William Faulkner in Holly Springs
An intriguing argument and exploration that expands the Nobel Laureate’s “postage stamp of native soil”
Description
William Faulkner in Holly Springs describes places and people in this small Mississippi town and defines how these newly identified individuals and locales affected Faulkner’s writings. Author Sally Wolff uncovers new information about Faulkner’s sources and examines how the town of Holly Springs, its people, and its culture influenced the Nobel Laureate and the literature he produced. Wolff argues that this information can serve as touchstone sources for some of Faulkner’s most renowned fiction, including The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, Intruder in the Dust, and Requiem for a Nun.
Information from various interviews with over twenty current and former citizens of Holly Springs also helps to reveal Faulkner’s presence in this small town and the ways in which he drew from and then transformed what he found there into some of the greatest works in American letters. A clearer understanding of Faulkner’s sources helps elucidate the breadth of creativity and imagination with which he forged his world-famous literature.
Reviews
"Fiction writers draw inspiration from their surroundings for story ideas to convey how they experience the world. Wolff excels at outlining how the people and places of Holly Springs are an additional source for Faulkner’s fiction beyond the traditional explanation that his own family stories were the primary sources of his literary inspiration."
- Austina M. Jordan, Georgia Library Quarterly