A Bit about Stephen King

I am an avid fan of Stephen King.  I think his style of writing is unique and reminiscent of the great Alfred Hitchcock.  For those of you who share my passion for his writings and style, you may take delight in knowing about the man, here is a brief synopsis of his life and his works. Enjoy! 

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine. His father, a merchant seaman, deserted the family in 1950. The young Stephen and his brother David were raised in Durham, Maine, by their mother who worked in odd jobs to support her children. At the age of six, he had his eardrum punctured several times - a painful experience which he never forgot. King attended a grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High school, where he started to write short stories and played in an amateur rock band. In 1960 he submitted his first story for publication - it was rejected. He edited the school newspaper, The Drum, and also wrote for the local newspaper, Lisbon Weekly Enterprise. His first story, entitled 'In a Half-World of Terror', King published in a horror fanzine. In 1970 King graduated from the University of Maine. Next year he married Tabitha Spruce, who has also gained fame as a writer. "My wife is the person in my life who's most likely to say I'm working too hard, it's time to slow down, stay away from that damn PowerBook for a little while, Steve, give it a rest." (from On Writing, 2000) Most of his career King has lived in Bangor, Maine. Many of his books are set in the imaginary town of Castle Rock, Maine, which is totally destroyed by greed in Needful Things (1993).

From 1971 to 1974 King was an instructor at the Hampden Academy, earning $6,400 a year. His first novel, Carrie (1974), was a tale of a girl with telekinetic powers. King had thrown the first pages of the story in a garbage pail, but his wife rescued them and urged him to finish the work. Carrie had first only a moderate success and sold 13 000 copies in hardcover. However, Signet paid $400,000 for its paperback rights. Carrie's film version was launched in 1976 and after the breakthrough novel Salem's Lot (1976), King established quickly his reputation as a major horror writer. In the late summer of 1974 King moved with his family to Colorado for an extended holiday. He visited the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, and set there his next novel, The Shining. Stanley Kubrick's film version of the book, from 1977, did not satisfy the author, and he King himself turned his novel into a television miniseries in 1997.

In the late 1970s King published his first paperbacks under the name of Richard Bachman. The Talisman (1984) and its sequel, The Black House (2001), were written with Peter Staub. King has also published non-fiction. In his collection of essays, Danse Macabre (1981), King described the writing process as a kind of "dance" in which the author searches out the private fears of each reader. In the textbook of macabre he goes through the horror genre, from film monsters to books, focusing mostly on the post-war era. "It's not a dance of death at all, not really. There is a third lever here, as well. It is, at bottom, a dance of dreams. It's a way of awakening the child inside, who never dies but only sleeps ever more deeply. If the horror story is rehearsal for death, then its strict moralities make it also a reaffirmation of life and good will and simple imagination - just one more pipeline to the infinite." (from Dance Macabre)

After writing The Pet Sematary King considered he don't need to publish his "thebmost wretched, awful thing" he made, Bag of Bones (1998). The story dealt with the grief process in an uncompromising way. In Bag of Bones King returned to the theme of loss of a family member, and added into it the classical haunted house idea and familiar elements from his previous works: a small town where people know more than they tell, the collective guilty, and a hero who can't avoid confrontation with the evil powers. Old crimes, sins and secrets, hidden deep, are gradually revealed in an analysis of the conscious and unconscious like on a Freud's sofa. Playing with fire, King plunges into the mind of Mike Noonan, an author who suffers from the writer's block. Noonan's wife has died unexpectedly and he retreats to Sara Laughs, their happy home during summers. There he meets a young mother, Mattie, and her daughter, whom he helps in an custody struggle. - Mattie is one of the liveliest characters in King's works. Her sudden death, a logical twist of the plot, comes like electric shock. In the last pages of the novel Noonan/King returns to it and states correctly that 'to think I might have written such a hellishly convenient death in a book, ever, sickens me.' Bag of Bones continues the series where King explorers the writing process and the work of an author. The Shining, Misery, The Dark Half and now Bag of Bones are among his most revealing and personal works. - King is not among those writers who claim that they don't have time to read. Bag of Bones offers a delightful analysis of Herman Melville's story Bartleby, and comments about books and authors. Among them is Thomas Hardy, who stopped writing novels at the peak of his career and changed into poetry. Hardy supposedly said, that the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones.

A number of King's stories have been adapted into screen, among others Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), Misery (1990), The Shawshank Redemption (1995), and The Green Mile (1999). His novels are richly textured with multitudinous references to films, television, rock music, literature, popular culture, and in his own books. Several of early King's novels explored the agonies of childhood, parental neglect and abuse (Carrie; Firestarter, 1980). In the 1980s his perspective shifted into the various pains of adulthood, the loneliness of older people (It, 1986; Insomnia, 1994). He has also provided fully-realized women characters in such novels as Gerald's Game (1992), Dolores Clairborne (1993), and Rose Madder (1995).

'King's Dark Tower series, which started in 1982 with The Gunslinger, has combined Tolkien's sense of wonder with a horror and Sergio-Leone influenced Western. Partly the novel is based on Robert Browning's narrative poem, 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came'. The world of Roland has many intertextual relationships with King's other books and maps the boundaries of his imagination or universe. Occasionally characters cross over from one genre to another, from fantasy to realism. Roland and his friends, other gunslingers, are helped by the Old Fella, Father Callahan from Salem's Lot.

King confesses in On Writing that he had problems with alcohol as early as in 1975, when he wrote The Shining, and he also developed in the 1980s a drung addiction. In June 1999 King was struck by a van and seriously injured. Soon after the accident, in July, King began publishing a serial novel, entitled The Plant, at his website, stephenking.com. In the story a supernatural vine starts to grow in a paperback publishing house. It brings success and riches and all it wants in return is a little drop of blood, a little flesh. King also announced that he will not continue with the story if payments for downloading the work fall off. "What made The Plant such a hilarious Internet natural (at least to my admittedly twisted mind) was that publishers and media people seem to see exactly this sort of monster whenever they contemplate the Net in general and e-lit in particular: a troublesome strangler fig that just might have a bit o' the old profit in it. If, that is, it's handled with gloves." (King in Time, January 8, 2001) While convalescing from the accident, King returned to his early career as a writer in On Writing (2000), but most of all, the book gives down-to-earth advises for aspiring writers. "Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex and work. Especially work. People love to read about work. God knows why, but they do." In February 2002 King revealed to the Los Angeles Times that he has decided to stop publishing at year's end after finishing the last three novels in his "Dark Tower" series, and some other works. In 2003 King received the National Book Award. Its previous recipients include John Updike, Arthur Miller, Philip Roth and Toni Morrison.

From the beginning of his career, King has examined the demons that are hidden behind the work of an author. In Misery a monstrous muse forces the writer into a slavery in front of typewriter. The writer is addicted to his work, but at the same time he is haunted by the demands of his fans. Although King is respected as a major force in popular fiction, his books blend the line between high art and pulp culture. In The Shining the writer, Jack Torrance, a former alcoholic, attacks his own family, and in The Dark Half (1898) he must fight against the demon of his own imagination. This self-conscious way to approach the art of fiction is also seen in King's controlled use of images that are meant to scare the reader. In Hearts in Atlantis (1999) typical horror elements are reduced as a metaphor of lost innocence. In the story King pointedly refers to William Golding's modern classic, Lord of the Flies.

Selected works:

• CARRIE, 1974 - suom. - film 1976, dir. by Brian De Palma, starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie
• SALEM'S LOT, 1975 - suom. - Painajainen - See also Nathaniel Hawthorne, who grew up in Salem and in Raymond, Maine, and whose tale Young Goodman Brown (1835) is among the greatest witchcraft stories - tv miniseries in 1979
• THE SHINING, 1975 - Hohto - film 1980, dir. by Stanley Kubrick starring Jack Nicholson, Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall. - "While the novel depicts Jack and Wendy as victims of dysfunctional family situation, Kubrick satirically views them as part of a culture of grotesque comic-strip banality. Far from achieving his dream of becoming the Great American Writer of his era (rather than the playwright of the original novel), Jack becomes a dehumanized "Big Bad Wolf" or Roadrunner (with axe rather that roque mallet), pursuing Danny as Wile E. Coyote and attempting to break down the family bathroom door while voicing banalities from American television - "Here's Johnny"!" (from Novels into Film by John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh, 1997) - Stephen King's The Shining, television film 1997
• RAGE, 1977 (as Richard Bachman) - Raivo
• THE STAND, 1978 - Tukikohta - Stephen King's The Stand, television mini series 1994
• NIGHT SHIFT, 1978 - Yön äänet
• ANOTHER QUARTER MILE, 1979
• THE LONG WALK, 1979 (as Richard Bachman) - Pitkä marssi
• THE DEAD ZONE, 1979 - Kosketus - film 1983, dir. by David Cronenberg , starring Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams
• THE FIRESTARTER, 1980 - Tulisilmä - film 1984, dir, by Mark L. Lester, starring David Keith Drew Barrymore
• THE MONKEY, 1980
• CUJO, 1981 - suom. - film 1983, dir. by Lewis Teague, starring Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro
• ROADWORK, 1981 (as Richard Bachman) - Vimma / Juokse tai kuole
• DANCE MACABRE, 1981
• THE PLANT, 1982-1985 (part I, 1982; part II, 1983; part III, 1985)
• STEPHEN KING'S CREEPSHOW, 1982 (comic-strip adaptations)
• THE DARK TOWER I: THE GUNSLINGER, 1982 - Musta torni
• CREEPSHOW, 1982 - films from the short stories 'Father's Day,' 'Weeds,' 'The Crate, ''They're Creeping Up on You'
• DIFFERENT SEASONS, 1982 - Kauhun vuodenajan 1, 2; Vuodenajat ; Rita Hayworth: avain pakoon - film The Shawshank Redemption (1994), dir. by Frank Darabont, starring Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton; film Apt Pupil (1999), based on the novella with the same title, dir. by Bryan Singer, starring Ian MvKellen, Brad Renfro - (Kauhun vuodenajat -suomennoksen ensimmäisestä osasta); Mallioppilas, sisältää myös tarinan Rita Hayworth - avain pakoon
• THE RUNNING MAN, 1982 (as Richard Bachman) - Juokse tai kuole - film 1987, dir. by Paul Michael Glaser , starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
• RITA HAYWORTH AND SHAWSANK REDEMPTION: A STORY FROM 'DIFFERENT SEASONS', 1983
• CHRISTINE, 1983 - Christine, tappajauto - film 1983, dir. by John Carpenter, starring Keith Gordon, John Stockwell
• BLACK MAGIC AND MUSIC: A NOVELISTS PERSPECTIVE ON BANGOR, 1983
• PET SEMATARY, 1983 - Uinu, uinu lemmikkini - film 1989, dir. by Mary Lambert, starring Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne - sequel Pet Sematary II (1992), dir. by Mary Lambert
• CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF, 1983 - Ihmissuden vuosi - film Silver Bullet (1985), dir. by Daniel Attias, starring Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Megan Follows
• THE THINNER, 1984 (as Richard Bachman) - Kirous- film Stephen King's Thinner (1996), dir. by Tom Holland, starring Robert Burke, Joe Mantegna, Lucinda Jenney
• SILVER BULLET, 1985 (ombibus)
• STEPHEN KING'S YEAR OF FEAR 1986 CALENDAR, 1985
• SCELETON CREW, 1985 - Jälkeen keskiyön (novellikokoelman alkuosa); Ennen aamunkoitoa (kokoelman loppuosa)
• THE EYES OF THE DRAGON, 1985 - Lohikäärmeen silmät
• THE BACHMAN BOOKS: FOUR EARLY NOVELS, 1986
• IT, 1986 - Se - television miniseries, 1990
• MISERY, 1987 - Piina - film 1990, dir. by Rob Reiner, starring James Caan, Cathry Bates
• THE DARK TOWER II: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE, 1987 - Musta torni 2: Kolme korttia pakasta
• SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER, 1987 (television play)
• THE TOMMYKNOCKERS, 1987 - Kolkuttajat - television miniseries, 1993
• MY PRETTY PONY, 1988
• NIGHTMARES IN THE SKY, 1988 (photographs by f.Stop FitzGerald)
• DOLAN'S CADILLAC, 1989
• THE DARK HALF, 1989 - Pimeä puoli - film 1991, dir. by George A. Romero, starring Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan
• FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT, 1990 - Sydänyö
• STEPHEN KING'S GOLDEN YEARS, 1991 (television play)
• NEEDFUL THINGS, 1991 - Tarpeellista tavaraa - film 1993
• DARK TOWER III: THE WASTE LANDS, 1991 - Musta torni 3: Joutomaa
• DOLORES CLAIRBORNE, 1993 - Doloreksen tunnustus - film 1995, dir. by Taylor Hackford, starring Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh
• GERALD'S GAME, 1993 - Julma leikki
• INSOMNIA, 1994 - Uneton yö
• STEPHEN KING'S THE STAND, 1994 (television play)
• NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES, 1994 - Yksinäinen sormi: Painajaisia ja unikuvia 1, Painajaisia ja unikuvia 2 - television movie The Langoliers 1995
• ROSE MADDER, 1995 - Naisen raivo
• THE REGULATORS, 1996 (as Richard Bachman) - Teloittajat
• DESPERATION, 1996 - Epätoivon kaupunki
• THE GREEN MILE, 1997 (in six parts:The Two Dead Girls, The Mouse on the Mile, Coffey's Hands, The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix, Night Journey, Coffey on the Mile) - Kuoleman käytävä, osat Kaksi pientä tyttöä, Hiiri käytävällä, Coffeyn kädet, Delacroixin kurja loppu, Öinen matka, Kuoleman käytävä - film 1999, dir. by Frank Darabont, starring Tom Hanks
• THE DARK TOWER IV: WIZARD AND GLASS, 1997 - Musta torni IV: Velho
• BAG OF BONES, 1998 - Kalpea aavistus
• THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, 1999 - Eksyneiden jumala
• HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, 1999 - Pedon sydän - film 2001, dir. by Scott Hicks, starring Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, screenplay by William Goldman 
• F13, 2000 (CD-Rom, includes an unpublished novella, Everything's Eventual)
• RIDING THE BULLET, 2000 (published on the Internet, www.simonsays.com)
• BLOOD & SMOKE, 2000 (audiocassette & CD format, written & read by Stephen King)
• THE PLANT, 2000 (published in the Internet, www.stephenking.com)
• ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT, 2000 - Kirjoittamisesta
• DREAMCATCHER, 2001 - film 2002, dir. by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee
• BLACK HOUSE, 2001 (with Peter Straub)
• EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL, 2002
• FROM A BUICK EIGHT, 2002
• STEPHEN KING'S ROSE RED, 2002 (television play)
• THE DARK TOWER V: WOLVES OF THE CALLA, 2003
• THE DARK TOWER VI: SONG OF SUSANNAH, 2004
• THE DARK TOWER VII: THE DARK TOWER, 2004
• THE COLORADO KID, 2005
• LISEY'S STORY, 2006

Taken from Books and Writers.com