Mary Agria
 | This improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2007) ) |
Mary Agria | |
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| Born | March 21, 1941 United States |
| Occupation | Author |
| Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison (BA, MA) University of Bonn |
Mary A. Agria (born March 24, 1941) is an American writer who spent her early career as a
In 2006 her novel, Time in a Garden, appeared on best-seller fiction lists all over northern Michigan. She has written five novels (For Things Left Undone, 2001; Time in a Garden, 2006; Vox Humana: The Human Voice, 2007; In Transit, 2008; and Community of Scholars, 2009) and numerous non-fiction books, articles and texts.
Life and influences
Childhood
Agria grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin where her mother worked as executive secretary to the president of a large fraternal life insurance company. Her father was a mechanical engineer with an international paper company. Family life instilled in her a deep love of writing and travel. As a sixth grader she wrote the winning script about Stephen Foster for a school drama contest. In high school and early college, she worked as a journalist summers for The Post-Crescent in Appleton, the paper that gave Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Edna Ferber her start—a writer whose style Agria always admired.
Education
She earned her BA in English (1964) and an MA in German literature and
Early career
After a job in
Recent years
Community building remains an important undercurrent in her novels, the power of relationships to promote growth and change. A church organist since her early teens, after "retiring" to
As mother of four daughters and a growing brood of grandchildren, the healing power of love, family and community runs through her work.
Selected works
Novels
- For Things Left Undone, 2001
- Time in a Garden, 2006
- Vox Humana: The Human Voice, 2007
- In Transit, 2008
- Community of Scholars, 2009
Nonfiction books and texts
- "Enhancing Traditional and Innovative Rural Support Services," chapter in Toward a Rural Renaissance (USDOL 1981)
- Building Rural Linkages: a guide for work-education councils (MDOL 1981)
- Building Healthy Communities: Stories of 12 communities in the Midwest (Studies in Rural Ministry 1995)
- Winning the Rat Race: a common sense guide to job hunting and work force survival (1995, Wm. C. Brown)
- Rural Congregational Studies: a guide for good shepherds (co-author, 1997, Abingdon)
- Planting the Seeds of Community (vols. 1-2, Center for Theology and Land)
- Articles and scholarly pieces: for Jo Bonomo How-To Series, Journal of the National Case Institute, Julien's Journal; a syndicated column on work and education ('Winning the Rat Race/Work Links', 20 years) in newspapers in Iowa and Pennsylvania; and currently a column on gardening and spirituality ('Time in a Garden') in the Petoskey, MI News Review.
External links
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