Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men is a landmark work of documentary literature and photojournalism created by writer James Agee and photographer Walker Evans. Commissioned in 1936 by *Fortune* magazine, the project was intended as a journalistic study of tenant farmers in the American South during the Great Depression. The resulting book, published in 1941 by Houghton Mifflin, defied conventional genres, blending exhaustive reportage, poetic prose, philosophical meditation, and stark photographic portraits to create a profound and controversial examination of poverty, dignity, and the ethics of observation.

Background and conception

In the summer of 1936, *Fortune*, a publication owned by Henry Luce, assigned James Agee to write an article on the conditions of cotton tenant farmers. Agee, who had previously written for *Fortune* and was influenced by the social documentary ethos of the New Deal era, requested that photographer Walker Evans accompany him. Evans, then working for the Farm Security Administration under Roy Stryker, was already renowned for his unsentimental depictions of rural America. Together, they spent several weeks living with three families—the Gudgers, Woodss, and Ricketts—in Hale County, Alabama, an area deeply affected by the Dust Bowl and economic collapse. The assignment was ultimately rejected by *Fortune*, deeming Agee's intense, literary approach unsuitable, which freed the collaborators to expand their material into a book-length work.

Content and structure

The book is a formally innovative and sprawling text divided into two primary sections: the photographic portfolio by Walker Evans and the prose by James Agee. Evans's photographs, presented without captions, include iconic images like *Alabama Tenant Farmer Wife* and portraits of individuals such as Allie Mae Burroughs. Agee's text eschews linear narrative, incorporating detailed inventories of the families' possessions, lyrical descriptions of the Alabama landscape, transcriptions of hymns and folk songs, and vehement critiques of journalism and capitalism. He employs a variety of styles, from reportorial to modernist stream-of-consciousness, often addressing the reader directly about the moral quandaries of documenting the subjects' lives. The title is drawn from a verse in the Book of Sirach, reflecting the work's thematic concern with unsung lives.

Reception and legacy

Upon its initial publication in 1941 by Houghton Mifflin, the book sold poorly and received mixed reviews, with some critics finding it pretentious and overwrought. Its reputation grew significantly after a reissue in 1960, during a period of renewed social consciousness, and it became a touchstone for the New Journalism movement and writers like Truman Capote and Norman Mailer. The work is now considered a foundational text in American literature, influencing genres from creative nonfiction to documentary film. It has been extensively studied in academic fields such as American studies, visual culture, and sociology. The original manuscript and Evans's photographs are held in collections at the Morgan Library & Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Critical analysis

Scholars have analyzed *Let Us Now Praise Famous Men* as a radical experiment in form and a deep ethical inquiry. Critical discussions often focus on the tension between aesthetics and social justice, examining how Walker Evans's detached, classical composition contrasts with James Agee's anguished, participatory prose. The work is frequently situated within the context of 1930s leftist art and the documentary movement exemplified by the Farm Security Administration. Debates persist regarding its potential for voyeurism and the representation of its subjects, the Gudger, Woods, and Ricketts families, whose real names were used. It is also seen as a precursor to later ethnographic and oral history projects, challenging the boundaries between observer and observed.

Publication history

The project began as a rejected assignment for *Fortune* in 1936. After years of expansion and revision, the first edition was published in 1941 by Houghton Mifflin with a print run of only a few hundred copies. A significantly more successful second edition was released in 1960 by Houghton Mifflin again, featuring an introduction by critic Lionel Trilling. This edition cemented the book's status as a classic. Subsequent editions have been published by various houses, including a 2000 edition by Penguin Books as part of its Penguin Classics series. The original photographs by Walker Evans have been exhibited worldwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Category:1941 non-fiction books Category:American non-fiction books Category:Documentary books Category:Great Depression in the United States