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Fitchburg State College Library
160 Pearl Street ~ Fitchburg, MA 01420 ~ (978) 665 - 3196
GENERAL INFORMATION
131 Cartons Prepared by Robert Foley
84 Linear Feet March 1986
Updated by Janice Ouellette
Cite as: Robert E. Cormier Collection, Fitchburg State College Library, Fitchburg, MA
December 2000
ACQUISITION:
The Robert E Cormier Collection was given by Mr.Cormier to the Fitchburg State College Foundation on May 3, l981.The Collection is housed in the FSC Library and maintained by the Special Collections staff. The Collection includes the items he has written and the materials about him. However, the following items were collected by Mr. Foley: fifty "John Fitch IV" columns: five published short stories: numerous book reviews; various criticism and interpretations; and some of the biographical items.
ACCESS:
All documents have Restricted Access unless otherwise indicated. Use of the Collection is contingent upon acceptance by the researcher of the rules and regulations set forth by Mr. Cormier when the Collection was given to the College. Dr. Marilyn McCaffrey of the English Department is the Guardian of the Collection.
COPYRIGHT:
Copyright is contingent upon acceptance by the Researcher of the rules and regulations set forth by Mr. Cormier when the Collection was given to the College Foundation. Permission to publish, photocopy, or quote from the Collection must be discussed with the Librarian responsible for the Special Collections.
FUNDING:
All funding for processing and conserving the items in the Collection came from FSC Library funds.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Mr. Cormier was employed at Radio Station WTAG, Worcester, Mass. as a writer from l946-48; a reporter for the WORCESTER TELEGRAM AND GAZETTE from l948-55; a reporter, copy editor, associate Editor, and columnist for THE FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER SENTINEL AND ENTERPRISE from l955-78. He is also a member of the Leominster Public Library Board of Trustees.
His published writings include: NOW AND AT THE HOUR, Coward, 1960:A LITTLE RAW ON MONDAY MORNINGS, Sheed, l963: TAKE ME WHERE THE GOOD TIMES ARE, Macmillan, l965; THE CHOCOLATE WAR, Pantheon, l974; I AM THE CHEESE, Pantheon, l977; AFTER THE FIRST DEATH,Pantheon, l979; EIGHT PLUS ONE (short stories), Pantheon, l980;
THE BUMBLEBEE FLIES ANYWAY, Pantheon, l983; BEYOND THE CHOCOLATE WAR, Knopf,l985; HEROES; TENDERNESS (1997); FRENCHTOWN SUMMER(1999). Mr. Cormier had finished the manuscript for his thirteenth novel when he died on November 2, 2000 in Boston, MA. Perhaps an excerpt from the obituary appearing in the INDEPENDENT (London, November 8, 2000, pg. 6) says it best:"…leaving critics with the difficult task of assessing and finally agreeing upon the abiding merits of his contribution to the turbulent world of teenage fiction during the last 30 years."
As a columnist he wrote "Story from the County" for THE WORCESTER TELEGRAM; the "John Fitch IV" column for THE FITCHBURG SENTINEL AND LEOMINSTER ENTERPRISE; and the "Sentinel Bookman" for the FITCHBURG SENTINEL AND LEOMINSTER ENTERPRISE. Mr. Cormier was also the author of "1177 Main Street," a column for the periodical ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER, 1967-80.
Mr. Cormier has written well over one hundred short stories, some of which have appeared in SIGN, SATURDAY EVENING POST, MCCALLS, etc.
Mr. Cormier has received the following awards for his writings: First prize for news writings, Associated Press in New England, l959, 1973; best newspaper column, Thomson Newspapers, Inc., 1974; NEW YORK TIMES Outstanding Book of the Year Award, l974, 1977, 1979; American Library Association award for books for young adults, 1974; the Woodward School Annual Book Award, l978, for I AM THE CHEESE; Mr. Cormier was awarded a Doctor of Letters, Fitchburg State College in l977. His last novel "Frenchtown Summer" won a Los Angeles Times book award in 2000.
COLLECTION
The Collection is divided into two Record Groups and a Graphics Lot Collection (see attached schedule0 The first record group consists of Mr. Cormier's writings. It includes published works; drafts; editorial correspondence; and miscellaneous items. It is further divided into five sub-record groups and these are divided into distinct series. The sub groups are Newspaper/Periodicals; miscellaneous Writings and Activities; Short Stories/Novels; Unpublished Novels and Correspondence.
The first sub group includes copies of Mr. Cormier's writings for newspapers and periodicals. Mr. Cormier has written columns, book reviews, and articles for newspapers and periodicals and has written various items strictly for newspapers. This is the rationale for the organization. There is a complete set of the "John Fitch IV" columns on microfilm; samples of "Story from the County"; a complete set of "1177 Main Street"; copies of book reviews and book review columns; a complete set of articles and essays Mr. Cormier has written; and various other items such as editorials, reports, etc. The items are arranged by titles of the newspaper or periodical; type of article; and then by date.
The Miscellaneous Writings and Activities group include materials which document activities Mr. Cormier has undertaken such as personal appearances and judging activities. The writings include those items that could not be fit into the other categories. These include poetry, screenplays, movie scripts, commercial copy, speeches, radio activities, and essays published in books.
Sub-record group three consists of Mr. Cormier's short stories and published novels. Mr. Cormier's first published piece of writing was a short story in 1947 and he has written approximately 120. The collection has copies of most of the published short stories and approximately 120 drafts with separate titles. These were published in periodicals and newspapers. Some of them, nine, were reprinted in 8 PLUS 1 and still others have been published in various anthologies.
Each of Mr. Cormier's published novels has been given a distinct series and they are arranged in chronological order. Each series contains a published version of the novel and some but not all contain drafts, galleys, foreign language editions, blue pages, etc. Each series does contain editorial correspondence. This includes incoming, from the editors and agent, and Mr. Cormier's responses. The correspondence also contains letters from other professional writers who have offered comments on his novels. Each letter has been photocopied (until 1994) and the original and the copy are stored with the novels. Mr. Cormier's responses are carbon copies and have been typed. There are very few signatures of Mr. Cormier. Not every letter sent to Mr. Cormier has a copy of a response.
Sub-record group four contains Mr. Cormier's unpublished novels. There are three completed novels: ACT OF CONTRITION/FRENCH HILL, RUMPLE COUNTRY, and IN THE MIDST OF WINTER and the other titles are only fragments of novels. The sub-group is arranged into separate series for each of the distinct titles. Each series contains at least a partial draft of each work and correspondence for the three mentioned works.
Sub-record group five contains correspondence. It is divided into outgoing, Mr. Cormier's letters; and incoming correspondence. It is sub-divided into personal, fan, and editorial correspondence. Editorial correspondence consists of letters between various editors of newspapers and magazines and Mr. Cormier. These are concerned with his writings. Editorial Correspondence dealing with his novels, short stories and unpublished novels will be located in sub-record groups 3 and 4.
Fan correspondence are letters of appreciation by the readers of Mr. Cormier's works. These include comments on all his writings. Mr. Cormier does answer all his correspondence but not all of his responses were kept by him. The editorial and fan letters are arranged by the type of Mr. Cormier's writings; for example, there is a folder for his magazine columns and a folder for each of his novels (fan letters only).
The personal correspondence is everything else. This includes requests for appearances, letters from friends and other writers, letters of recommendations, etc.
The correspondence in each of the sub-series is in chronological order with the undated letters in the first folder/container.
Á third series contains various contracts, account statements for the novelsand personal appearances fees.
RECORD GROUP 2
The second record group contains material about Mr. Cormier and his writings. Except for a small number of items, these materials are secondary sources of information. When Mr. Cormier began to have his works published, he started to collect the reviews and publicity that accompanied his writings. By the time of the Collection Presentation, there were a sizable yet workable number of items.
After consultation with Mr. Cormier and Dr. McCaffrey, it was decided to use the resources of the FSC Library to enlarge these holdings as much as possible. The materials have been organized into the following series: Reviews, Criticisms; Collection Presentation; Biographies and Interviews; Publicity; Censorship; Books owned by Mr. Cormier; FSC Class materials; and Award and Honors.
The first two series are probably the most important of the record group. They include book reviews and criticisms of his novels. The review series includes copies of reviews published in, among others, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ATLANTIC MONTHLY, etc.
The series also includes reviews of the video adaptations of I AM THE CHEESE; reviews of the audio adaptations of AFTER THE FIRST DEATH; THE CHOCOLATE WAR, and I AM THE CHESE; and it includes numerous lists of recommended readings published by LIBRARY JOURNAL, THE NEW YORK TIMES, among others.
The criticisms and interpretations series contain analysis of Mr. Cormier's works. These would include critiques that are published and unpublished. There is a folder for each novel and a folder containing critiques of a general nature. Among the published essays are those from ALAN REVIEW, WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN, etc.
Th Biography and Interview series provides sources of information of Mr.Cormier. the interviews, in the dialogue and the narrative, reveal biographical information so it was decided to file them in the same series. The documents include newspapers, magazines, and transcripts of audio interviews. See especially BOSTON MAGAZINE; THE BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE; ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER; HORN BOOK; CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS, NR Vol. 5.
Mr. Cormier' novel, THE CHOCOLATE WAR especially, have been the repeated target of various school boards of education which have attempted to have it withdrawn from Libraries and from teachers reading lists. The Censorship series contains articles from newspapers which document these attempts; Mr. Cormier's ideas and beliefs about censorship; correspondence between Mr. Cormier and various groups of teachers and librarians; and pamphlets about censorship that he has collected. There are articles from Massachusetts, South Carolina and Arizona.
AUDIO-VISUAL LOTS
Th Audio/Visual lots contain the following types of material: Photographs; Video Tapes; Audio Recordings; Realia; and Posters. Each of these types of materials has an individual lot and the photographs have been divided into two distinct lots.
The first lot is an alphabetically arranged collection of regular size and oversize photographic prints. They are mostly photographs, but there are a few book jackets included. The prints are either of Mr. Cormier or have been given to him. They include family photographs and mementos of his visits to schools or libraries. The regular size (6x8") and the oversize (larger than 6x8") are in two separate cartons and each is in alphabetical order.
Lot number two consists of a set of Large Format photographs. There are 23 black and white prints which depict various scenes of the Fitchburg-Leominster area that became the settings for scenes in Mr. Cormier's writings.
Lot number three includes video tapes. There are four tapes dealing with the movie I AM THE CHEESE. These include a television clip from "Evening Magazine"; edited and unedited versions of the Robert Cormier Roast that took place in April 1983; and 2 VCR cassettes recordings of the film. The final tape is entitled CHEESE,CHOCOLATE AND KIDS: A Day with Robert Cormier. Other tapes include an adaptation of I AM THE CHEESE entitled LAPSE OF MEMORY; THE BUMBLEBEE FLIES ANYWAY; and THE CHOCOLATE WAR.
The recordings lot contains records and cassettes. There is a 1944 record containing poems and readings by Mr. Cormier; a recording of a song "Disturb the Universe"; and various other tape recorded interviews and speeches. The Lot also contains dramatizations of THE CHOCOLATE WAR, AFTER THE FIRST DEATH, and I AM THE CHEESE. These were produced by Miller-Brody Productions. See Lot 3 content note for a detailed explanation.
Realia is a collection of physical items. They include the bicycle used in the film I AM THE CHEESE; pieces to a game dealing with the scenes and characters of some of the novels; and soft sculpture. See Lot 4 content note for a detailed explanation.
The final lot is a collection of posters and wall hangings. They are oversize prints that are too large to be placed with the photographs. They include movie posters for I AM THE CHEESE; student designed posters; blow-ups of book jackets; and a collage presented to Mr. Cormier by the staff of Leominster Public Library.
ROBERT E. CORMIER COLLECTION (PDF) |
