Focus on Nebraska authors: Jonis Agee

Omaha native Jonis Agee grew up in Nebraska and Missouri so they are often the settings for her novels. The New York Times Book Review called her “a gifted poet of that dark lushness in the heart of the American landscape.”  She is a Professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and teaches creative writing and twentieth-century fiction. She earned her BA at the University of Iowa and her MA and PhD from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Jonis has been awarded two Nebraska Book Awards for The Weight of Dreams and Acts of Love on Indigo Road and three of her books — Strange Angels, Bend This Heart, and Sweet Eyes — were named Notable Books of the Year by The New York Times. She is the co-writer, with her husband Brent Spencer, of the screenplays Full Throttle, Baghdad Rules and Everlasting.  Together they live on a small acreage north of Omaha in Ponca Hills. Of her five novels four are included in our book club collection:  The River Wife, Strange Angels, Sweet Eyes, and Weight of Dreams. In each she creates a strong sense of Midwestern place alongside compelling family dramas laced with grit. Please consider selecting one of Agee’s titles for your next book club selection.