Faulkner and the Artist

Whatever the various roles he played and whatever his occasional claims that he was not at all a literary man William Faulkner was in fact the most devoted of artists. He was absolutely dedicated to the work and as this volume demonstrates he was fascinated with the personality the generative process and the practice of the artist.These fourteen original essays from the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference held in 1993 at the University of Mississippi explore a wide range of issues revolving around the meaning of art artistry and the artist in Faulkners life and fiction. Here some of Faulkners most fervent readers and critics assess the impact on him of the visual arts and architecture the role of artist figures in such novels as The Sound and the Fury and The Wild Palms as well as their guise as lawyers in Sanctuary Go Down Moses and The Town and the meaning of telling and design as exemplified both in the actions of fictional characters and in Faulkners narrative strategies.