Smith, Stephanie A. 1959- (Stephanie Ann Smith)

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Smith, Stephanie A. 1959- (Stephanie Ann Smith)

PERSONAL:

Born April 30, 1959, in Oceanside, NY; daughter of Edmund D. (an advertising executive) and Carol M. (a librarian) Smith. Education: Boston University, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1981; University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., 1990. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Gainesville, FL. Office—Department of English, University of Florida, 2014 Turlington Hall, P.O. Box 117300, Gainesville, FL 32611; fax: 352-392-3584. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Academician and writer. University of California, Berkeley, English department teaching assistant, 1987-89, women's studies teaching associate, 1989; University of Florida, Gainesville, assistant professor, 1990-95, associate professor, 1995-2007, professor, 2007—. National Endowment for the Humanities scholar at University of California, Los Angeles, 1998; previously worked as an assistant for Glamour, Representations, and Mademoiselle magazines.

MEMBER:

Modern Language Association, American Sociological Association, Society for the Study of Narrative Literature, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Phi Beta Kappa.

WRITINGS:

Conceived by Liberty: Maternal Figures and Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Cornell University Press (Ithaca, NY), 1994.

Household Words: Bloomers, Sucker, Bombshell, Scab, Nigger, Cyber, University of Minnesota Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS

Snow-Eyes, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1985.

The Boy Who Was Thrown Away, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1987.

Other Nature, Tor (New York, NY), 1995.

Contributor to academic journals, including Differences, Criticism, Genders, American Literature, and American Literary History. Assistant editor of Western Imprints, 1982-85. Consultant to Feminist Studies.

SIDELIGHTS:

Stephanie A. Smith is an American academician and writer. After completing a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, Smith began lecturing at the University of Florida. As an academician, Smith published her first book of literary criticism, Conceived by Liberty: Maternal Figures andNineteenth-Century American Literature, in 1994. This was followed in 2006 with the publishing of Household Words: Bloomers, Sucker, Bombshell, Scab, Nigger, Cyber.

Smith published her first novel in 1985. Snow-Eyes tells the story of Snow-Eyes and her distant mother. When the mother returns to Snow-Eyes' life, she is a servant of the goddess Trost and forces Snow-Eyes into her servitude as well. Smith followed this novel in 1987 with The Boy Who Was Thrown Away. In the story, Tenebrian raiders kidnap a boy on the planet of Bildron Kield. He grows up exploring the galaxy and gains a lifetime of experiences. He turns these experiences into songs and becomes a famous bard.

In 1995 Smith published her third novel, Other Nature. The story is set in the mid-twenty-first century in a period when humankind is nearly extinct after global illnesses released as a result of pharmaceutical companies scouring the Amazon for miracle cures wipes out the majority of the population. The village of Monkar in coastal Oregon continues to expand with the influx of refugees while the local government sets out violent patrols in the area. Despite not having any technological advances from the twentieth century, the inhabitants of Monkar have maintained a relatively stable life. The number of births, however, is low and those born often die after a few years. Babies that do survive suffer from full or partial deafness, webbed hands, and an excess of hair. Linda, a former resident of Monkar, who supposedly died, is thought to have been spotted outside the area. Sean, her former lover, goes looking for her while his current lover, Emily, complains of nightmares and hearing strange music. The other inhabitants of the town begin experiencing similar effects as wildlife seemingly starts to return to the area. The connection may signify a genetic change in the future of the remaining humans. A contributor to Publishers Weekly called Other Nature "a fascinating, occasionally bold, work." The same reviewer, however, noted that "weak moments—both in prose and reasoning—mar the narrative." The reviewer conceded that "Smith weaves her story around the gaps skillfully." Sharon Schulz-Elsing, writing on the Curled Up with a Good Book Web site, commented that Other Nature is "atmospheric and reflective." Schulz-Elsing noted: "Like tea leaves and thrown bones, Monkar's destiny is written ambiguously in the attitudes, actions, and heartaches of its people. This tiny town and its story are the world writ small." Schulz-Elsing concluded her review by saying that "Smith has penned a genetically plausible morality tale for the world ours might someday become."

Stephanie A. Smith told CA: "I do not believe in arbitrary boundaries between various kinds of writing and so it has been vital to me that I have been able to write both critical essays and fiction, science fiction, and children's literature. Neither the publishing industry nor academia has made my commitment to diversity and intellectual depth easy, and I would encourage young writers not to give up on writing how and what they want in the face of rejection."