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Agate Nesaule

アガーテ・ネサウレ

Agate Nesaule

Aliases: Agate Nesaule Krouse
Pen Names: Agate Nesaule Krouse（Used in academic publications and as married surname）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1938-01-23 （Nītaure, Latvia）
Died
2022-06-29 （Madison, Wisconsin, United States） age 84
Nationality
Latvian, American
Languages
English, Latvian
Religion
Lutheran
Residence History
Germany (child prisoner during World War II) → Displaced persons camp (postwar Europe) → United States: Indianapolis, Indiana → United States: Whitewater, Wisconsin (faculty) → United States: Madison, Wisconsin (later life)

Career

Occupations
Writer, College professor
Active Years
1963-2022
Affiliations
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (faculty)
Influenced By
Doris Lessing, Fay Weldon (subject of scholarly work)

Education

Indiana University Bloomington
English
Degree: Bachelor's, Master's
Country: United States
Entered on a statewide Latin competition scholarship; earned bachelor's and master's degrees.
University of Wisconsin–Madison
English
Degree: Ph.D.
Year of Graduation: 1972
Country: United States
Dissertation titled "The Feminism of Doris Lessing" (1972).

Awards

American Book Award
1996
Work: A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile

1995 Memoir

A memoir recounting the author's childhood wartime experiences, imprisonment, life in displaced persons camps, and migration to the United States. Addresses trauma, recovery, family history, and identity.

WarExileTrauma and healingMemoryIdentity

In Love with Jerzy Kosinski: A Novel

2009 Novel

A fictional work engaging with the figure of the real-life writer Jerzy Kosinski, exploring personal relationships, the image of the author, and questions of creativity and ethics.

Image of the authorWriting and ethicsPersonal relationships

Lost Midsummers: A Novel of Women's Friendship in Exile

2019 Novel

A novel about women's friendship, memory, and identity set against the backdrop of exile.

FriendshipExileMemory

Bibliography

  • "A Doris Lessing Checklist" (1973)
  • "Women and Crime: Sexism in Allingham, Sayers, and Christie" (1974, with Margot Peters)
  • "Why Women Kill" (1975, with Margot Peters)
  • "Doris Lessing's Feminist Plays" (1976)
  • "Murder in Academe" (1977, with Margot Peters)
  • "What Happened to Aspazija? In Search of Feminism in Latvia" (1993)
  • A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile (1995)
  • In Love with Jerzy Kosinski: A Novel (2009)
  • "Feminism and Art in Fay Weldon's Novels" (2013)
  • Lost Midsummers: A Novel of Women's Friendship in Exile (2019)
  • "Exile is irreversible" (essay, 2019)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Memoiristic and analytical proseNarration that incorporates scholarly observation
Recurring Motifs
War and exileMemory and healing of traumaWomen's experiences and friendshipSearch for identity

Legacy

Agate Nesaule is known for her memoirs about war and exile and her scholarly work on women's studies. She co-founded the women's studies program at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and made a notable contribution to exile literature from the Baltic region.

Quotes

  • "I have lived in the United States for 70 years. I am an American citizen in love with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I am immensely grateful for all that this country has given me, yet I feel I do not really belong here."
    Source: The Cap Times (essay "Exile is irreversible", 2019) (2019)

Trivia

  • Her mother earned a Ph.D. in her seventies.
  • As a child she was held prisoner in Germany during World War II.
  • Won a statewide Latin competition in Indiana and received a four-year scholarship to Indiana University.