Stephen+King

 Stephen King is an extremely successful author with an abundance of novels, several screenplays and numerous short stories.(Gale) Over the past 35 years, King's name has become affiliated with horror. He is one, if not the, most popular horror novelist of the postmodern time period. Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine(King 24). When Stephen was two, his father abandoned his family. Stephen and his brother were raised by their caring and nurturing mother, Ruth. The King family moved out of Maine when Stephen was very young. They went to Indiana and then moved on to Connecticut. The family moved back to Maine when Stephen was 11 years old. He went on to study English at the University of Maine's Orono campus(King 45). In 1970 Stephen King graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in English. During his time as a college student, Stephen met a fellow student Tabitha Spruce, whom, unknown to Stephen, would become his soul mate. The couple married in 1971 and Tabitha Spruce took on the soon to be infamous name: King. She is also a successful novelist and due to this, she supported Stephen in all of his endeavors. Stephen and Tabitha went on to have three children, Naomi Rachel, Joseph Hillstrom and Owen Philip. Stephen wrote many short stories for magazines during the early years of his marriage. He began teaching in 1971at Hampden Academy; while teaching there, he continued to write for many magazines. (Gielio)In 1973, a new door was opened for Stephen. Doubleday and Company had accepted Carrie for publication. This was the product of many numerous editions and revisions to his new book, “Carrie.” He was then able to leave his job at the Academy and focus solely on his writing. In the same year, King moved his family to Sebago Lake, so he could be closer to his ill mother. Ruth, that same year, succumbed to cancer and lost her life. Soon after, Carrie was published in 1974. Later that year the King family moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Stephen wrote “The Shining”. “The Shining” was a big step forward for Stephen as it eventually became a movie, and this helped spark publicity and stardom for the young blossoming writer. Less than a year later they moved back to Maine. Stephe then completed The Stand and wrote The Dead Zone. A notable aspect of Stephen King's life is his love of baseball. He is a huge fan of The Boston Red Sox and due to his love for the team, he wrote a novel about a girl who is lost in the woods and maintains her sanity by listening to Red Sox games on her walkman. This novel is called The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. The rest of Stephen King's life is history. (King 97) Several of his novels have been adapted for film and many of these films have been huge successes. His novels are still in high demand and this shows his long lasting influence even past the postmodern era. His aspirations in writing and his background of his life is his motivation to write. This has awarded him many honors and his literature has made an impact on the literary world.