Knowra James Agee James Agee James Agee (1909–1955) was an American writer and film critic whose work joined lyrical prose with close attention to poverty, family life, and cinema. His best-known books include Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and the posthumously published novel A Death in the Family .
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men : A 1941 book by James Agee and photographer Walker Evans portraying three Alabama tenant-farming families during the Great Depression. Agee’s most celebrated nonfiction work turns observation of rural poverty into an experiment in prose and photography.
Documentary film : Nonfiction film that represents actual people, events, or conditions through recorded images and sound. Agee’s film criticism and screenwriting engaged with cinema’s capacity to record and interpret reality.
Knoxville, Tennessee : A city in eastern Tennessee, where James Agee was born and spent much of his childhood. Knoxville supplies the setting and remembered world of several of Agee’s most personal works.
Charles Laughton : An English actor and film director known for his distinctive screen performances and his sole feature film, The Night of the Hunter . Laughton directed Agee’s screenplay for The Night of the Hunter .
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction : An annual American literary award for distinguished fiction published in the United States. Agee received the 1958 prize posthumously for A Death in the Family .
A Death in the Family : James Agee’s autobiographical novel about a family coping with a father’s sudden death in Knoxville, Tennessee. This posthumous novel draws on Agee’s childhood and became his best-known work of fiction.
The Night of the Hunter : A 1955 American thriller film directed by Charles Laughton and adapted from Davis Grubb’s novel. Agee wrote the screenplay for this film, now noted for its expressionist imagery.
Harvard University : A private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1636. Agee studied at Harvard, where his literary development preceded his career in journalism.
John Huston : An American film director, screenwriter, and actor whose films include The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen . Huston directed The African Queen , for which Agee co-wrote the screenplay.
New Journalism : A style of nonfiction writing that uses literary techniques while reporting real events and people. Agee’s self-conscious, formally adventurous reporting anticipated concerns associated with New Journalism.
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