Jay Watson

Faulkner and Whiteness Jay Watson

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Publisher Marketing: William Faulkner wrote during a tumultuous period in southern racial consciousness, between the years of the enactment of Jim Crow and the beginnings of the civil rights movement in the South. Throughout the writer's career, racial paradigms were in flux, and these shifting notions are reflected in Faulkner's prose. Faulkner's fiction contains frequent questions about the ways in which white Americans view themselves with regard to race along with challenges to the racial codes and standards of the region, and complex portrayals of the interactions between blacks and whites. Throughout his work, Faulkner contests white identity--its performance by whites and those passing for white, its role in shaping the South, and its assumption of normative identity in opposition to non-white "Others." This is true even in novels without a strong visible African American presence, such as "As I Lay Dying," "The Hamlet," "The Town," and "The Mansion.""Faulkner and Whiteness" explores the ways in which Faulkner's fiction addresses and destabilizes the concept of whiteness in American culture. Collectively, the essays argue that whiteness, as part of the Nobel Laureate's consistent querying of racial dynamics, is a central element. This anthology places Faulkner's oeuvre--and scholarly views of it--in the contexts of its contemporary literature and academic trends exploring race and texts. Review Citations:

Choice 01/01/2012 (EAN 9781617030208, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Watson, Jay Jay Watson, Oxford, Mississippi, is Howry Professor of Faulkner Studies and professor of English at the University of Mississippi. He is the editor of "Conversations with Larry Brown" and coeditor of "Faulkner and Whiteness" ((both from University Press of Mississippi). Contributor Bio:  Barker, Deborah .".... We are but ashes of fallen stars..." I have written poetry since childhood and wanted to leave some footprints in the sand by sharing my words in a book. I still have no idea of how or why I write - it just sort of hits me often at the most inappropriate times (such as in the middle of listening to a concert or when just nodding off to sleep). My 49 odd years of living on this planet has provided a rich and varied seam of material. Significantly, moving back Homeward to the spectacular landscape of North Wales in my 40s has topped up my well of inspiration. Murmurative Dances: - A few little facts about me... * I am 100% made in Wales * I have lived in 28 houses in different parts of the UK * I earn my living as a holistic therapist - massageinmotion.co.uk * I have gradually lost my sense of smell over the years and would like to think that it has been replaced by a strong sense of intuition and need for colour in my life. * I play a mean game of Scrabble * I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.... I am available for poetry recitals and perform in a poetry/classical guitar duo with Jonathan Richards. Contact me via deborah.barker@fsmail.net for bookings or for further copies of this book. Contributor Bio:  Duvall, John N John N. Duvall is the Margaret Church Distinguished Professor of English at Purdue University. He has published nine previous books on modernist and contemporary American fiction, most recently Race and White Identity in Southern Fiction (2008), The Cambridge Companion to Don DeLillo (2008) and Faulkner and his Critics (2010). Contributor Bio:  Entzminger, Betina Entzminger is assitant professor of English at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania.