Michael R. Collings

Michael Robert Collings is an American writer, poet, literary critic, and bibliographer, and a former professor of creative writing and literature at Pepperdine University. He was Poet in Residence at Pepperdine's Seaver College from 1997 to 2000.
Collings has had multiple collections of his poetry published on subjects such as List of topics about the [Latter Day Saint movement#Latter Day Saint doctrines, beliefs, and practices|Latter Day Saint theology], Joseph Smith, Christmas, science fiction, and horror. He is known for his literary critiques and bibliographies of the works of Orson Scott Card and Stephen King, though he has also published critiques and bibliographies of the works of Peter Straub, Dean Koontz, C. S. Lewis, Brian W. Aldiss, and Piers Anthony. His In the Image of God: Theme, Characterization and Landscape in the Fiction of Orson Scott Card was the first book-length academic look at Card's works.

Biography

Michael Robert Collings was born in Rupert, Idaho. He graduated from Bakersfield College in 1967 with an Associate's degree, then graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English from Whittier College two years later. After graduating with a Master's degree in English from the University of California, Riverside in 1973, Collings received his Ph.D. in English literature from UCR in 1977, specializing in Milton and The Renaissance.
Before he began teaching creative writing and literature at Pepperdine University, Collings taught at UCR, San Bernardino Valley Community College, and UCLA. He taught at Pepperdine from 1979 until 2010, when he retired. He now lives in Idaho with his wife, Judi. His son, Michaelbrent Collings, is a fantasy and horror writer.
Collings was introduced to Stephen King's work by a student, David A. Engebretson, in 1983, and published his first book on him, The Many Facets of Stephen King, in 1985; reading King led to his also studying and publishing on Koontz and Robert McCammon.
The World Horror Convention awarded him their Grand Master Award in 2016.

"C. S. Lewis and the Music of Creation", Lamp-Post of the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
"The Mechanisms of Fantasy", Lamp-Post of the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
"To Be Still a Man: Abstraction and Concretion in C. S. Lewis", Lamp-Post of the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
"Beyond Deep Heaven: Generic Structure and Christian Message in C. S. Lewis's Ransom Novels",, Lamp-Post of the Southern California C.S. Lewis Society
"Brothers of the Head: Brian W. Aldiss's Psychological Landscape", Spectrum of the Fantastic: Selected Papers from the Fifth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Greenwood Press
"Brian W. Aldiss", Reader's Guide to Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers, American Library Association
"To See the World the Poet's Way" In the Image of God: Theme, Characterization, and Landscape in the Fiction of Orson Scott Card. New York: Greenwood Press,, Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed.Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 279. Detroit: Gale, 2010

'''Sources:'''

The Many Facets of Stephen King, Starmont House,
The Shorter Works of Stephen King, with David A. Engebretson, Starmont House,
Stephen King as Richard Bachman, Starmont House,
The Annotated Guide to Stephen King: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography of the Works of America's Premier Horror Writer, Starmont House,
The Films of Stephen King, Starmont House,
Card Catalogue: The Science Fiction and Fantasy of Orson Scott Card, Hypatia Press,
The Stephen King Phenomenon, Starmont House,
In the Image of God: Theme, Characterization and Landscape in the Fiction of Orson Scott Card, Greenwood Press,
Scaring Us to Death: The Impact of Stephen King on Popular Culture, Borgo Press,
The Work of Orson Scott Card: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, with Boden Clarke
Hauntings: The Official Peter Straub Bibliography, Overlook Connection Press,
Storyteller: The Official Guide to the Works of Orson Scott Card, Overlook Connection Press,
Horror Plum'd: An International Stephen King Bibliography and Guide 1960-2000, Overlook Connection Press,
Stephen King Is Richard Bachman,, Overlook Connection Press,

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Wordsmith series

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