Catherine Arthelia Kidwell (January 14, 1921 – February 17, 2002) was an American novelist who began her career in writing late in her life, and was best known for her semi-autobiographical novel ''Dear Stranger''. Born in

Lowry City, Missouri Lowry City is a city in St. Clair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 613 at the 2020 census. Lowry City is the city where the Ozark Mountains meet the Great Plains. History Lowry City was platted in 1871 when a railroad was bui ...

,"A Profile of Nebraska Writer Catherine Kidwell"
, Nebraska Center for Writers at

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and underg ...

(accessed 2012-01-24). Kidwell enrolled at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' ...

in 1969, together with her daughter Jane. She culminated her studies with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

degree in 1977 at the age of 56. Her thesis, ''The Woman I Am'', was published as a

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

paperback. Kidwell then developed the story further and turned it into the novel ''Dear Stranger'',Hazel Geissler
"'Dear Stranger' began as a master's thesis"
''St. Petersburg

Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the '' St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Nov ...

'', February 24, 1983, p. 3-B. which

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hache ...

published in February 1983Edwin McDowell
"When to Market a Book"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', March 4, 1983. and was chosen as a

Literary Guild The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a way to encoura ...

selection. She continued to write and to teach writing at

Southeast Community College Southeast Community College (SCC) is a public community college system in the southeast portion of Nebraska. Locations The college offers three campuses, six learning centers and two additional locations in Lincoln that are within the 15-county ...

in Lincoln; she died at the age of 81, after a struggle with

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Bibliography

* ''The Woman I Am'' (1979) * ''Dear Stranger'' (1982) * ''"I Couldn't Put It Down": How to Write Quality Fiction in Ten Easy Lessons'' (1986)

References

:* "Catherine (Arthelia) Kidwell", ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Thomson Gale, entry updated 15 June 2001. :
''Dear Stranger''
at Kirkus Reviews American women novelists 1921 births 2002 deaths University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni People from Lowry City, Missouri Writers from Lincoln, Nebraska Novelists from Missouri 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers {{US-novelist-1920s-stub