Douglas Thayer
Encyclopedia
Douglas H. Thayer is considered one of the foremost fiction writers exploring contemporary Mormon life. He has been called the “Mormon Hemingway” for his straightforward style and powerful prose. Growing up in Provo, Utah
, Thayer spent his boyhood largely running free and hunting, fishing, and hiking in the surrounding Wasatch Mountains. He dropped out of high school in 1946 to join the U.S. Army, serving in Germany. He later returned to Germany for 30 months as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Thayer’s early work experience included helper on a uranium drill rig, construction laborer, railroad section hand, janitor, restaurant dishwasher, insurance salesman, and seasonal ranger in Yellowstone National Park
. After graduating from Brigham Young University
(BYU) with a bachelor’s degree in English, Thayer applied to law school, but then decided not to attend and started a doctorate in American literature at Stanford. Finding that he had little interest in research, he left the program after finishing a master’s degree.
Returning to Provo from Stanford, Thayer taught briefly in the BYU English Department, considered studying to be a clinical psychologist, and then started a doctorate in American studies at the University of Maryland. However, still not liking research, he decided that what he really wanted to do was write short stories and novels. He transferred to the University of Iowa
, and finished an MFA in fiction writing.
After completing the MFA, Thayer returned to BYU, where as of 2010-2011 he is in his fifty-third year teaching fiction writing and other classes. At BYU he has been Coordinator of Composition, Director of Creative Writing, and Associate Chair in the English Department and Associate Dean of the College of Humanities.
Thayer is perhaps best known for his coming-of-age stories
. He has been called the “finest chronicler of the Mormon youth in the culture.” His first collection of stories, Under the Cottonwoods and Other Mormon Stories (1977), is considered a Mormon classic. His other work includes a second collection of short stories, Mr. Wahlquist in Yellowstone (1989); three novels, Summer Fire (1983), The Conversion of Jeff Williams (2003), The Tree House (2009) (called by one critic “the best Mormon novel to date” ); and a memoir, Hooligan: A Mormon Boyhood (2007). Thayer has a new collection of short stories, Brother Melrose and Other Mormon Stories, out to a publisher and is working on two new novels.
In his work Thayer treats such topics as pride, grace, redemption, war, hunting and fishing, perfection, materialism, and religious conversion. His prizes and awards for his work include DIALOGUE prizes for the short story and essay, the P.A. Christensen award, the Association for Mormon Letters
Prize in the Novel, the Karl G. Maeser Creative Arts Award, the Utah Institute of Fine Arts Award in the Short Story, and the 2008 Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters.
In 1974 Thayer married Donlu DeWitt. Donlu holds bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees from Brigham Young University
and has taught writing in the BYU English Department and Honors Program. A member of the Utah State Bar, she is a freelance writer/editor and a certified mediator with specialized training in family mediation and high-risk victim/offender dialogue. Beginning in mid 2009 Donlu has worked with websites, newsletters, and other publications for the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School
. Doug and Donlu have six children, six children-in-law, and (as of June 2010) fifteen grandchildren.
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, Thayer spent his boyhood largely running free and hunting, fishing, and hiking in the surrounding Wasatch Mountains. He dropped out of high school in 1946 to join the U.S. Army, serving in Germany. He later returned to Germany for 30 months as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Thayer’s early work experience included helper on a uranium drill rig, construction laborer, railroad section hand, janitor, restaurant dishwasher, insurance salesman, and seasonal ranger in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. After graduating from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU) with a bachelor’s degree in English, Thayer applied to law school, but then decided not to attend and started a doctorate in American literature at Stanford. Finding that he had little interest in research, he left the program after finishing a master’s degree.
Returning to Provo from Stanford, Thayer taught briefly in the BYU English Department, considered studying to be a clinical psychologist, and then started a doctorate in American studies at the University of Maryland. However, still not liking research, he decided that what he really wanted to do was write short stories and novels. He transferred to the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, and finished an MFA in fiction writing.
After completing the MFA, Thayer returned to BYU, where as of 2010-2011 he is in his fifty-third year teaching fiction writing and other classes. At BYU he has been Coordinator of Composition, Director of Creative Writing, and Associate Chair in the English Department and Associate Dean of the College of Humanities.
Thayer is perhaps best known for his coming-of-age stories
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
. He has been called the “finest chronicler of the Mormon youth in the culture.” His first collection of stories, Under the Cottonwoods and Other Mormon Stories (1977), is considered a Mormon classic. His other work includes a second collection of short stories, Mr. Wahlquist in Yellowstone (1989); three novels, Summer Fire (1983), The Conversion of Jeff Williams (2003), The Tree House (2009) (called by one critic “the best Mormon novel to date” ); and a memoir, Hooligan: A Mormon Boyhood (2007). Thayer has a new collection of short stories, Brother Melrose and Other Mormon Stories, out to a publisher and is working on two new novels.
In his work Thayer treats such topics as pride, grace, redemption, war, hunting and fishing, perfection, materialism, and religious conversion. His prizes and awards for his work include DIALOGUE prizes for the short story and essay, the P.A. Christensen award, the Association for Mormon Letters
Association for Mormon Letters
The Association for Mormon Letters is a nonprofit founded in 1976 to promote quality writing "by, for, and about Mormons." The broadness of this definition of Mormon literature has led the AML to focus on a wide variety of work that has sometimes been neglected in the Mormon community...
Prize in the Novel, the Karl G. Maeser Creative Arts Award, the Utah Institute of Fine Arts Award in the Short Story, and the 2008 Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters.
In 1974 Thayer married Donlu DeWitt. Donlu holds bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
and has taught writing in the BYU English Department and Honors Program. A member of the Utah State Bar, she is a freelance writer/editor and a certified mediator with specialized training in family mediation and high-risk victim/offender dialogue. Beginning in mid 2009 Donlu has worked with websites, newsletters, and other publications for the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School
J. Reuben Clark Law School
The J. Reuben Clark Law School is a professional graduate school located in Provo, Utah at Brigham Young University. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, Jr.—former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and LDS Church General Authority—and its charter dean was former...
. Doug and Donlu have six children, six children-in-law, and (as of June 2010) fifteen grandchildren.