said other woman, Jennifer, arrives on the scene. Walt tries to normalize…

Between the Darkness and the Daylight The Sign001.jpg
This Cormier story shows the unfolding thoughts of a husband who realizes his wife is an alcoholic after finding bottles hidden throughout their home. A significant factor that affects her mental health is the wife's recent miscarriage. While the…

Anniversary The Sign001.jpg
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…

Suddenly, Shes 10 Years Old St Anthonys Messenger002.jpg
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.

The Beauty That Lingers St Anthonys001.jpg
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…

%22Robert Cormier Heroes%22 Auditorium Guest Control Panel.jpeg
This is a transcript of an online discussion panel with Cormier facilitated by Barnes and Noble. Although the Q&A focuses on the recently-released Heroes, participants also asked questions about censorship, Cormier's writing practices and…

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?").

%22The Moustache%22 Scholastic VOICE.jpeg
Cormier's often reprinted story "The Moustache" presents a seventeen-year-old protagonist whose mustache provokes a case of mistaken identity. When he visits his grandmother in a nursing home, she takes him for her long-deceased husband. His…

%22My Father's Gamble%22 The Sign.jpeg
The young protagonist of this story witnesses the consequences of his father's alcoholism and poor money management skills for his entire family. The father takes out a loan to pay his debts in a time of uncertain employment. He loses the money,…
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