Marijane Meaker

Marijane Meaker

Pseudonyms: M. E. Kerr, Ann Aldrich, Mary James, M. J. Meaker and Vin Packer.
Marijane Meaker grew up in Auburn, New York until she went to boarding school in Virginia. She recalls the joy she experienced when borrowing her father’s books at a young age: “My father was an ardent reader of everything. Our living room was lined with bookcases. I was always borrowing books from them to take up to my room and devour. Anything about writing or writers interested me. I romanticized them as other children did movie stars or royalty.”  While reading these books, Meaker remembers dreaming about writing under different names, especially because she was not fond of her own. As an author, Meaker used five different names to publish her novels.


Although she struggled in school, barely graduating high-school, Meaker studied for a year at Vermont Junior College (1945) and continued to complete her undergraduate degree in English literature at the University of Missouri (1946-49).  Although Meaker’s established her career by writing approximately twenty mystery and suspense novels, she has published books in a variety of genres, including non-fiction, biography, drama, politics, etc.  Meaker is not afraid to cross conventional boundaries, writing about non-traditional topics such as politics, homosexual relationships, racial prejudice and suicide. This allows the young adult readers to find more comfort in the fact that they are not alone in the difficult situations that they might encounter in life. In addition to writing books, Meaker also teaches writing classes at Ashawagh Hall, an artistic community centre in East Hampton, New York.

In an article called A Writer’s Life, Meaker, writing as M. E. Kerr, discusses her own struggles growing up as a gay young adult. She reflect upon the internal struggle that she felt when trying to avoid the discussion about her own sexuality even though she often wrote about homosexual relationships in her novels. Meaker claims that her book Night Kites was the very first book, either young adult or adult, with a gay male character with AIDS (which was called GRID at the time for ‘gay-related immune deficiency’). However, she was becoming increasingly recognized as a pioneer author in the fight for equal rights, Meaker discovered that she might be able to help gay youth. As a result she wrote Blood on the Forehead as a type of memoir of how it was to be gay and a public figure at the time. This was her second memoir-type or ‘behind the story’ book; the first was called Me, Me, Me, Me, Me!

Reviews

Meaker has receive countless positive reviews from library and school journals as well as from the New York Times.

Here are a few examples:
Gentlehands (1978): “Kerr doesn’t let anybody off the hook: neither the 'rehabilitated' Trenker, the law-and-order Boyles, nor the crass Penningtons with their ingrained arrogance escape their share of scrutiny. Kerr carries it all off without her usual stream of one-liners but with her sense of irony intact: the final twist is that in testifying against Trenker (an act that occurs off-stage and without fanfare) Buddy is actually following the old man's urgings to stop being one of life;s onlookers and enter the fray.” P.D. Pollack, School Library Journal. 24 (March 1978), 138. 

Night Kites (1986): “[This novelist] has, with sensitivity and delicacy, described an issue that may face many more families if predictions about AIDS come true. This is a fine story, beautifully told, with characters that ring true. Ms. Kerr has simply never been better in her long and lauded career; she too is a "night kite", unafraid to soar into the darkness of the human predicament.” Audrey B. Eadlen, New York Times Book Review. (April 13, 1986), 30.

Deliver us from Evie (1994): “Well known for her award-winning books, Kerr has deftly handled controversial subjects before, but here sacrifices plot, dialogue and character development in an earnest attempt to create a dramatic story about teenage lesbians... Not only does Parr never convince us that he has a real relationship with his sister (let alone his girlfriend), all of the characters seem to be cardboard figures, straight form central casting. The secondary characters - a boorish boyfriend of Evie's, an older brother with a snooty girlfriend, the rich bigot - are hardly believable. No doubt Kerr thought that by confronting the stereotype directly (yet playing it safe by providing the "pretty" lesbian as well) she could help teenagers understand that lesbians come in all shapes and sizes - a transparent message at best.” Cyrisse Jaffe, Women's Review of Books. 12 (November, 1994), 31.

"NEVER judge a book by its blurb - at least in the teenage market, where it seems to be in publishers' interests to disguise good writing as rubbish. Take Deliver Us From Evie by M. E. Kerr (Viking, pounds 8.99) whose back cover breathlessly pants "When eighteen-year-old Evie falls in love with gorgeous Patsy Duff, her parents tell her 'it's just a phase'. But Evie has always known that she's a dyke." Difficult though it is to sympathise with a writer who uses initials (V. V. Pretentious) and whose last book was called Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack! M. E. Kerr deserves better. Set in farming country in the American Mid-West, Evie's story is told by her unjudgmental younger brother, and is less about Evie and Patsy's relationship (Queen Victoria would be none the wiser for reading it) than Evie's family's reaction to it. With sympathetic characters and balanced prose Kerr never sensationalises her subject but keeps the reader rapt. Don't expect much seasonal good cheer amongst teen fare."

"When eighteen-year-old Evie falls in love with gorgeous Patsy Duff, her parents tell her 'it's just a phase'. But Evie has always known that she's a dyke." Difficult though it is to sympathise with a writer who uses initials (V. V. Pretentious) and whose last book was called Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack! M. E. Kerr deserves better. Set in farming country in the American Mid-West, Evie's story is told by her unjudgmental younger brother, and is less about Evie and Patsy's relationship (Queen Victoria would be none the wiser for reading it) than Evie's family's reaction to it. With sympathetic characters and balanced prose Kerr never sensationalises her subject but keeps the reader rapt. Don't expect much seasonal good cheer amongst teen fare.” Sunday Telegraph, December 3, 1995.

Bibliography

Under pseudonym M. E. Kerr:
Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!, Harper (New York, NY), 1972, reprinted, 2002.

If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever?, Harper (New York, NY), 1973.

The Son of Someone Famous, Harper (New York, NY), 1974.

Is That You, Miss Blue?, Harper (New York, NY), 1975.

Love Is a Missing Person, Harper (New York, NY), 1975.

I'll Love You When You're More like Me, Harper (New York, NY), 1977.

Gentlehands, Harper (New York, NY), 1978.

Little Little, Harper (New York, NY), 1981.

What I Really Think of You, Harper (New York, NY), 1982.

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me: Not a Novel, Harper (New York, NY), 1983.

Him She Loves?, Harper (New York, NY), 1984.

I Stay Near You: 1 Story in 3, Harper (New York, NY), 1985.

Night Kites, Harper (New York, NY), 1986.

Fell, Harper (New York, NY), 1987.

Fell Back, Harper (New York, NY), 1989.

Fell Down, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.

Linger, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Deliver Us from Evie, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.

Hello," I Lied, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Blood on the Forehead: What I Know about Writing, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

What Became of Her?, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Slap Your Sides, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

The Book of Fell, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Snakes Don't Miss Their Mothers, Harper Collins (New York, NY), 2003.

Your Eyes in Stars, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor, under pseudonym M. E. Kerr to

Sixteen, edited by Donald R. Gallo, Delacorte, 1984

Vissions, edited by Gallo, 1984

Connections, edited by Gallo, 1989

Scholastic Scope, 1989, 1995

Funny You Should Ask, edited by Gallo, 1992

Am I Blue?, edited by Marion Dane Bauer, 1993

No Easy Answers, edited by Gallo, 1997

Bad Behavior, edited by Mary Higgins Clark

Family Secrets, edited by Linda Rowe Fraustino, 1999

Stay True, edited by Marilyn Singer, 1999

I Believe in Water, edited by Singer, 2000

On the Fringe, edited by Gallo, 2001

Shattered, edited by Jenifer Armstrong, 2003

Hearing Flower, edited by Singer, 2004.

Game of Survival, New American Library (New York, NY), 1968.

Shockproof Sydney Skate, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1972, reprinted, HarperPerennial (New York,
NY), 2002.

The Thrill Kids, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1955.

Dark Don't Catch Me, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1956.

The Young and Violent, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1956.

Three-Day Terror, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1957.

The Evil Friendship, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1958.

5:45 to Suburbia, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1958.

The Twisted Ones, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1959.

The Damnation of Adam Blessing, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1961.

The Girl on the Best-seller List, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1961.

Something in the Shadows, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1961.

Intimate Victims, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1962.

Alone at Night, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1963.

The Hare in March, New American Library (New York, NY), 1967.

Don't Rely on Gemini, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1969.

 Short Stories by M. E. Kerr (unless listed otherwise)

“Devotedly, Patrick Henry Casebolt” 1951 as Laura Winston in Ladies' Home Journal.

“Do You Want My Opinion?” 1984 in Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, ed. Donald R. Gallo.

“The Sweet Perfume of Good-bye” 1988 in Visions: Nineteen Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, ed. Donald R. Gallo.

“Sunny Days and Sunny Nights” 1989 in Connections: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, ed. Donald R. Gallo.

“Son of One Eye” 1989 in Scope.

“The Author” 1992 in Funny You Should Ask: The Delacorte Book of Original Humorous Short Stories, ed. David Gale.

“We Might as Well All Be Strangers” 1994 in Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence, ed. Marion Dane Bauer.

“The Green Killer” 1995 in Bad Behavior, ed. Mary Higgins Clark.

“Like Father, Like Son” 1995 in Scope.

Foreward 1997 in Hearing Us Out : Voices from the Gay and Lesbian Community by Roger Sutton, Lisa Ebright (Illustrator)

“I Will Not Think of Maine” 1998 in Dirty Laundry: Stories About Family Secrets, ed. Lisa Rowe Fraustino

“Guess Who's Back in Town, Dear?” 1999 in Stay True : Short Stories for Strong Girls by Marilyn Singer (Editor)

“Grace” 2000 in I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes With Religion by Marilyn Singer (Compiler)

Contributor to 33 Things Every Girl Should Know : Stories, Songs, Poems and Smart Talk by 33 Extraordinary Women edited by Tonya Bolden

“Great Expectations” in On the Fringe edited by Donald R. Gallo (Penguin Group, 2001)

“Hearing Flower” in Face Relations: Eleven Stories about Seeing Beyond Color edited by Marilyn Singer (Simon and Schuster, 2004) 

Pseudonym Mary James:

Shoebag, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1990. 

Frankenlouse, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1994.

Pseudonym M. J. Meaker:

Hometown, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1967.

Sudden Endings, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1964.

A Guide to the Hangover


Pseudonym Marijane Meaker:

Game of Survival 1968

Shockproof Sydney Skate 1972 (reissued 2003)

Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950’s. 2003

Pseudonym Ann Aldrich:

We Walk Alone,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1955.

We, Too, Must Love,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1958.

Carol, in a Thousand Cities.  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1960.

We Two Won’t Last. Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1963.

Take a Lesbian to Lunch, MacFadden-Bartell, 1972.

Pseudonym Vin Packer:

Dark Intruder,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1952.

Fawcett,  (New York, NY), 1964.

Spring Fire,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1952.

Look Back to Love, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1953.

Come Destroy Me, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1954.

Whisper His Sin, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1954.

The Thrill Kids, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1955

The Young and Violent, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1956

Dark Don’t Catch Me,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1956

3 Day Terror, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1957

The Evil Friendship,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1958

5:45 to Surburbia, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1958

The Twisted Ones, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1959

The Girl on the Best Seller List,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1960

The Damnation of Adam Blessing, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY),  1961

Something in the Shadows,  Gold Medal Books (New York, NY),  1961

Intimate Victims, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1962

Alone at Night, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1963

Sudden Endings, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1964

The Hare in March, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1967

Don’t Rely on Gemini, Gold Medal Books (New York, NY), 1969

“Hot Snow” by Vin Packer in the January 1956 issue of Justice Magazine

“New York Will Break Your Heart, Baby” by Vin Packer in February 1968 issue of Redbook (Thanks to Peter Sieruta for this one.)

“Only the Guilty Run” by Vin Packer in Some Things Weird and Wicked, edited by Joan Kahn and published by Pantheon in 1976

“Jimmy from Another World” by Vin Packer in Cosmopolitan’s Winds of Love, published by Cosmopolitan Books in 1975

Adaptations

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack! was made into a television special by Learning Corporation of America in 1978. If I Love You Am I Trapped Forever? was released as an audio cassette by Random House, 1979. Fell was also made into a sound recording in 1995 and Gentlehands was released as a sound recording too in 1996.

Awards

Your Eyes In Stars

New American Library  (New York)

2007 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

Slap Your Sides voted one of the 10 best books about religion in 2002 by Booklist and nominated for the Oklahoma Library Association Young Adult Book Award, along with 9 others. Winners to be announced in Feb. '03

Slap Your Sides selected for New York Public Library “Books for the Teen Age” 2002 List

ALAN (Lifetime Achievement Award) 2000, Assembly on Literature for Adolescents, National Council of Teachers of English

The Knickerbocker (Lifetime Achievement Award) 1999, The New York State Library Association

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack
School Library Journal asked a team of experts to select the 20th century's 100 most significant books for children and young adults, and Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack, 2000
Best of the Best Books (YA) 1970-1983, ALA
Best Children's Books of 1972, School Library Journal
ALA Notable Children's Books of 1972
Cited for Margaret A. Edwards Award, 1993

If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever?
Honor Book, Book World Children's Spring Book Festival, 1973 Outstanding Children's Books of 1973, New York Times

The Son of Someone Famous
Best Children's Books of 1975, School Library Journal
Best of the Best 1966-1978, School Library Journal

Is That You, Miss Blue?
Outstanding Children's Books of 1975, New York Times

ALA Notable Children's Books of 1975

Best Books for Young Adults, 1975, ALA

I'll Love You When You're More Like Me
Best Children's Books of 1977, School Library Journal

Gentlehands
Best of the Best Books 1966-1992, ALA
Best Books for Young Adults, 1978, ALA

ALA Notable Children's Books of 1978
Best Children's Books of 1978, School Library Journal
Winner, 1978 Christopher Award
Best Children's Books of 1978, New York Times
Cited for Margaret A. Edwards Award, 1993

Little Little
 ALA Notable Children's Books of 1981
Best Books for Young Adults, 1981, ALA
Best Books of 1981, School Library Journal
Winner, 1981 Golden Kite Award, Society of Children's Book Writers

What I Really Think of You
Best Books of 1982, School Library Journal

ME ME ME ME ME: Not a Novel

Best Books for Young Adults, 1983
Cited for Margaret A. Edwards Award, 1993

I Stay Near You
Best Books for Young Adults, 1985
Night Kites
 Best of the Best Books 1966-1980, ALA
Best Books for Young Adults, 1986, ALA
Booklist Editor's Choice, 1987
Recommended Books for Reluctant YA Readers, 1987, ALA
1992 California Young Reader Award Cited for Margaret A. Edwards Award, 1993

Fell
Best Books for Young Adults, 1987, ALA Booklist Editor's Choice, 1987

Fell Back

Finalist, 1990 Edgar Allan Poe Award, Best Young Adult Mystery (Mystery Writers of America)

Fell Down

ALA Booklist books for Youth Editors Choices, 1991

Deliver Us from Evie

The Best Young Adult Novels of the '90s: Deliver Us From Evie was in the top 12 in a National

Council of English Teachers' Assembly on Literature for Adolescents survey, as reported in VOYA, February 2000
Best Books for Young Adults, 1995, ALA
Booklist Editors' Choice, 1994
Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 1995, ALA
Horn Book Fanfare Honor List, 1995
Best Books 1994, School Library Journal
1994 Best Book Honor Award, Michigan Library Association