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James Agee
Website Evaluators Ruby Bernstein – Laney College, California
Virginia Brackett - Triton College, River Grove, Illinois
Ann Gann - Clinton High School, Tennessee
Joe Taylor - Perryville High School, Maryland
Susan Thurman - Henderson Community College, KentuckyWebsite Reviewer and Compiler
Charles R. Sanders – San Pedro High School, California Site Ratings 1 = Poor 2 = Fair 3 = Good 4 = Excellent
Thomas Hampson -- "I Hear America Singing" -- (Agee)
http://www3.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/poet/agee.html This site is a web companion to the PBS program, "Thomas Hampson - I Hear America
Singing." One of the poems featured on the program is "Sure on This Shining Night," by James Agee. Included on the site is a "clear overview of the author's life" written at a level which is "appropriate for
all grade levels." An extra feature is a recording of Agee's poem. One important link leads to information about Walker Evans, who took photographs for Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. The
value of this site "lies in its clear introduction to Agee's life and works."
Overall Rating: 3Agee
http://athena.english.vt.edu/~appalach/writersA/agee.html
For those who are studying James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, this site is a must. There is a well-written biography of Agee, which not only shows his versatility as a novelist, a journalist, and a
screenwriter, but also discusses how Agee "developed a precision for detail in his writing style" no matter the medium. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the site is the link to photographer Walker Evans, Agee's
collaborator on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, which includes several striking photographs from the book.
Overall Rating: 3The James Agee Collection
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00139/00139.html The James Agee Collection at the University of Texas at Austin contains fourteen boxes of manuscripts and correspondence by the author. The major feature of
this site is a list of all the works contained in the boxes, but there is an interesting biography, which emphasizes Agee's major works. The third section of the site explains what is contained in the
collection. While there are no teaching materials or links, this site "may be of some interest in letting students know that such collections exist," and the purpose of such collections.
Overall Rating: 2
PAL: James Agee (1909-1955)
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap10/agee.html This James Agee site is from the larger Paul P. Reuben's "Perspectives in American
Literature - A Research and Reference Guide," and contains a bibliography of books and articles by or devoted to Agee. There is one link to information on the documentary film Agee, about the life of the
author. Perhaps of more value, especially to the researcher, is a link to similar bibliographical pages of an additional 214 American writers.
Overall Rating: 2Books: Knoxville: Summer 1998
http://weeklywire.com/ww/06-08-98/knox_feat.html
This contemporary parody of James Agee's short story, "Knoxville: Summer 1915," could prove to be of use for students and teachers alike. Jack
Neely's spoof, "Knoxville: Summer 1998," is entertaining and students "will be able to relate to the images" found here. Teachers can fashion lesson plans using the piece to introduce A Death in the Family,
to serve as a basis for a descriptive writing assignment, or to use in a compare/contrast exercise.
Overall Rating: 2The Historical Significance of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
http://history.hanover.edu/hhr/hhr93_6.html Of interest to readers of James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, this site "helps students understand the historic events of 1930s America," especially the plight
of Southern sharecroppers, and it explains how Agee "wanted to depict the complexity of their lives in an honest way." The essay also compares Agee's work with that of Jacob Riis, who wrote an unflattering,
judgmental book about New York City immigrants, and which junior and senior high school students could use as a comparison/contrast model in their writing.
Overall Rating: 2 |
