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"Between the Darkness and the Daylight" The Sign
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 Sign
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 She's 10 Years Old" St. Anthony's Messenger 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.
"The Beauty That Lingers" St. Anthony's 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…
"The Moustache" Scholastic VOICE
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…
"My Father's Gamble" The Sign
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,…
"My First Negro" The Sign
This story, set in Frenchtown, recounts the protagonist's brief friendship with an African American kid from the disadvantaged neighborhood, Alphabet Soup. The story deals with issues of race and poverty (including blackface and government…
"The Price of Truth" The Sign
This story in The Sign 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…
"The Tenderness" The Sign
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.
"Her Caterpillar Summer" Parents magazine
This published version of "Her Caterpillar Summer", Cormier tells of the summer when his daughter turned six, of her caterpillar state. He talks of her awkward movements, her dwindling number of teeth, and her sudden fear of the water. Yet he sees…
"Her Caterpillar Summer" typescript
In the typescript of "Her Caterpillar Summer", Cormier tells of the summer when his daughter turned six, where she is still a caterpillar waiting to become a butterfly. He talks of her awkward movements, her dwindling number of teeth, and her sudden…
Heroes cut and pasted typescript pieces
Twelve strips of cut sections of Heroes show Cormier's active revision process where he literally cut then pasted sections as he worked on the Heroes manuscript. Scenes on the Wreck Center sexual assault, Francis's meeting with Nicole after the war,…
Heroes marked typescript miscellaneous pages
Thirty pages of Heroes 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…
Heroes marked typescript
In these eight typewritten pages of a Heroes 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…
Heroes handwritten notes
In these two handwritten pages of thumbnail sketches, Cormier lays out his conceptions of sections of Heroes. The outline is particularly concerned with when characters are introduced and when their backstories are revealed. The collaboration between…