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DeMarco has written two, as yet unpublished, young adult
novels as well as a fantasy intended for slightly younger
readers. Read Excerpts of two of them (see below). In addition,
having studied young adult literature at Columbia University
and at Drexel University, he has written several articles
on this subject. One of his areas of interest is the intersection
of vampire literature with the phases of adolescent development.
From
The Vampire and the Young Adult
By Joseph R. G. De Marco
“In this
ever changing world that we share, only one thing is truly
permanent… me!” the vampire La Croix
(Forever Knight 1996)
The vampire is a creature of endless – some might
say undying fascination for the young adult – but
there is something serious underlying this attraction.
Although vampires
in sundry forms and versions have existed almost as long
as humankind, the hundred years since the appearance of
Bram Stoker’s Dracula has seen a veritable explosion
of vampires and vampire stories. The venerable Count has
spawned so many “children of the night” it is
difficult to keep track. Each year thirty to forty books
(from middle reader to YA to adult, from scholarly non-fiction
to the flimsiest fiction) are published. There are movies
and television programs (the newest of which is the TV series
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”). There is a whole
subculture – dubbed Gothic – a large component
of which has to do with vampires. Rock groups, comic books,
almost any element of popular culture you can name has been
touched by the icy fingers of the undead. Even high culture
– in the form of a well-received opera on vampires
– has bowed to the creature. The latest venue for
vampires and their admirers is the Internet – enter
the word ‘vampire’ in your favorite search engine
and you will be treated with more selections than you can
handle. Alta Vista yields about 10,000 vampire hits; Excite
gives you 12,776 choices, and Infoseek boasts 36,614 matches
to the search query.
By far, one of the largest segments of this audience is
the young adult. Dr. James Twitchell, the noted literary
scholar, claims that the popularity of the vampire stems,
in part, from the fact that this creature represents the
condensation of the problems and resolutions of pre-adolescence.(Twitchell
1980) I would add that the vampire represents this more
so for the adolescent.
It is my contention that the vampire is, in a way, a model
for the teen. At a time when nearly all is confusion and
there is a constant search for stability in a sea of chaos,
the vampire represents something the young adult desperately
searches for: a resolution to nagging questions, fathomless
problems, and the frightening plethora of choices.
--- available soon in PDF format ---
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