San Antonio College Library

A collection of essays relating to the life and writings of Stephen King.

King seems to have pleased everyone except conventional mainstream literary critics -- which doesn't stop his books from making the best-seller list. Here are some early critical looks at King and his works, circa 1985.

King's thoughts on topics ranging from Dracula to The Twilight Zone, from the Catholic church to the depths of hell, from Ray Bradbury to Peter Straub.

Stephen King has been hailed as a writer of the late 20th century Everyman, yet his representations of women remain debatable. These essays not only explore his portrayal of female characters, they illuminate Stephen King's own psychology and that of our culture's fears, anxieties, and feminine obsessions. The various works examined include Carrie, Gerald's Game, Rose Madder, Holloween, Friday the 13th, Dolores Claiborne, It, Christine, and Misery....

For the past three decades, Hollywood has faithfully adapted much of Stephen King's fiction into film. Of the many major films that have been made, not one has lost money. Part of this may be explained in terms of King's own popularity in American culture he has been, after all, a best-selling writer since the late 1970s. But more interesting is what this cinematic fascination reveals about postmodern American culture. In the first overview of Hollywood's...

Three guests know almost nothing about their fathers' past. Stephen King's father walked out on the family when Stephen was two years old and never returned; Courtney Vance's father was a foster child and never knew who his biological parents were - after his suicide, Courtney wants to learn more about his roots; and Gloria Reuben's father was 78 years old when she was born - he died when she was young, taking the secret of his ancestry with him....

In this sequel to Film, Horror, and the Body Fantastic, Badley examines horror fiction as a fantastic genre in which images of the body and the self are articulated and modified. Badley places horror fiction in its cultural context, drawing important connections to theories of gender and sexuality. As our culture places increasing importance on body image, horror fiction has provided a language for imagining the self in new ways?often as ungendered,...

Veteran King chronicler George Beahm thoroughly examines Stephen King's life as a celebrity and a publishing phenomenon who has published more than forty books--from CARRIE to WIZARD AND GLASS (the fourth Dark Tower novel). Complete with new photos taken especially for this edition and reprints of little-seen King pictures unearthed from archives, this book is a textual and visual treat and a "must" for king's millions of readers.