Nancy Mairs (1943–2016)
Author of Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled
About the Author
Nancy Mairs was born Nancy Pedrick Smith in Long Beach, California on July 23, 1943. She received a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College in 1964. She worked as a publications editor for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge and the International Tax Program at Harvard Law School. show more She received an M.F.A. in poetry in 1975 and a doctorate in English in 1983 from the University of Arizona. Her dissertation was published as Plaintext: Deciphering a Woman's Life in 1986. In her late 20s, she suffered from agoraphobia and depression and once attempted suicide. Soon afterward, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She wrote several memoirs including Remembering the Bone-House: An Erotics of Place and Space, Carnal Acts, Ordinary Time: Cycles in Marriage, Faith and Renewal, Voice Lessons: On Becoming a (Woman) Writer, Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled, and A Dynamic God: Living an Unconventional Catholic Faith. She also published two collections of poetry entitled Instead It Is Winter and In All the Rooms of the Yellow House. In 2001, she wrote A Troubled Guest: Life and Death Stories. She died on December 3, 2016 at the age of 73. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Nancy Mairs
On Being a Cripple 1 copy
Associated Works
Writing Women's Lives: An Anthology of Autobiographical Narratives by Twentieth-Century American Women Writers (1994) — Contributor — 121 copies
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 81 copies
Here Lies My Heart: Essays on Why We Marry, Why We Don't, and What We Find There (A Beacon Anthology) (1999) — Contributor — 62 copies
With Wings: An Anthology of Literature by and about Women with Disabilities (1987) — Contributor — 43 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Smith, Nancy Pedrick (birth)
- Birthdate
- 1943-07-23
- Date of death
- 2016-12-03
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Long Beach, California, USA
- Place of death
- Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Places of residence
- Long Beach, California, USA
Norton, Massachusetts, USA
Tucson, Arizona, USA - Education
- Wheaton College, Massachusetts
University of Arizona (MFA ∙ PhD) - Occupations
- publications editor
poet
memoirist - Organizations
- Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty
- Awards and honors
- Western States Book Award in poetry (1984)
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1991)
2008 Arizona Literary Treasure Award from The Arizona Humanities Council
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 11
- Also by
- 15
- Members
- 768
- Popularity
- #33,143
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 30
- Favorited
- 6