The saddest words William Faulkner's Civil War Gorra, Michael Edward creator author. text bibliography Criticism, interpretation, etc. History. nyu 2020 First edition. monographic eng print x, 433 pages : maps ; 25 cm "How do we read William Faulkner in the twenty-first century? asks Michael Gorra, one of America's most preeminent literary critics. Should we still read William Faulkner in this new century? What can his works tell us about the legacy of slavery and the Civil War, that central quarrel in our nation's history? These are the provocative questions that Michael Gorra asks in this historic portrait of the novelist and his world. Born in 1897 in Mississippi, Faulkner wrote such iconic novels as Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury, creating in Yoknapatawpha County the richest gallery of characters in American fiction, his achievements culminating in the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. But given his works' echo of "Lost Cause" romanticism, his depiction of black characters and black speech, and his rendering of race relations in a largely unreconstructed South, Faulkner demands a sobering reevaluation. Interweaving biography, absorbing literary criticism, and rich travelogue, The Saddest Words recontextualizes Faulkner, revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent cultural issues facing American literature today"-- Part One. Twice-told tales -- Part two. Yoknapatawpha's war -- Part three. Dark house. adult Michael Gorra. Includes bibliographical references (pages [381]-407) and index. n-usu-- n-us--- Faulkner, William 1897-1962 Criticism and interpretation Faulkner, William 1897-1962 Characters African Americans Faulkner, William 1897-1962 African Americans in literature Race relations in literature Southern States In literature United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Literature and the war Yoknapatawpha County (Imaginary place) African Americans in literature Literature Race relations in literature War and literature Yoknapatawpha County (Imaginary place) Southern States United States American Civil War (United States : 1861-1865) fast (OCoLC)fst01351658 1861-1865 fast PS3511.A86 Z7838 2020 813/.52 9781631491702 1631491709 9781631491719 2020014188 pda,print DLC 200331 20250318223815.8 in00004276031 eng