Cynthia A Thayer (1944 - )

Genre: General Fiction

Thayer, her husband Bill, and her daughter-in-law Sheila run an organic farm, Darthia Farm, in Gouldsboro, Maine. Thayer, born in New York City on 11 March 1944 and raised in Nova Scotia, is a spinner and a weaver as well as a writer. She has a B.A. in British Literature from Bridgewater State College (MA), graduating magna cum laude, and has taught English and theatre in public high school in Massachusetts, and adult education and writing workshops in Maine. Her website has more info about her.

Her novels, all set in Maine, are Strong for Potatoes (1998), about a girl of Native American (Passamoquoddy) descent growing up in Eastern Maine; it won the Rep's Choice Award and was chosen by Barnes and Noble for their Discover program. Thayer's short story 'Listen to the Corn' was nominated by the Antigonish Review for the McClelland and Stewart Journey Prize; A Certain Slant of Light (2000); and A Brief Lunacy (2005), which starts in rustic Maine, where a retired surgeon and his wife enjoy a comfy seacoast retirement, painting and cooking and drinking wine, etc., but when a lost camper arrives, the scene darkens and psychological truths are explored.

You can hear an extensive audio interview (recorded 1998) with Thayer through Ann On-Line, containing both biographical info and discussion of her work.


Last Update: 06/01/2007

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