OXFORD, Miss. – Five decades after his death, William Faulkner continues to draw global attention from scholars and readers fascinated with the exploration of his life and literary legacy.
But when the 39th annual Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha Conference convenes July 7-11 at the University of Mississippi, it will be marked by several significant “firsts” in memory of the Nobel Prize winning-author.
“Thanks in large part to the enthusiastic response to the call, ‘Fifty Years After Faulkner’ (the theme of the event) will feature the largest lineup of speakers in the history of the conference,” said Jay Watson, Howry Chair of Faulkner Studies and professor of English. “The annual call for papers will bring 60 speakers to Oxford this summer, a number of whom have been keynote speakers in the past.”
For the first time in the conference’s history, a panel of writers who are not Faulkner scholars will join in a discussion of Faulkner’s imaginative vision and narrative artistry from the vantage point of fellow practitioners of the storytelling craft. These panelists include multiple Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and producer David Milch, who has a production deal with HBO for television shows and movies based on Faulkner’s works, and Milch’s daughter, Olivia, a coordinating producer on the programs, as well as novelists and UM faculty members Chris Offutt and Tom Franklin.Also for the first time, University Museums hosts two Faulkner exhibits in connection with the conference. Brooklyn artist John Shore’s “Absalom! Absalom!” multimedia display will be joined by select paintings by Estelle Faulkner, the author’s wife and an artist-writer in her own right. The exhibit marks the first public appearance of Mrs. Faulkner’s work, Watson said.
Session topics include “”Faulkner and the Digital Humanities in the Twenty-First Century,” “Faulkner’s Wars,” “Faulkner and Death,” “William Faulkner, the Frances Terry Leak Ledgers, and the Forms of History,” “Faulkner in Other Media,” “Faulkner and the Visual” and “The Arc of Yoknapatawpha.”
A pair of panels, “Parody and Adaptation” and “Literary Heirs,” are devoted to the subject of Faulkner’s “afterlives,” Watson said.
“This year’s conference marks a milestone in Faulkner’s life, which caused the focus to be on the later events in Faulkner’s life and career, as well as his impact on popular culture even after his death,” Watson said. “These will complement previous years’ conferences, which have highlighted the successes of his early years.”
“The conference organizers hope the public will join us for what promises to be a memorable and lively gathering,” Watson said.
The schedule also includes daylong tours of northeast Mississippi and a picnic at Rowan Oak, Faulkner’s home.
“From scholars who have studied and analyzed his writing to casual readers who enjoy his content, people frequently find themselves even more interested in Faulkner after having visited his home and places he frequented,” said Don Kartiganer, professor emeritus of English and former Howry Chair of Faulkner Studies.
“Many people who come to the conference have come to the house before, so each year I try to keep something new on display especially for them,” said William Griffith, Rowan Oak curator. “Everyone is generally in a very good mood and very happy to be there.”
Other program events are sessions on “Teaching Faulkner”; a discussion of “Collecting Faulkner”; an exhibition of Faulkner books, manuscripts, photographs and memorabilia at the John Davis Williams Library; and “Faulkner on the Fringe,” an “open mic” evening at Southside Gallery on the Oxford Square.
The conference is conducted with support from the Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Arts Commission and Oxford Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Discount rates for the conference are available for groups of five or more students. Contact Robert Fox at rfox@olemiss.edu for details. A limited number of waivers of registration for graduate students also are available. Contact Watson at jwatson@olemiss.edu for details.
For more information on the program, registration, course credit, accommodations and travel, visit http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/events/faulkner/.