James Agee

Apassionateliteraryinnovator,eloquentinlanguageanduncompromisinginhissocialobservationandhispursuitofemotionaltruth,JamesAgee(1909-1955)excelledasnovelist,critic,journalist,andscreenwriter.Inhisbrief,oftenturbulentlife,heleftenduringevidenceofhisunwaveringintensity,observanteye,andsometimessavagewit.Thisvolumecollectshisfictionalongwithhisexperimentinwhatmightbecalledpropheticjournalism,LetUsNowPraiseFamousMen(1941),acollaborationwithphotographerWalkerEvansthatbeganasanassignmentfromFortunemagazinetoreportonthelivesofAlabamasharecroppers,andthatexpandedintoavastanduniquemixofreporting,poeticmeditation,andanguishedself-revelationthatAgreedescribedas"aneffortinhumanactuality."A64-pagephotoinsertreproducesEvans'snowiconicphotographsfromtheexpanded1960edition.ADeathintheFamily,thenovelthatheworkedonforoveradecadeandthatwaspublishedposthumouslyin1957,re-createsAgee'schildhoodinKnoxville,Tennessee,andtheupheavalhisfamilyexperiencedafterhisfather'sdeathinacaraccidentwhenAgeewassixyearsold.Awholeworld,withitssensoryvividnessandsocialconstraints,comestolifeinthischild's-eyeviewofafewcatastrophicdays.ItispresentedhereforthefirsttimeinatextwithcorrectionsbasedonAgee'smanuscriptsattheHarryRansomHumanitiesResearchCenter.
ThisvolumealsoincludesTheMorningWatch(1951),anautobiographicalnovellathatreflectsAgee'sdeepinvolvementwithreligiousquestions,andthreeshortstoriesincludingtheallegory"AMother'sTale."