Original and Rare Faulkner Material Showcased in New Exhibit

OXFORD, Miss. – A new exhibit that showcases the many facets of award-winning writer William Faulkner’s career is on display in the Faulkner Room of the University of Mississippi’s J.D. Williams Library.

“William Faulkner’s Books: A Bibliographic Exhibit” features 20 cases of work by Faulkner, focusing on the writing, publication and dissemination of the author’s books.

A first-edition copy of “The Sound and the Fury” is just one of the many special items on display. The introduction to this book was thought to be lost, but was later found in the Rowan Oak Papers.

“In this handwritten draft, Faulkner discusses the very personal act of writing and the importance of leaving ‘something behind you when you die, but it’s better still to have made something that you yourself can die with: Much better,'” said Lauren Rogers, library specialist.

An official opening reception is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. May 1, in the Faulkner Room, on the library’s third floor. Judson Watson, UM Howry chair in Faulkner studies and professor of English, will deliver a lecture about the collection and Faulkner’s legacy. The event is free and open to the public.

From 2009 to 2012, Watson served as president of the William Faulkner Society. He is director of the annual Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha conference at UM and co-editor of the forthcoming conference volumes, “Faulkner’s Geographies,” “Fifty Years after Faulkner” and “Faulkner and the Black Literatures of the Americas.”

The exhibit includes early manuscript drafts, first editions, limited editions and other related material. It is the first full-room Faulkner exhibit since 1997, when “A Faulkner 100” was set up to celebrate the Nobel-winning author’s 100th birthday.

The collection includes Faulkner’s most famous works, such as “Intruder in the Dust” and “As I Lay Dying.” The display shows the few changes made to Faulkner’s original holographic manuscript of the latter.

The case containing “Absalom, Absalom!” displays a handwritten draft page that features a rare graphic chart created by Faulkner to trace the flow of information among the book’s characters. Realizing that readers might need help navigating the complex narrative, the book’s publisher included a timeline and a fold-out map of Yoknapawtapha County drawn by Faulkner. An enlarged version of this appears in the back of the display case.

Some cases feature books published in different languages, such as “Light in August.” Another case displays a hand-bound, illustrated copy of “The Marionettes,” a one-act play in verse form from 1921.

“I hope that people will connect or reconnect with Faulkner and get an idea of the expanse of his influence and literary heritage, and in turn, the cultural history of Mississippi and the American South,” said Jennifer Ford, head of the library’s Department of Archives and Special Collections and associate professor.

A photographic exhibit is also part of the display. Among the portraits of Faulkner are his earliest promotional photographs, taken by Col. J.R. Cofield. Photographs shot by Martin Dain featuring Faulkner, as well as the landscape of Oxford and Lafayette County, are also on display. Prints of these works are available for purchase from the special collections department.

“I feel it is a great way for all of our patrons to come away with an idea of the magnitude of Faulkner’s work,” Ford said. “We welcome our visitors into special collections to learn more about Faulkner.”

The collection is on display through Dec. 12. The Department of Archives and Special Collections, on the third floor of the J.D. Williams Library, is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, click here.