During his performance, Youd will use a replica of the Underwood typewriter used by William Faulkner.
OXFORD, Miss. – As part of his ongoing, critically-acclaimed undertaking to retype 100 classic novels, artist Tim Youd will perform a retyping of William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury” June 2-12 at Rowan Oak.
Youd will perform during normal summer hours at Rowan Oak, which are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday. Visitors are allowed to ask questions of Youd, who will take breaks from his performance to interact with guests. Admission to Rowan Oak is $5 per person.
The artist, who began his typewriter series in early 2013, is seeking to retype 100 novels during a five-year period. He will perform the retyping of the “The Sound and the Fury“ using a replica of an Underwood Universal Portable Typewriter, the same make and model used by Faulkner.
“Tim Youd’s work is uniquely suited for historic literary sites, and we couldn’t be any more excited about his visit,” said Bill Griffith, Rowan Oak curator. “The sound of a typewriter hasn’t been heard at Rowan Oak in many years. In order to provide Tim with an authentic experience, we had a replica of William Faulkner’s desk made for him to use while he types ‘The Sound and the Fury.'”
To date, Youd has completed 23 novels, including several selections by Charles Bukowski, most notably “Post Office,” which Youd retyped while sitting in the back of a flatbed pickup truck in the parking lot of Los Angeles post office where Bukowski sorted mail for 12 years, and Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms,” among others.
Youd types each novel on a single sheet of paper, which is backed by an additional sheet. He runs this doubled paper through the typewriter repeatedly, until every word of the novel has been retyped. The underlying page receives the indentation from the keys but not the ink, except where the typewriter keys break through the top sheet. The results are two diptych images, representing two pages of an open book.
Youd performs the works in locales geographically related to either the author’s life or the plot of the novel. His performance will take place on the porch and in the house on a replica desk made by Tom Lutken. The desk is made from an old oak tree from the Rowan Oak grounds.
A reception is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday (June 12), where mint juleps (for guests 21 and over) and summertime appetizers will be served. The reception is free to the public. Guests may purchase keepsake Rowan Oak mint julep cups.
Rowan Oak, which sits on 32 acres off Old Taylor Road just south of the historic Oxford Square, is operated by the University of Mississippi Museum. Faulkner lived and worked at Rowan Oak from 1930 until his death in 1962. In 1972, his daughter, Jill Faulkner Summers, sold the house to the university to secure it as a place for people worldwide to learn about her father and his work. For more information about Rowan Oak, including directions, hours and guided tours, visit Rowan Oak online.
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