Robert Cormier
Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925 – November 2, 2000) was an American author, columnist and reporter, known for his deeply pessimistic, downbeat literature. His most popular works include I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, We All Fall Down and The Chocolate War, all of which have won awards.The Chocolate War was challenged in multiple libraries. His books often are concerned with themes such as abuse, mental illness, violence, revenge, betrayal and conspiracy. In most of his novels, the protagonists do not win.
Life
Robert Cormier was born to Lucien Joseph and Irma M. Cormier, in Leominster, Massachusetts, in the French-Canadian section of the town called French Hill. He was the second of eight children. His family moved frequently to afford rent, but never left his hometown. Even when he was much older and owned a summer home, it was still 19 miles away from Leominster. Cormier attended a private Catholic school, St. Cecilia's Parochial School. He began writing when he was in the first grade. He was praised at school for his poetry. He first realized his aspiration to become a writer in 7th grade, when he was encouraged by a nun to write a poem. He attended Leominster High School, graduating as the president of his class. As a freshman at Fitchburg State College, he had his first short story published when a college professor, Florence Conlon, without his knowledge sent one of his stories to a national Catholic magazine, The Sign, for $75. Cormier began his professional writing career scripting radio commercials and went on to become an award-winning journalist. Even though he became widely known, he never stopped writing for his local newspaper, the Fitchburg Sentinel.
