From Squirt Blossom to Goddess traces Helen McGehee's development from her childhood in the quiet, conservative city of Lynchburg, Virginia, to soloist in the Martha Graham Company. Thanks to her family, Helen grew up surrounded by art, acquired a passion for sewing, and an even greater passion for, and extensive knowledge of Greek mythology - all essential preparation for her future career. The location of Randolph-Macon Woman's College in her hometown was even more fortuitous in Helen's development as a dancer than her family. It was at the college that Helen began dancing, experienced performances by some of the great dance companies of the US, met Martha Graham, accepted her challenge to forget about being a Latin teacher and, much to her family's horror, decided to plunge into the uncertain world of dance. Aside from the perils of surviving in a precarious profession, working with a genius like Martha Graham had its own unique challenges and tribulations.
About the Author: Dr. Linda Thomas received her Ph.D. in German literature from the University of Connecticut in 1978. Immediately thereafter, she began teaching at Randolph-Macon Woman's College. She retired after an undistinguished, lack-luster career in 2006. The only publication by Dr. Thomas receiving wide recognition was an obituary for her mother. In addition to being published in the local newspaper, it circulated extensively on the Internet and was published in a (scholarly) book of recipes, Food to Die For to benefit the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg. Another equally clever obituary was for her dog, but, having been inexplicably rejected for publication in the local newspaper, it remains unappreciated. She has published a widely unacclaimed book, Ordnung und Wert der Unordnung bei Bertolt Brecht. It drew only the attention of a well-known Brecht scholar, who wrote a bad review, obviously prompted by jealousy for not having thought of the book's brilliant thesis himself. Having written with so little success on a subject about which she had some knowledge, Dr.Thomas decided to change tactics and try taking on a subject about which she knows absolutely nothing: dance. Her only qualification is that she does know Helen McGehee and shares Helen's madness, proven by the subject's willingness to entrust her life story to someone so immanently unqualified to understand it. Dr. Thomas hopes that this book will at least encourage someone else, who actually knows something about dance, to pick up the torch and do justice to Helen's distinguished career. The author lives on in well-deserved obscurity in Lynchburg, Virginia.