Kay Nolte Smith (July 4, 1932 – September 25, 1993) was an American novelist, essayist, and translator. She was for a time friendly with the philosopher-novelist

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

, who was her leading literary and philosophical influence.Swann, Greg. "The art and science of Kay Nolte Smith, Novelist"
/ref> Smith was born in

Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth. Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...

and grew up in

Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...

. Smith launched her literary career after her separation from the Ayn Rand circle. In 1981, Smith wrote her first novel ''The Watcher,''

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

story, and was winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel. Smith's second novel, ''Catching Fire,'' was written in 1982 and is set in the world of the New York

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

, with an anti-trade union political stance.Newton Baird, "Smith, Kay Nolte" in ''Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers'',edited by James Vinson and D.L. Kirkpatrick. St. James Press, 1985. pp. 809–10. Two years later, ''Mindspell'' was written to centre on the conflict between

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

versus

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, with Nolte Smith stating this fiction was written "to challenge strongly the belief in the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

". In 1985, just a year after her third novel, ''Elegy for a Soprano'' was written as a ''

roman a clef Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

'' inspired by Rand,

Nathaniel Branden Nathaniel Branden (born Nathan Blumenthal; April 9, 1930 – December 3, 2014) was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem. A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand, B ...

, and the circle around them. ''Elegy for a Soprano'' also portrays the life of Jewish

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and Norway. In 1987, Smith wrote her fifth novel, ''Country of the Heart.'' Two of her novels—''Elegy for a Soprano'' and ''A Tale of the Wind''—were nominated for

Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newl ...

s in 1986 and 1992, respectively. She published seven novels before her death from cancer at age 61.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Watcher'' (1981) — Won the

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

for Best First ysteryNovel by an American Author * ''Catching Fire'' (1982) * ''Mindspell'' (1984) * ''Elegy for a Soprano'' (1985) — nominated for 1986

in Best Novel category * ''Country of the Heart'' (1987) * ''A Tale of the Wind'' (1991) — nominated for 1992 Prometheus Award in Best Novel category * ''Venetian Song'' (1994)

Translations

Smith translated the play '' Chantecler: A Play in Four Acts'' by

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

in 1987 into English from the French original.A Tribute to Kay Nolte Smith
by Michelle Fram Cohen

Essays

"Truth or the Consequences" in ''Women without Superstition: No Gods, No Masters.''

References

External links

A Tribute to Kay Nolte Smith
by Michelle Fram Cohen * at the Freedom from Religion Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kay Nolte 20th-century American novelists American women novelists 1932 births 1993 deaths Objectivists American atheists American mystery writers People from Eveleth, Minnesota Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers