Former high school teacher Midori Snyder has published nine novels for children and adults, and numerous short stories and essays. Photo credit: Midori Snyder
Many fine educators also earn acclaim as published authors. One of these is Midori Snyder, a former high school teacher who has written nine books for children and adults.
Midori was born on January 1, 1954, in Santa Monica, California. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she studied European social history and East Asian literature. She completed her Master’s degree in English Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. While there, she studied African languages and literature, specializing in Arabic and Swahili oral narrative traditions.
Once she earned her degrees, Midori taught at Marquette University High School. The school is a private Jesuit Roman Catholic school for boys located in Milwaukee.
Midori’s novels include her first novel, Soulstring, published in 1987, is a Gothic, high fantasy tale based on the British folk song “Tamlin.” She also wrote The Flight of Michael McBride, published in 1994, and Hannah’s Garden, published in 2005. Her novel Innamorati, published in 1998, garnered a Mythopoeic Award. She has published various pieces of short fiction and poetry has been published in a number of anthologies, including Borderlands and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. Her essays have appeared in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy. She has also collaborated with comic book artist Charles Vess to write the script for “Barbara Allen” in the acclaimed series Book of Ballads and Sagas.
After she left the classroom, Midori served as the Co-Director of The Endicott Studio, a nonprofit arts and literature organization founded in 1987. She also served as the Co-Editor of The Journal of Mythic Arts, founded in 1997. In 2007, she served as the jury chair for the James Tiptree, Jr., Award.
To read more about this talented educator, see her website at www.midorisnyder.com.
