Books, Arts & Manners

William Faulkner: American Writer, by Frederick R. Karl (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1,131 pp., $37.50)

At first William Faulkner declined the invitation to attend his own Nobel Prize ceremonies. He ignored the original letter informing him that he had been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the highest honor this nation bestows on its writers. He often fended off people at literary gatherings by being rude. Or he would withdraw into silence—before retreating even further into the annihilation of an alcoholic binge. If there was one thing William Faulkner could not endure, it was playing the writer.

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Harold Fickett

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William Faulkner: American Writer, by Frederick R. Karl (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1,131 pp., $37.50)

At first William Faulkner declined the invitation to attend his own Nobel Prize ceremonies. He ignored the original letter informing him that he had been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the highest honor this nation bestows on its writers. He often fended off people at literary gatherings by being rude. Or he would withdraw into silence—before retreating even further into the annihilation of an alcoholic binge. If there was one thing William Faulkner could not endure, it was playing the writer.