A Thesis With a Sweet Aftertaste

Seniors who have been haunted by a few too many all-nighters in Lamont might never want to hear the word “thesis” again. But cheer up, ye dwellers of Widener: one day, those hundred-plus pages will be worth it. At least they were for Ceridwen Dovey ’03.

Dovey’s senior thesis included a short film documentary, “Aftertaste,” about laborers on South African wine farms. Her global work brought her back to Cambridge on Tuesday for a new English department program, “Writers in the Parlor.”

The series, new this year, brings two to three creative writers to Harvard each semester. The program, still young, is relatively small. “It’s new, it’s fresh,” says English undergraduate program assistant Melissa D. Gerber.

A native of South Africa, Dovey has deep connections with the country. “My passion for filmmaking is linked to South Africa and making some kind of a difference,” according to the Harvard Gazette. “Aftertaste” has been shown at numerous screenings and film festivals and has received multiple awards, including an honorable mention at the 2004 EarthVision Environmental Film Festival.

And her thesis fame and glory doesn’t stop there—the theme of power relations she explores in her thesis is also central to her first novel, “Blood Kin,” which will be published in 14 countries and was released in the U.S this month. Since then, Dovey has been traveling around the country for book readings.

Acclaim, travel and a book deal? Maybe those months spent exclusively in carrels wasn’t that bad.