Robert Cormier

BIO

Robert Cormier's many acclaimed novels include the classics THE CHOCOLATE WAR and I AM THE CHEESE. He is a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring his lifetime contribution to writing for teens.

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PAST INTERVIEW

April 21, 2000

Robert Cormier broke through to readers with his 1974 publication of THE CHOCOLATE WAR, a book that launched his success as a Young Adult author. Winner of various awards, including the 1991 Margaret A. Edwards Award for his three books, THE CHOCOLATE WAR, I AM THE CHEESE, and AFTER THE FIRST DEATH, Cormier wins new fans and impresses old ones with his growing list of Young Adult novels. Friendly and always accessible to his fans, Cormier shares one of his favorite compliments from readers, "You tell it like it is." We strongly agree. As the final YA Crossover author, Robert Cormier will move readers, adults and teens, in this revealing interview. If you haven't yet encountered Cormier, now is your chance.

TBB: Who do you feel makes up the audience for your books?

RC: I find that my adult audience is steadily increasing. Maybe it's because the teenagers who read THE CHOCOLATE WAR or I AM THE CHEESE back in the seventies are now in their thirties and, like so many readers, are loyal to the writers they like. Yet, I know that teens are my larger audience and, frankly, I cherish them.  I can write with all the craft available to me and yet have this responsive young readership.

TBB: You portray both good and evil in your books, sometimes graphically.  Do you feel that young adults need to read about the darker side of life?

RC: In a lot of instances, young adults are living that darker side of life or are aware of it through television, movies or what they see and hear on school buses or in the school corridors. For some reason, many people think teenagers live in a kind of vacuum. They don't. And when they read about the dark side of life in books, it gives an affirmation to what they see and hear every day. For the more protected and isolated teenager, the books give them a dose of reality, of what's really going on in the world out there that's waiting for them. One of the sentences that occurs all the time in letters I receive is: You tell it like it is. And that's affirmation for me and keeps me going.

TBB: Censorship is becoming more prevalent throughout the world. How do you feel about the Banned Books List? Do you think anyone should control what children and teenagers read?

RC: I've been involved with banning attempts since the publication of THE CHOCOLATE WAR in 1974 and, yes, it's more prevalent today. And more organized.  It's fine to call attention to the problem with the Banned Books List. Teachers and librarians can prepare for the battle when the books are known ahead of time. One of the reasons why I object so strenuously to censorship is because so much of it is absurd. And stupid. Censorship attempts call attention to the book under attack.  And immediately, kids want to read it. And then it's read for the wrong reasons. Every parent has the right to control what their children read. I don't object to parents who do not want their sons or daughters to read, say, THE CHOCOLATE WAR or WE ALL FALL DOWN. But I object when parents don't want other people's children reading those books. I think that a controversial book belongs in the classroom where it can be discussed, where a teacher can guide the students, where, in fact, a student can get up in class or write a paper saying that he or she doesn't like the book and objects to facets of it. That's the kind of freedom that we must preserve.  

TBB: What are your thoughts about the current trend towards writing "politically correct" books?

RC: Political correctness is one of the worst things to happen to literature. It's killing language and thought. It's evading real life. It's substituting euphemisms for truth.  

TBB: Do you think young adult themes in novels mirror contemporary society, or are they influencing kids to grow up more quickly?

RC: A bit of both. Realistic novels, of course, reflect what's going on in the world --- and it's hard to tell whether they influence kids to grow up more quickly. My hope is that they make children wiser in the ways of the world without making them cynical.

TBB: What comes first when you start a novel --- character, setting or plot?

RC: Character. Until I "hear" the voice of the character, I can't proceed. I think characters are the most important element in a novel. You can have a clever plot and fine writing but if the reader doesn't believe in the characters, doesn't love them or hate them or doesn't identify with them, then the story won't work. But before the writing begins, I must be emotionally involved with the novel I'm about to write.

TBB: Who is your favorite character from all your books?

RC: They're all my children but Archie Costello in THE CHOCOLATE WAR and its sequel continues to fascinate me.  

TBB: How do you create your characters?  Are they ever based on real people you know?

RC: A tough question because, frankly, I don't know how I create my characters. I'm not being evasive. They somehow simply spring to life. I don't know where Archie Costello, for instance, came from. Some aspects of writing can be explained and others can't. Having said that, I can also say that once established, a character can then be given some of the mannerisms of people I know or have observed. I know this sounds awfully vague but it's the best I can do.

TBB: How emotionally involved do you get with your characters?

RC: It's all emotion. As I indicated earlier, emotion is the key to my writing.  Something happens that affects me emotionally --- disturbs me, upsets me, angers me --- and sends me to the typewriter where I create the major character. And what happens eventually to that character, as well as others, affects me greatly. I was very upset when I saw the way doom was descending on Kate Forrester in AFTER THE FIRST DEATH and felt helpless to avoid it. I'm often reluctant to finish a novel because that means letting the characters go. I often write about them for my own purposes after a novel is published.

TBB: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

RC: At the age of l2 in the seventh grade when I began to write down my feelings (emotions again) --- on paper in what must have been very crude poetry. My teacher, Sister Catherine, read one of my poems and declared that I was a writer. I've been a writer from that day to this.

TBB: Which writers influenced you the most during the years you were a young adult?

RC: Thomas Wolfe (who wrote about the "hunger" of youth for love and fame and fortune), Ernest Hemingway, William Saroyan. I wasted a lot of time trying to write like Wolfe with his thousands of adjectives and adverbs and bless the day I discovered Hemingway whose prose was like a clear cool stream that I could navigate and emulate.

TBR: Do you think reading tastes among children and young adults have changed since you were young?

RC: I think all readers, young and old, in any place or time, want to be told a story, the thousand variations of "Once upon a time..." Because young people today are exposed to so much information, they are probably more demanding in terms of realism. Yet, I think there is also an innate innocence underneath it all --- kids are still kids. Styles change, slang changes, the music they love changes --- but the emotions of childhood and adolescence never change.

TBB: Who are your favorite YA writers today?

RC: A risk here of leaving out writers I admire but I have to name Lois Lowry and M. E. Kerr as well as Michael Cadnum, John Marsden, Sonya Hartnett --- all the writers in this YA Crossovers feature, and so many others. The quality of YA writing is of a very high caliber today.  

TBB: Did a particular person make an impact on you as far as guiding your writing career?

RC: More than one person. Teachers who came along at various stages of my development, Sister Catherine and especially Miss E. Lillian Ricker, a high school English teacher I never had in class but who worked with me after school on my stories. I had just discovered similes and metaphors, was drunk on words, and she taught me their proper use. Her blue pencil was lovingly employed. Miss Florence Conlon, my college art teacher, had one of my stories (written in pencil) typed up, sent it without my knowledge to a magazine. It sold for $75 and made me a professional writer.

TBB: What are you reading now?

RC: I read several books at once, alternating between them. Right now, a new biography of Norman Mailer, 1999 THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES and, as often happens, rereading Graham Greene. Right now, preparing for a visit to England, I'm rereading THE HUMAN FACTOR. He is my unfailing inspiration.

TBB: What was the biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your writing career and what was your solution?

RC: My background is very modest. My father, my uncles and aunts were factory workers or store clerks. I knew no writers, thought you had to be a genius, well educated, must travel the world. And there I was a skinny kid in a three-decker neighborhood, filled with longings and urgings, with few resources. I was rescued by teachers, as I mentioned earlier; and, in particular, my mother who praised my early writings and told me I was sure to succeed. And I was always willing to spend long hours writing.

TBB: What do you do when you're not writing?

RC: Read, visit libraries and bookstores, answer letters from readers (most of them students), listen to old jazz or the Beatles or Springsteen. I love movies --- old classics as well as anything with Robert DiNiro or Paul Newman or directed by Martin Scorcese.

TBB: Have any of your children become writers? While they were growing up, did your children read your books?

RC: Our youngest daughter, Renee, writes for a newspaper, covering a small New England town and is also writing short stories. (I think she's also tackling a novel but she doesn't say much about it). Our four children have always been a big part of my writing. They started reading my manuscripts when they became teenagers. My son, Peter, was my guide as I wrote THE CHOCOLATE WAR, advising me on slang, etc., and assuring me I was on the right track. Our daughter, Bobbie, who is a prize-winning quilter, has written a book based on one of her quilts. Another daughter, Chris, does a lot of writing in connection with six (yes, six) book discussion groups she leads.

TBB: What advice would you give aspiring writers?

RC: Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Every successful writer I know is a great reader. It's also important to write regularly. Discipline is as important as talent, perhaps even more important --- a lot of books don't get written simply because talented people never sit down and actually write.  

TBB: What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book ready for publication?  If so, when can we look forward to seeing it in bookstores?

RC: As usual, I'm writing a novel. I expect to finish it this summer and if all goes well it should be in bookstores next year.

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