Simplify the following text for a Grade 11 native English-speaking person.
Original: Robert Edmund Cormier ( January 17 , 1925 â `` November 2 , 2000 ) was an American author , columnist and reporter , known for his deeply pessimistic , downbeat literature .
Simplified: Robert Edmund Cormier ( January 17 , 1925 â `` November 2 , 2000 ) was an American author , columnist , and reporter .