nster (Karl 774), and by 1945, all of Faulkner’s books were out of print. Faulkner would see a slight resurgence of interest in his writing, and in 1949 he was awarded the Nobel Prize.If Faulkner failed greatly, he also succeeded mightily. Whatever the faults of his later books, few would dispute the general excellence of his canon. Even Faulkner King 4seemed overwhelmed by his achievement. Toward the end of his life, he wrote a friend: And now I realize for the first time what an amazing gift I had: uneducated in every formal sense, without even very literate, let alone literary companions, yet to have made the things I made. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know why God or gods or whoever it was, elected me to be the vessel. Believe me, this is not humility, false modesty: it is simply amazement. (Locher 164)Now known as the “quintessential Southern writer” (Zane), Faulkner would not live to see all of his works published. He died July 6, 1962....
