Join us for a night of celebration at A View on State! Featuring 2023 Word Sender Jonis Agee, and 2023 Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate Aliyah American Horse. This in-person event is an opportunity to celebrate literature with like-minded people, enjoy a delicious meal, bid on unique literary (and other) treasures - all while supporting the work of the Neihardt Foundation. Don't miss out on this extraordinary gathering of wordsmiths and book lovers. Reserve your spot now!
JONIS AGEE is a creative writing professor and author of novels, short stories, and screenplays. Her novel “Bones of Paradise” was the 2022 One Book One Nebraska selection. She lived north of Omaha in a rural farming area until age 7, then moved to Missouri for several years before returning to Omaha, where she attended Central High School. She finished college at the University of Iowa, and recieved her M.A. and Ph.D. in English form SUNY Binghamton in Binghamton, NY. She lived in Los Angeles, CA and taught at the college level in Minnesota and Michigan and Minnesota again before returning to Nebraska where she is Adele Hall Professor of English. "I own land in the sandhills of Nebraska, outside Valentine and continue to go there for peace and quiet and inspiration." Several of her novels have been set in the Sandhills, including Strange Angels, The Weight of Dreams, and The Bones of Paradise.
ALIYAH AMERICAN HORSE graduated from Gordon-Rushville High school and plans to continue her education at Black Hills State University. She plans to study Human Services and become a licensed substance abuse counselor. She is an artist, poet, musician, actress and advocate for all that she is passionate about, including helping Native American communities, equal rights, and destigmatizing mental health and addiction. Her passions shine through in all of her artistic work. She has received many awards in journalism, including a State championship for editorial cartooning. In 2022 she received first place prize in the Nebraskans For The Arts Poetry Advocacy contest where her poetry was published. She has spent her entire life dedicated to family, friends, and school, so it is no doubt that she will spend the rest of her life in dedication to helping the world.