Robert Cormier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Cormier

Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925 – November 2, 2000) was an American author for young adults. He lived in Leominster, Massachusetts, USA. He grew up and married there and he raised four children (three daughters and a son). Cormier was a newspaper reporter and columnist for 30 years. He was inspired by news events and in some cases also by circumstances in his own life for the basis of his stories' plots.

Cormier began writing when he was in the first grade. He was praised at school for his poetry. His talent for writing was discovered by a teacher in the 7th grade. As a freshman at Fitchburg State College, he had his first short story published when a college professor, Florence Conlon, sent one of his stories to The Sign, a national Catholic magazine, without his knowledge for $75. Cormier began his professional writing career scripting radio commercials and went on to become an award-winning journalist.

Cormier became a full-time writer after the success of his first novel for teenagers, The Chocolate War, followed by others such as I Am the Cheese and After the First Death. He was concerned with the problems facing young people in modern society, and this concern was reflected in his novels. He soon established a reputation as a brilliant and uncompromising writer. Included in his awards is the Margaret A. Edwards Award of the Young Adult Services Division of the American Library Association. This award is presented in recognition of those authors who provide young adults with a window through which they can view the world, and which will help them to grow and understand themselves and their role in society.