Selected Resources
William Faulkner and the Genre of Southern Literature
Library of Southern Literature
By Mark Steadman
Mark Steadman of Clemson University has contributed to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Library of Southern Literature with this web page on Humor in Southern Literature. This is a part of UNC’s Documenting the American South project, “a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture” (Documenting the American South). Since the genre has many subspecialties, this page is helpful because it highlights the major authors associated with distinct spans of time commonly used to mark movements in Southern literature. Its clear, chronological layout helps place authors in an historical context and its links are helpful and easy to navigate. These are links to other credible articles and sources on subgenres and movements in Southern literature. William Faulkner is often overlooked as an author whose works involve humor, but Steadman is careful to note that “[T]his was the golden age of southern writing, the time of the Southern Renaissance. The best southern writers began to combine serious literary purpose with profoundly comic elements”. Finally, Steadman bases this information on Charles Reagan Wilson and William Ferris's Encyclopedia of Southern Culture with the permission of the publisher (U of NC P), offers a list of his own sources used to compile the page, and the page is frequently maintained and current, as denoted by the original publication of the posting (2004) and the statement that is was last updated 22 July 2009.
The Society of Southern Literature/ The Mississippi Quarterly
Compiled by contributors to the Mississippi Quarterly, an academic journal, this list of sources pertains to articles about Southern literature and Faulkner’s contribution to the genre from 5 different academic journals. The articles are written by notable scholars around the world and are reviewed by the journal’s staff members. Updated constantly (as recently as 11:32am on Thursday, July 16 2009), this list is an indispensible tool for finding articles about Faulkner and the genre of Southern literature. While access to some articles may be limited, the list of titles narrows down a scholar’s search for the exact information he or she is looking for and illustrates what is current in the field of Faulkner scholarship.
Southern Literary Trail: Oxford, Mississippi
THE SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL® connects southern places in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi that inspired great American writers to create classic fiction and plays. The inspiration continues. Every two years, the Trail's organizers host Trailfest, the only tri-state literary festival in the United States with free events, theatrical performances and heritage tours.
Biographies
William Faulkner: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1949
By Horst Frenz
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually to an author whose entire body of work is considered outstanding and ideal for the direction of literature as a whole. The Nobel Prize is regarded as the most prestigious prize in literature because its nominees come from around the world and receive a great deal of prize money intended to support their research and work. As a recipient of The Nobel Prize, William Faulkner’s biography on this site highlights the reasons he was chosen by the Nobel Committee: for example, the fact that “Faulkner […] invented a host of characters typical of the historical growth and subsequent decadence of the South” (William Faulkner: The Nobel Prize in Literature. Biography). This page is taken directly from the book Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, which was edited by Horst Frenz, and therefore includes information “given by the Nobel Laureates in the days leading to the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony held each December in Stockholm” according to the Nobel Foundation’s page on the Nobel Lectures (Nobel Lectures). A snapshot of the author’s life, this page is useful for understanding the achievements Faulkner himself considered important and gives a snapshot of what certain specific major works contributed to literature as a whole.
The Mississippi Writers Page: William Faulkner
By John B. Padgett
This page was created by John B. Padgett, who also holds its copyright. Associated with The University of Mississippi in Oxford, The Mississippi Writers Page is “[P]resented by the Department of English” and it also contains links to other authors who are “in, from, or otherwise associated with the state of Mississippi” (“About This Web Site”). William Faulkner’s page is a lengthy biography that includes his earliest childhood information, a description of his physical features, his career as a writer and a Hollywood screenwriter and many other significant events through his death and his legacy. The page also provides numerous links: a gallery; publications; an even more in-depth bibliography; media adaptations; and other internet resources. This tool is wonderful for assisting one with a foundation for research on the author and his works and has even more links to books, literary criticism and movements under which Faulkner falls such as Postmodernism.
Faulkner’s Manuscripts and Sources for Scholars
The William Faulkner Collection
The University of Virginia Library
This page is helpful to scholars who desire to work with Faulkner’s original manuscripts in their research. The University of Virginia is where Faulkner help his most quotes lectures, and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library houses these and other important manuscripts such as donations from the author’s personal library, his letters, photographs and holograph portions of Mosquitoes. There are also typescripts, page proofs, and materials that have been revises as well as those that are unrevised. “In 1957, William Faulkner came to the University as its first Writer-in-Residence. […] He accepted reappointment for the year 1957-58. Continuing his service to the University, he accepted appointment as Consultant on American Literature to the Alderman Library. Then, in 1961 he was elected Balch Lecturer in American Literature, a position which he held until his death” (The William Faulkner Collection). Faulkner’s ties to the University of Virginia remain strong, as they hold a great deal of material that has contributed to and will continue to advance research in Faulkner scholarship. Additionally, the library allows access to the manuscripts without special permission, making these documents easier to access; some are even available through interlibrary loan (The William Faulkner Collection).
Southeast Missouri State University
The Brodsky Collection houses manuscript material, letters, photographs and a large collection of pages related to Faulkner’s career as a Hollywood scriptwriter. An interesting feature of this collection is the link to “The Collector’s 101 Favorites,” a guide to some of the rarest and most treasured works in the collection’s thousands of materials. Joseph Blotner’s resources for compiling Faulkner: A Biography are also listed on this site and can be used to further academic research.
Mississippi State University's Rare and Significant Book Collections: The Faulkner Collection
"In 1972, the library purchased a collection of 110 volumes by and about William Faulkner. The collection includes first editions and signed limited editions as well as some foreign or special editions. There are also reference works and volumes of criticism that help place Faulkner in the context of twentieth century culture. Among the more unusual items are an Armed Service Edition of A Rose for Emily, a Japanese edition of New Orleans Sketches, and a limited printing of Faulkner's Nobel Prize acceptance speech."
Maintained by the Officers and Staff of the William Faulkner Society
This comprehensive web site announces calls for papers, upcoming conferences and scholarships on its home page. More than this, however, the society provides an incredible resource of links helpful to advanced scholars and anyone needing a foundation from which to begin scholarly research. Information on membership in The William Faulkner Society is provided, as is a newsletter containing upcoming events and notable milestones. This site is essential to advanced scholarship and to serious Faulkner studies.
Information on Faulkner’s Genealogies, Chronolologies and Plot Synopses
By John B. Padgett
Created by John B. Padgett, an Instructor of English at the University of Mississippi, This site is fun and informative. It contains synopses of plots in all of Faulkner’s publications, a helpful tool since these are often unclear even to well educated readers; a timeline of events in Faulkner’s mythological Yoknapatawpha County; genealogies of the residents of Yoknapatawpha County; information on the author himself; and a large list of other resources one can use, both academic and otherwise. There is even Faulkner trivia and quizzes on the page, as well as other fun information such as quotes and information on the annual Faux Faulkner contest, which awards works imitated in Faulkner’s style. William Faulkner on the Web is a trustworthy, comprehensive site that is useful for students and teachers alike since it reveals just enough of his plots to understand what is happening without giving away key information in Faulkner’s writings. Additionally, this site contains maps of the fictional Yoknapatawpha County and the literal area of Oxford, Mississippi and surrounding counties that inspired the settings in Faulkner’s stories. A combination of literal and fictional, this site is an excellent resource for anyone attempting to understand Faulkner’s writing or for the Faulkner scholar with a bit of time on his or her hands.
Teaching William Faulkner’s Works to Secondary Education Students
Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying: Form of a Funeral
National Endowment for the Humanities “EDSITEment” Lesson
Teaching Faulkner to high school students is a daunting task: however, the National Endowment for the Humanities has composed a web page that not only guides a teacher through a reasonable approach for teaching this particular novel, but also for teaching Faulkner’s other novels. Since many of Faulkner’s novels have similar characteristics, such as stream-of-consciousness narration and historical settings that inform readers about socioeconomic and racial issues in the American South during the period in which Faulkner wrote, the approach provided by this page is applicable to more than just As I Lay Dying. Breaking down this or any other Faulkner novel requires discussion of form, structure and voice, all of which are broken down into specific categories on this site. The National Endowment for the Humanities also applies the same approach this web page uses for other authors, including Eudora Welty and Flannery O’ Connor, making it useful for more than just one author. While there is no one person credited for this page, it is an ongoing project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and links to other sources do include authors’ names along with their article or book title.
Southeast Missouri State Center for Faulkner Studies
This page archives links that are organized by Faulkner’s works, making it a good reference tool for the person teaching a particular novel or short story. Many of the links are contributed by notable scholars in the field and contain suggestions for lesson plans and discussion topics. The page is updated regularly and is affiliated with the University’s Center for Faulkner Studies. Articles are first submitted for consideration, then reviewed for credibility before being published on this page.
Why Teach Faulkner's Masterpiece? by Graham Hillard
From Issue 66 of Oxford American: The Southern Magazine of Good Writing, this article is a great read on teaching Absalom, Absalom! to high school students.
"William Faulkner, one of the 20th century's most gifted novelists, wrote for the movies in part because he could not make enough money from his novels and short stories to support his growing number of dependants. The author of such acclaimed novels as "The Sound and the Fury" and "Absalom, Absalom!", Faulkner received official screen credits for just six theatrical releases, five of which were with director Howard Hawks. Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for Literature for 1949 and he received two Pulitzer Prizes, for "A Fable" in '1955 and "The Reivers", which was published shortly before he died in 1962."