Finding Aid for the James Agee Papers, 1930-1955
MS-2474 University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN
Encoded by: Elizabeth Dunham, July 27, 2006.
Summary Information
James Agee Papers
Date/Date Range : 1930-1955
0.3 linear feet
Abstract: This collection contains eighteen letters (1951-55), photographs (n.d.), and writings (1930-43) from James Agee, Paul Brooks, and W.P. Agee, Jr.
MS-2474
University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN
Access and Use
Collection is property of the UT Special Collections Library.
Collection is open for research.
The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.
[Identification of Item], James Agee Papers, MS-2474. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.
Arrangement
Collection consists of three folders divided into three series: Writing, Correspondence, and Photographs.
Biography / History
James Rufus Agee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Hugh and Laura Agee on November 27, 1909. His father died in an automobile accident in 1916. Two years later, he and his mother moved to Sewanee, TN. Here, Agee attended St. Andrew's School, run by Episcopal monks. From there, he went to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and then to Harvard University. A parody written for The Harvard Advocate contributed to Agee's employment at Fortune Magazine. His first book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, grew out of an article for Fortune. Agee next worked as a book and film review for The Nation and for Time, and then as a script-writer for television and movies. Among the more famous are The African Queen (1951) and The Night of the Hunter (1955). At the time of his death in May 1955, Agee had been married three times and was the father of four children.
Agee left behind A Death in the Family, an unfinished novel on the impact of his father's death. It had been a project of his for nearly twenty years. David McDowell picked up the fragments and chapters, turning them into a complete work. In 1958, Agee won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for the novel.
Collection Scope and Content Note
This collection contains eighteen letters, photographs, and writings from James Agee and family. There are three series: Writing, 1930-1943, which includes papers for his college English classes in 1930, a 1937 diary, and two 1943 film review items; Correspondence, 1951-1955, which includes letters between him or his wife Mia and Paul Brooks and letters between W.P Agee, Jr., and Houghton, Mifflin Co., in 1955; and Photographs, n.d., which includes three pictures of Agee and friends.
See also UTK-MS-1500: James Agee-David McDowell Papers, 1919-1985, and UTK-MS-2052: Dr. Kenneth Curry Collection.
Subject Terms
- Agee, James, 1909-1955.
- Authors, American -- Tennessee.
Contents List
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Series I: Writing, 1930-1943
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| Folder
1
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Item
1
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Poem for English 16 class, undated
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| Folder
1
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Item
2
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Lullaby for English 22 class, 1930 March 5
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| Folder
1
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Item
3
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Notebook containing two stories for English 22 class: "A Walk Before Mass" and "Who Marks the Sparrow's Fall?" , 1930 March 11-1930 March 19
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| Folder
1
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Item
4
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Diary about trips and friends, 1937
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| Folder
1
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Item
5
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Handwritten draft of review for six films ( Happy Land, What a Woman!, Girl Crazy, The Gang's All Here, The Heat's On, Madam Curie ), circa 1943
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| Folder
1
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Item
6
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Copy of review for six films ( Happy Land, What a Woman!, Girl Crazy, The Gang's All Here, The Heat's On, Madam Curie ) in The Nation , 1943 December 18
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Series II: Correspondence, 1951-1955
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Sub-Series A: Letters between Brooks and James or Mia Agee, 1951-1955 |
| Folder
2
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Item
1
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Letters and correspondence between Paul Brooks and James Agee about his illness and book, 1951 January 29-1951 February 2
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| Folder
2
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Item
2
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Letter to Brooks from Agee about book, 1951 March 16
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| Folder
2
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Item
3
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Letter to Agee from Brooks about his current novel, 1954 July 13
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| Folder
2
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Item
4
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Condolence letter to Mia Agee from Brooks about James' death, 1955 May 18
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| Folder
2
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Item
5
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Reply to Brooks from Mia, 1955 May 21
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Sub-Series B: Letters between W.P. Agee, Jr., and Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1955 |
| Folder
2
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Item
1
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Letter from Agee to Houghton, Mifflin Co. about submitting book and finding agent, 1955 February 28
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| Folder
2
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Item
2
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Reply to Agee from Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1955 March 2
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| Folder
2
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Item
3
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Letter from Agee to Houghton, Mifflin Co. (specifically, Mrs. Patricia Montgomery) about his book Confidentially Girls , 1955 April 11
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| Folder
2
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Item
4
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Rejection letter for his book to Agee from Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1955 May 17
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Series III: Photographs, undated
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| Folder
3
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Item
1
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Agee, two women, and a man at the Stork Club, with "Picture from Madden's James Agee" on back, undated
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| Folder
3
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Item
2
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A woman, Agee, and a man riding in a convertible, undated
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| Folder
3
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Item
3
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Portrait of Agee sitting on bed, undated
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