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A Depression-era portrait of three poor tenant farming families in Alabama
1941Slow paceMelancholic
What it is about
In 1936, writer James Agee and photographer Walker Evans spent weeks with three families of white tenant farmers in Alabama. The book combines Evans’s photographs with Agee’s long, intense prose. It is as much about the act of writing about poverty as about the families.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who like literary nonfiction.
What you will get
Its style is difficult and very personal.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Nonfiction · Great Depression · Poverty · Photography
Length
471 pages · ≈ 13 h
More about this book
Characters
James Agee, Walker Evans and three Alabama families.
Setting
Rural Alabama in 1936.
What makes it different
A mix of reportage, poetry and photography.
Feel
Dense, passionate and moving.
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