Newswise — The seemingly ordinary elements of life that provide the backdrop for William Faulkner's fiction are the focus of this year's Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, July 25-29, at the University of Mississippi.
"Faulkner and Material Culture" examines how the materiality of life " homes, clothes, transportation, work, sports, food, drink " is woven into Faulkner's work. The symposium offers a critical examination of the topic through five days of lectures, panel discussions, tours and social gatherings.
"The world of Faulkner's fiction is a world of material abundance, intensified for readers by its relationship to the real world in which he lived and of which he wrote," said Donald Kartiganer, UM professor of English and holder of the Howry Chair in Faulkner Studies. "We are so embedded in a materially made world that we scarcely recognize it as a cultural mode."
Before July 1, the conference registration fee is $150 for students, $250 for Friends of the Center and $275 for all other participants. The fee does not cover lodging, optional tours and meals. Fees increase by $25 after July 1. Call 662-915-7283 or see http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/events/faulkner/.
On-site registration July 25 begins at 10 a.m. at Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 100 University Ave., with the opening program set for 1 p.m. Beginning Monday, all lectures are to be held in Johnson Commons ballroom.
Kartiganer and nine other literary scholars and critics from across the United States and Europe are slated to lecture and lead discussions. "Few writers (besides Faulkner) have so grandly realized a fictional world of both built and natural features and their subtle influences on social interaction and understandings of reality," said Taylor Hagood, UM graduate instructor in English and doctoral candidate working on a dissertation examining Faulkner's works. "Whether mining the vast significance of teeth marks on a pipe stem or noting the smallest wrenching detail in the panorama of world war, Faulkner's vision is constantly attuned to the role of material in historical movements."
Since its creation in 1974, the Faulkner Conference has drawn scholars from throughout the world. It is one of the longest-running U.S. literary events focusing on the works of one author. Sponsored by the UM Department of English and Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the conference is coordinated by the center for Non-Credit Education.
Six scholars appearing at the conference for the first time are Charles S. Aiken, professor of geography, University of Tennessee; Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Eléonore Raoul Professor of the Humanities and professor of history, Emory University; Katherine R. Henninger, assistant professor of English, Louisiana State University; T.J. Jackson Lears, Board of Governors Professor of History, Rutgers University; Miles Orvell, professor of English and American Studies, Temple University; and D. Matthew Ramsey, assistant professor of English, Denison University.
Returning lecturers include Kevin Railey, professor and chair of the Department of English, Buffalo State College; Jay Watson, UM associate professor of English; and Patricia Yaeger, professor of English, University of Michigan.
Other conference events include sessions on "Teaching Faulkner," directed by James Carothers of University of Kansas, Terrell Tebbets of Lyon College (Arkansas), Charles Peek of University of Nebraska at Kearney and Theresa M. Towner of University of Texas at Dallas. Teachers who want to attend teaching workshops must register for the full conference; only students can register for single sessions. A conference highlight on July 25 is announcement of the winner of the 15th Faux Faulkner Contest, which draws writers who try to produce, according to the rules, "one really good page of really bad Faulkner parody." Coordinated by the author's niece Dean Faulkner Wells, the contest is sponsored by Hemispheres Magazine/United Airlines, Yoknapatawpha Press and the University of Mississippi.
A Sunday evening program at the Ford Center will feature the return of the singer/songwriter group Reckon Crew, who will perform a musical adaptation of Faulkner's novel "As I Lay Dying." Also planned are discussions by Faulkner friends and family, and an exhibition of Faulkner books, manuscripts, photographs and memorabilia at UM's John Davis Williams Library.
Also appearing at the conference will be actor John Maxwell performing his acclaimed one-man show, "Oh, Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?"
Other Oxford-area events for registrants include a Sunday buffet supper at Memory House, formerly the home of John Faulkner, open-mike night dubbed "Faulkner on the Fringe" at Southside Gallery, guided day tours of northeast Mississippi, a picnic at Faulkner's Rowan Oak and a closing party at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Beckett Howorth.
Films relating to Faulkner's life and work are scheduled to be available for viewing during the week. "Worth a Thousand Words," an exhibition of photographs of literati by Oxford photographer Bruce Newman, is on display in the Fortune Gallery at University Museums.
For more information, assistance related to a disability or to register for the conference, contact the Office of Professional Development and Noncredit Education by calling 662-915-7283, visiting http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/events/faulkner/., e-mailing [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 879, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677-0879.
Other information on Lafayette/Yoknapatawpha County, Miss., is available through the Oxford Tourism Council at 800-758-9177.
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