Robert Cormier Biography

Fade About the Author

R obert Edmund Cormier, born on January 17, 1925, in Leominster, Massachusetts, was the second of the eight children in the warm, supportive family of Lucien Joseph and Margaret Collins Cormier. He attended Catholic schools where he studied French and English, half a day each, and credits his seventh-grade teacher with giving him an identity when she told him, "Robert, you are a writer." He believed her and never doubted it. He completed one year at Fitchburg State College while working nights at a Leominster comb factory. After he left college, he began writing commercials for a Worcester radio station and reporting for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette; later he accepted a job at the Fitchburg Sentinel. His jobs as a reporter increased his fondness for writing and helped to develop his precise word choice, as well as his fast-paced, concise style. He received several awards for his human interest...
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