A Guide to the James Agee Manuscripts, [1930s?] #10742

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
USA
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Reference Request Form: https://small.lib.virginia.edu/reference-request/
URL: http://small.library.virginia.edu/

Processed by: Special Collections Staff

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

James Agee Manuscripts, Accession #10742, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased on 1988 January 29.

Biographical/Historical Information

James Agee (1909-1955), author, playwright, and critic, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Harvard in 1932. His first and only book of verse, Permit Me Voyage , was published in 1934. He joined the editorial staff of Fortune magazine in 1932, wrote for Time Magazine, and reviewed films for the Nation, Partisan Review , Harper's , and the Forum . A 1936 assignment with Fortune concerning poor white sharecroppers in the South led to the publication of his book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (with photographs by Walker Evans) in 1941. Agee showed great insight and compassion in his works.

Scope and Content

Included are two autograph manuscripts, [1930s?], by James Agee. In the two-page analysis of his first book and only volume of poetry, Permit Me Voyage , Agee describes the background of his poems, often giving the specific circumstances under which they were composed and assesses the quality of his work. The one-page draft of an article on the Tennessee Valley Authority is comprised of four variant drafts of the opening paragraph showing Agee's mixed feelings toward the public works project.