James Agee Biography

[TallGirl]

As I sat at the bar at the brewery tonight I struck up a conversation with the guy next to me. His name is Dwight Garner of the NY Times Book Review, and he informed me he is writing a bio of the esteemed James Agee. Just a little FYI.....He wisely (or better, foolishly) gave me his card. Sorry Gypsy, he didn't seem to know you, but then we talked about the financial terrorist stuff, etc. Really cool guy.

Here for the Agee archives. Gladly, I didn't manage to make a fool of myself with my drunken ramblings and my cab arrived shortly thereafter. So, big scoop (or not) that there is a James Agee bio in the hopper. He did take an interest in the book I was reading, which was written by my mentor, John Morgan Wilson. Told him to review it. Yeah, he always listens to tall, drunken women......

[Ellipsis]

I'm fairly sure I read something a while back about a new edition of A Death in the Family. The version we have now, of course, was published posthumously and assembled from unfinished manuscripts by Agee's editors. I think someone had the idea that they could reorganize the material and come up with something closer to the author's intentions. Anyone know anything about this? Not sure I like the idea. Would it replace the original?

[TallGirl]

I'm fairly sure I read something a while back about a new edition of A Death in the Family. The version we have now, of course, was published posthumously and assembled from unfinished manuscripts by Agee's editors. I think someone had the idea that they could reorganize the material and come up with something closer to the author's intentions. Anyone know anything about this? Not sure I like the idea. Would it replace the original?


I don't know about this, but this guy is doing a bio about Agee. BTW, I may be drunk, but I am crystal clear on this.....

[Crowe]

Dr. Lofaro, UT English prof, is doing some kind of revision or re-visioning of A Death in the Family. I don't know exactly.... this guy feels that the posthumously published novel, the version awarded a pulitzer, does not reflect Agee's intent, but rather the intent of several copyeditors who were very much enamored with high-modernism and heavy, Joycian italics. I'm still kinda upset at Lofaro for making me read The Sotweed Factor and Sut Lovingood. sensashun a huntin thru all my veins fur my ticklish place. Egad.

This may help: http://www.metropulse.com/articles/2006/16_20/citybeat.shtml

All future Agee bios will, of course, be disco.

[TallGirl]

Dr. Lofaro, UT English prof, is doing some kind of revision or re-visioning of A Death in the Family. I don't know exactly.... this guy feels that the posthumously published novel, the version awarded a pulitzer, does not reflect Agee's intent, but rather the intent of several copyeditors who were very much enamored with high-modernism and heavy, Joycian italics. I'm still kinda upset at Lofaro for making me read The Sotweed Factor and Sut Lovingood. sensashun a huntin thru all my veins fur my ticklish place. Egad.

This may help: http://www.metropulse.com/articles/2006/16_20/citybeat.shtml

All future Agee bios will, of course, be disco.

In my therapist office, of whom I have not seen nearly enough of these days, there is a piece of art with a quote by Agee, the one about Summer days in Knoxville, childhood, etc. I'd probably remember it better when sober, but....Anyway, regardless of who did what to a piece, I'm reticent to go around hacking up/re-doing an authors work. The only person who knows exactly what the author intended is the author.

[Randall]

I've long wanted to read some Sut Lovingood stories. I guess they are available somewhere. Dr. Ensor told me about them back in the day.

[Crowe]

I got a buttload of Sut, and a few other George Washington Harris sundries--nothing doing on my bookshelf. It's not all bad, actually, if you're able to slog thru all the dialectical acrobatics to find the funny.

[TallGirl]

I got a buttload of Sut, and a few other George Washington Harris sundries--nothing doing on my bookshelf. It's not all bad, actually, if you're able to slog thru all the dialectical acrobatics to find the funny.

That just sounds painful.

[Crowe]

Ha. The dialect or the buttload?

[TallGirl]

Ha. The dialect or the buttload?

Well....I started out thinking the dialect, but buttload could work as well.

[SnM]

Randall wrote:

I've long wanted to read some Sut Lovingood stories. I guess they are available somewhere. Dr. Ensor told me about them back in the day.

****

I'm pretty sure you can find a couple of collections in the downtown library, Randall. At any rate, I borrowed some a few years ago. I thought George Washington Harris was a hilarious storyteller and an apparent influence on Sam Clemens' literary style.

Aside: Back in 2001, when gypsy and so many other industrious souls organized the Knoxville Music and Heritage Festival (for a brief account go to http://www.metropulse.com/dir_zine/dir_2001/1141/t_citybeat.html and scroll to the bottom), those of us who did the literary pub death march were treated to a pitch-perfect delivery of one of the Sut Lovingood yarns by the blab's own Michael, a man of many, mostly hidden, talents.

[Lee G]

Well, I know that Baltimore Sun film critic Mike Sragow just edited a new edition of Agee on Film for the Library of America (I interviewed him about it, and other things, here (http://www.citypaper.com/film/story.asp?id=11159)). Mebbe LoA's doing a new edition of A Death in the Family, too.

(BTW, we talked a lot more about Agee, but I had to trim it for space.)

[Smootz]

Aside: Back in 2001, when gypsy and so many other industrious souls organized the Knoxville Music and Heritage Festival (for a brief account go to http://www.metropulse.com/dir_zine/dir_2001/1141/t_citybeat.html and scroll to the bottom), those of us who did the literary pub death march were treated to a pitch-perfect delivery of one of the Sut Lovingood yarns by the blab's own Michael, a man of many, mostly hidden, talents.


That was a fun cold day. Such events require good folks who've found the gems & have the talent to share PLUS a receptive tippled audience. Let's do it again and I'll bring the flask.

[JohnT]

My wife and I happen to be doing The African Queen for our film discussion group (http://www.geocities.com/knoxfilmforum/) this August. We would have done Night of the Hunter, but it's a pain to get.

If y'all are interested, feel free to come! :D

[pixeljockey]

Night of the Hunter

leaning... leaning...

[SnM]

Smootz wrote:

That was a fun cold day...Let's do it again and I'll bring the flask.

****

It was indeed a fun day. And I'd be up for doing it, or an Agee Amble or a Suttree Stagger, again.

I don't know if ever the drinking group with the literary problem could be reassembled though. I haven't gone on the last few Agee Dad Death Day excursions to the Checkered Flag, and I don't commune with the Jacks of All Tirades too much anymore (though I did see the less-mad Jack last night in the brewery, ostensibly to meet the very fellow TallGirl encountered at the bar, I believe), so I can't say how they are situated for resurrecting that tradition.

And you have to have a Jack for these events. 'Cause if you don't have a Jack, you ain't got jack.

[TallGirl]

I haven't gone on the last few Agee Dad Death Day excursions to the Checkered Flag, and I don't commune with the Jacks of All Tirades too much anymore (though I did see the less-mad Jack last night in the brewery, ostensibly to meet the very fellow TallGirl encountered at the bar, I believe), so I can't say how they are situated for resurrecting that tradition.


Didn't say he was meeting anybody, but who knows. He was reading a copy of the Metropulse though.

[SnM]

Jack said he was supposed to meet some pilgrim there who was interested in Agee. Jack was going to corral him into a Checkered Flag pilgrimage, I believe. Sorta figure it gotta be the same guy.

[TallGirl]

Jack said he was supposed to meet some pilgrim there who was interested in Agee. Jack was going to corral him into a Checkered Flag pilgrimage, I believe. Sorta figure it gotta be the same guy.

Having lived out near the Checkered Flag for the better part of my life, I'll say you gotta be right about that. Not too many fine folks down from the big city to do something on Agee and meeting with Jack. It was the guy's first night of a 3 day stay.

[Michael]

...those of us who did the literary pub death march were treated to a pitch-perfect delivery of one of the Sut Lovingood yarns by the blab's own Michael, a man of many, mostly hidden, talents.

And most of those are best kept hidden. I will say that I was somewhat proud to have even gotten through Eaves-Dropping A Lodge of Free-Masons (http://docsouth.unc.edu/harrisg/gharris.html#harris114), let alone have made any impressions. As for doing it again:

Boys, jis' gin me a hoult ove that ar willer baskit, wif a cob in hits mouf, an' that ar tin cup, an' arter I'se sponged my froat, I'll talk hit all off in English...
~m.

[SnM]

You should be proud of that piece. I remember it as the best moment among many fine ones. As for doing it again, there's Lum Jack yu tole about, darin the litenin.

[Michael]

You should be proud of that piece. I remember it as the best moment among many fine ones. As for doing it again, there's Lum Jack yu tole about, darin the litenin.

Lum Jones. But in A Razor-Grinder in a Thunder-Storm (http://docsouth.unc.edu/harrisg/gharris.html#harris60) it was all about Bake Boyd (Bake wer the short fur Bacon, an' Bacon wer his nickname yu know).

Lum shows up in that story, as a tie-in to the eaves-dropping piece:
"...that nite the Court Hous wer plum full; everybody wer thar, sceptin Lum Jones, an' he wer hid out frum the Free Masons."

My favorite part of the razor-grinder story,though:

"He soon got tu grindin away fus' rate He wer a pow'ful slow-speakin, dignerfied sorter varmint, an' thort that hissef an' mercheen cummanded the respeck an' submishun ove the poperlashun, wharever he went. That idear wus chased outer his skull thru his years, mons'ous quick, at Knoxville. He cudn't hev cum to a better place than hit wer in them days, fur sweepin out the inside ove stuff up fellers' skulls clean ove all ole rusty, cob-web, bigited idears, an' then a fillin hit up fresh wif sumthin new an' activ; an' in the 'sort-mint wer allers wun king idear sure, an' hit wer in words sorter so: 'If I gits away alive, durn ef ever I cum yere agin.' I speck ni ontu a thousin fellers, off an' on, cum tu that ole town sufferin pow'ful wif a onintemitant attack ove swell-head, an' every durn'd wun ove em lef thar wif the words I spoke jis now, a-drapin ofen thar limber onder lips, sorter like a ole heart-broken hoss slobbers."
~m.

[SnM]

Michael wrote:

Lum Jones. But in A Razor-Grinder in a Thunder-Storm it was all about Bake Boyd (Bake wer the short fur Bacon, an' Bacon wer his nickname yu know).

****

Wahl, Lum Jones as may be, but I was quotin' frum TAURUS IN LYNCHBURG MARKET. An I was quotin' soily fur thur sake uh fetchin' a jack in thar.