Better known for writing in a variety of other genres, James Agee always thought of himself as essentially a poet. Winner of the Yale Younger Poets competition in 1934 for Permit Me Voyage, Agee was, in the words of editor Andrew Hudgins, "as restless in his poetry as he was later in his prose, exhibiting a variety . . . that we expect from the protean mind that excelled in so many different kinds of writing." Ranging from intense religious sonnets to lyrics for musical comedy, Agee?s verse takes us into the heart of his unique genius, what Robert Fitzgerald called his "sense of being . . . a raging awareness of the sensory field in depth and in detail."

About the American Poets Project
Elegantly designed in compact editions, printed on acid-free paper, and textually authoritative, the American Poets Project makes available the full range of the American poetic accomplishment, selected and introduced by today’s most discerning poets and critics.

Better known for writing in a variety of other genres, James Agee always thought of himself as essentially a poet. Winner of the Yale Younger Poets competition in 1934 for "Permit Me Voyage," Agee was, in the words of editor Andrew Hudgins, ?as restless in his poetry as he was later in his prose, exhibiting a variety . . . that we expect from the protean mind that excelled in so many different kinds of writing.? Ranging from intense religious sonnets to lyrics for musical comedy, Agee's verse takes us into the heart of his unique genius, what Robert Fitzgerald called his ?sense of being . . . a raging awareness of the sensory field in depth and in detail.?