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James Agee. A collection of love letters, presumably unsent, to one "Mary."...
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Description
James Agee. A collection of love letters, presumably unsent, to one "Mary." No place, no date [but presumably after 1946, when he married his third wife, Mia].34 pages on 23 sheets, each 11 x 8 1/2 inches (280 x 215 mm), all written in pencil, some on Saint Andrew's School letterhead.
SMALL ARCHIVE OF UNSENT LOVE LETTERS. Comprises 11 love letters (22 pages) to "Mary" (only one is SIGNED: "Jim"), 1 letter (2 pages) about Mary written to "Mrs. Wickes" and SIGNED: "Jim Agee," and 10 pages (on 9 sheets) of manuscript poems in various states of completeness. None appear to have ever been sent.
The 10 love letters are written to Mary, an intern whom Agee appears to have met in a hospital while his family was ill. In the letter to Mrs. Wickes, Agee writes, in part: "I Hope to be back by early next week and I very much hope you can have time to let me talk to you. During the past 10 days or so I have been going through the deepest stirring-up in years -- it seems, in my life. The essence of it is, in having met the one woman I've ever known who completely awakens, delights and satisfies my soul... and in realizing that it is very unlikely that I will ever have her as I want and need her; and certainly could not, without criminality against Mia. This happened under extreme strains and exhaustions involving sickness in my family (the girl is an interne in the Nashville hospital where we were) and I have to realize how much those circumstances must have intensified and distorted my emotions and perceptions. But at the most detached I can get she is nevertheless a saint and a genius, in the ways that I happen most to love in the world. To complicate matters, she is at once herself, a complete original; and a blend of much that meant most to me in Alma [Agee's second wife], and that I most love and respect in Mia [Agee's third wife]." He goes on to contemplate that distance has helped, writing: "Tonight, the first away from Nashville, my emotions are quiet for the first time. In fact they scarcely exist except as a remembrance and image..." He concludes to his friend the psychologist: "How I wish I could talk to you now. Affectionately, Jim Agee."
Frances Wickes (1875-1967) was a well-respected Jungian psychologist and friend of Agee. It has been purported that Agee wrote significant portions of A Death in the Family in Wickes's home. The content of the present letter certainly suggests the pair were close.
Condition: Sheets a bit toned, creased along some folds, edgeworn. Most with thumbsoiling and other smudges (graphite?), two sheets more wrinkled, creased, and torn than the others, likely stored at the bottom of the group. Poems with some staining (one moderately stained affecting text, other sheets stained in margins) and rust from paperclips, letter to Mrs. Wickes with staple holes.
Provenance: presumably unsent and retained by the author. From the William A. Strutz Library.
View all of [The William A. Strutz Library ]
Auction Info
2024 December 11 Important English and American Literature: The William A. Strutz Library, Part II, Rare Books Signature® Auction #6300 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2024
11th
Wednesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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