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Marijane Meaker (born May 27 1927 ) is an American writer who has used multiple Pseudonym s for different genres, including '''Vin Packer''' for Mystery novels, '''Ann Aldrich''' for Lesbian Non-fiction published as Pulp , and '''M. E. Kerr''' and '''Mary James''' for Young Adult Fiction . BACKGROUND Meaker was born to Ida T. and Ellis R. Meaker in Auburn , New York , where she also spent her childhood. She mentions in an autobiography that Carson McCullers ' book '' Member Of The Wedding '' influenced her. Meaker received an education from Stuart Hall, a Virginia Boarding School and later attended Vermont Junior College in 1945 and the University Of Missouri from 1946 to 1949 where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority . WRITING CAREER Vin Packer Upon graduation, she worked as a proofreader with in New Zealand. However, as Vin Packer, Meaker wrote the groundbreaking romance novel '' Spring Fire '', published in 1952 , which is now credited with launching the genre of Lesbian Pulp Fiction . Her original story idea involved a romance between two students of a boarding school, but editor Dick Carroll asked her to change it to sorority sisters. Writer Ann Bannon has credited her beginnings as an author of lesbian fiction to discovering the Vin Packer novels in the 1950s . http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1407161 NPR "Fresh Air" interview with Ann Bannon, first aired Dec. 8, 1999 (aired again in 2003 in tandem with Meaker interview) However, Michelle Koh notes that after ''Spring Fire'' — identified by various sources as the first American novel with lesbian themes — all Packer books were suspense novels, and only two had gay characters. Koh cites Meaker's reasoning for switching to suspense as being that "she wanted to be reviewed and knew that paperback mysteries were reviewed along with the hardcover titles." http://www.thesis.mekerr.com/popbooks.html The Pop Culture Addict's Guide to Finishing a Dissertation - Books Ann Aldrich Meaker used the pseudonym Ann Aldrich for a series of six books published as pulp, but were in fact nonfiction works: her own observations of lesbians and the lives of lesbians that included ''We Walk Alone'' in 1955, ''We, Too, Must Love'' in 1958, ''Carol in a Thousand Cities'' in 1960, ''We Two Won't Last'' in 1963, and ''Take A Lesbian To Lunch'' in 1972. Feminist Press re-released ''We Walk Alone'' and ''We, Too, Must Love'' in 2007. These books proved to be controversial when released. Books by Ann Aldrich were not overly sympathetic toward lesbians as a group, and they caused some consternation when being discussed by the Daughters Of Bilitis . Ann Aldrich and the contributors to '' The Ladder '' took potshots at each other in print, once a contributor to ''The Ladder'' accusing Aldrich of being Ann Bannon, but always stating she expressed self-loathing in her writings. author unknown. Ladder, Jun57, Vol. 1 Issue 9, p15-15, 1/9pauthor unknown. Ladder, Jun57, Vol. 1 Issue 9, p16-19, 4pB.G.. Ladder, Jan58, Vol. 2 Issue 4, p12-12, 1pMartin, Del. Ladder, Apr58, Vol. 2 Issue 7, p4-6, 3pDamon, Gene. Ladder, Aug60, Vol. 4 Issue 11, p6-7, 2pFoster, Jeannette H.. Ladder, Aug60, Vol. 4 Issue 11, p7-9, 3pDamon, Gene. Ladder, Oct63, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p18-20, 3p M. E. Kerr Her first book as M. E. Kerr, ''Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!'', was published in 1972. Her honors include the American Library Association ’s Notable Children’s Books list (''Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!'', 1972; ''Is That You, Miss Blue?'', 1975; ''Little Little'', 1981) and '''Best Books for Young Adults''' list (''Is That You, Miss Blue?'', 1975; ''Gentlehands'', 1978; ''Little Little'', 1981; ''I Stay Near You'', 1985; ''Fell'', 1987; ''Deliver Us From Evie'', 1987), School Library Journal ’s '''Best Children’s Books''' list (''Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!'', 1972; ''The Son of Someone Famous'', 1975; ''I’ll Love You When You’re More Like Me'', 1977; ''Gentlehands'', 1978) and '''Best Books''' list (''Little Little'', 1981; ''What I Really Think of You'', 1982; ''Deliver Us From Evie'', 1994), and The New York Times ’ list of '''Outstanding Children’s Books''' (''Is That You, Miss Blue?'', 1975) and '''Best Children’s Books''' (''Gentlehands'', 1978).http://www.mekerr.com/ Awards and Honors, The M. E. Kerr and Mary James site Her instructional book, ''Blood on the Forehead: What I Know About Writing'' (1998), arose in part from these experiences as a writing instructor. Notably, in 1993, Meaker received a lifetime achievement award in the form of the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association . Mary James In the 1990s , Meaker added the pen name Mary James for a series of novels aimed at younger readers than the Kerr readership; it was not until 1994, after the publication of the third Mary James novel, that the covers indicated that the author was also known as M. E. Kerr.http://www.balkinbuddies.com/kerr/index.html Balkin Buddies profile of M. E. Kerr Mary James books include ''Shoebag'', ''The Shuteyes'', ''Frankenlouse'' and ''Shoebag Returns''. PERSONAL LIFE Meaker was involved romantically with author Patricia Highsmith for two years. She wrote about this relationship in the 2003 non-fiction memoir ''Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s'' and discussed it and her own pulp-fiction novels in interviews around the time of the book's release. As of ). NOTES FURTHER READING
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