Tinker Lindsay

Tinker Lindsay ’74, co-writer of the screenplay for the film Hector and the Search for Happiness, was recently in Toronto for the film’s North American premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Although Lindsay had a busy schedule, just before she attended the premiere, she made time to meet with a group of Harvard Alumni from Harvardwood and the Harvard Club of Toronto. It was an honor to meet with her personally and celebrate her accomplishments.

Lindsay graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard with a B.A. in English and American Language and Literature. She was a Phi Beta Kappa member and an editor for the Harvard Crimson. She also completed the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Course.

Lindsay entered her sophomore year with an optimistic eye toward a variety of majors, from Social Relations to Government. Still, studying the syllabus found she only felt passionate about courses in reading and writing. An “English and American Language and Literature” major was born. She also joined the Crimson, notably serving as editor during the 1973 college protests over the bombing of Cambodia, and learned Transcendental Meditation, later becoming a teacher of the technique. 

This need to balance outer and inner realities has marked her work ever since. While she discovered that her writing temperament was not suited to the objectivity required for journalism, her time on the paper was invaluable. Today, Lindsay is an accomplished screenwriter, author, and conceptual editor. But the path to this point was neither straight nor easy. When it comes to her professional calling, Lindsay considers herself to be a “late bloomer.”