Florence Homolka, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

James Agee, in an undated photo. Many literary fans note Agee for his work "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" though he won the Pulitzer Prize for "A Death in the Family."

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November 27 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of author and Knoxville native James Agee. The James Agee Centennial Celebration, sponsored by The James Agee Trust, Knox County Public Library, and the University of Tennessee, concludes November 22. Knoxville Magazine spoke briefly with two men who participated in the Celebration.

Ross Spears directed an Academy Award nominated documentary on James Agee entitled "Agee: Sovereign Prince of the English Language" that premiered at the Bijou Theatre 30 years ago. Another of his documentaries, "To Render a Life," is something of an homage to Agee's "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men." He has directed more than a dozen documentaries since, including the recent "Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People."

Which one of Agee's works did you first read? What did you think of it?

"I grew up in Johnson City, and my father was mayor when All the Way Home, the movie made from Agee's 'A Death in the Family,' was made. He and my mother went down to Knoxville for the premiere of the movie, and he came back with a paperback copy of the book. I think I was about 14. That was my first introduction to Agee's work. I didn't actually read it until I went to college though. I enjoyed it."

Which of Agee's works most inspired you to document his life in "Agee: Sovereign Prince of the English Language?"

"The book that grabbed me was 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.' I read that during the summer after my junior year in college in 1968. That summer there were riots in the streets. The Vietnam War was raging. I was totally against the war at that time. It was the summer after Martin Luther King was assassinated. 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' surprised and deeply moved me like nothing I had read before. I really identified with Agee's persona in that book. I loved the writing. I loved the relationships he developed with the sharecroppers and the black families he encountered in Alabama. His passionate side, his deeply moral side hooked me. You had the feeling when you were reading Agee at that time that you were making a discovery. 'A Death in the Family' had come out in the 1950s and had won the Pulitzer and the movie had been made, but Agee wasn't a household name like Hemingway or Faulkner or Wolfe."

In what way did your research on Agee change your view of the man and/or his writing?

"I went from total idolization when I first read him, but the more you research the more you find certain flaws, and he became a real human being. But I have never lost, to this day, that whole sense of Agee at his best being just a tremendous artist. That was just in his bones."

You used the Agee name in creating your film production company. Is there some sense in which Agee and his writing have continued to inspire you through the decades?

"Well, I went on to make another film on him called 'To Render a Life.' Some would say that's my best film. It premiered in 1992. It's based on 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' as a kind of subtext and is a portrait of a poor rural family today. It's also about the making of documentaries. 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' will live as long as any great book. I always regard that as a touchstone for anything that I do."

Do you think the city government of Knoxville and the people of Knoxville fully appreciate Agee?

"I know they named a street after him and dedicated a little park to him which is nice. Other towns have perhaps done more with their writers. There's the Thomas Wolfe house in Asheville and an auditorium named for him. Faulkner's house is owned by the state of Mississippi and is a tourist destination. Agee was a little different though. Other than 'A Death in the Family' Agee didn't write about Knoxville. But I can't think of a better novel about Knoxville, so I think Agee put the city on the literary map.

"Michael Lofaro, Lindsay Young Professor of American Literature and American and Cultural Studies at the University of Tennessee, restored James Agee's posthumously published Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 'A Death in the Family,' adding considerable material left out of Agee's original manuscript. The "new" version was published two years ago and is the first volume of the 10-volume The Works of James Agee for which Lotharo serves as general editor."

The 100th birthday of Knoxville native son James Agee will be marked with a celebration sponsored by the James Agee Trust, the Knox County Public Library and the University of Tennessee.

Which of Agee's works did you first read? What did you think of it?

"'A Death in the Family.' I liked it, but as a freshman in high school I found the flashbacks confusing."

Has your research on Agee changed your view of the man and/or his writing?

"The more I work on Agee, the more I am amazed at both the scope of his writing and the integrity of his central vision. No other writer scrutinized the incredible changes in American culture from the 1930s to the 1950s from as many perspectives and in as many different forms as Agee, and few have done so as trenchantly. In many ways, Agee's work in the fields of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, journalism, film criticism, and screenwriting is a broad and insightful cultural mirror of those times."

How would you characterize, briefly, the major differences between "A Death in the Family" as published in 1957 and your reconstructed version?

"One of the reasons that the restoration of Agee's original manuscript was so interesting to me is that my investigations explained my original confusion with the novel. While beginning with Agee's handwritten manuscript in final form, the previous editors changed it radically but denied that such changes had taken place. Although 'Knoxville: Summer of 1915' was an admitted addition to the novel, the editors of the 1957 McDowell version also silently deleted or did not use 10 and one-third finished chapters, chose the wrong (i.e. earlier draft) versions of three other chapters, and deliberately divided and interspersed other chapters. They also substantially altered the time sequence of the novel with the 'flashback sections.' No wonder I found it confusing at the age of 14.

"When reordered and rejoined in the restored manuscript, the italicized flashback sections, taken together with the omitted and final versions of chapters, create a new first one-third of the book and form a crucial part of the essentially straightforward chronological progression that was Agee's plan."The first chapter of the original book is in fact chapter 17 of the restored version.

"Volume 2 in the projected 10-volume 'The Works of James Agee' will be 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,' his iconic take, accompanied by Walker Evans' compelling photos, on the rural South.

"My hope is that Dr. Hugh Davis, the editor of 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,' will bring the volume out in 2011. Since Agee and Evans oversaw the publication of the book in 1941, this edition does have fewer changes, at least to Agee's narrative. Evans, however, altered his portion of the book after Agee's death for the 1960 edition, which has become the standard reprinted text, by expanding the total number of his photographs by approximately one third and within that figure also eliminated some of his original pictures. The Davis edition will restore the 1941 edition and add the new 1960 photographs as an appendix so readers can judge the impact of Evans' changes for themselves."

Do you think the city government of Knoxville and the people of Knoxville fully appreciate Agee?

"I think that a growing appreciation of Agee is a process that is well underway. I also think that he is presently underutilized as part of the city's cultural tourism but hope The James Agee Centennial Celebration will highlight the national and international interest in his work. The 2005 Agee Celebration culminated in the dedication of the James Agee Park. It would be great if the city government could erect state historical markers for a James Agee Walking Trail. It would be a fitting conclusion if the Centennial could inspire another lasting memorial to link downtown with Agee Park."