Faulkner at West Point

by Joseph L. Fant (Editor), Robert Ashley (Editor)

The Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner (1897-1962) visited the United States Military Academy at West Point less than three months before his death in 1962. On the night of April 19 he read aloud episodes from his forthcoming novel The Reivers before an audience of cadets, faculty, and staff. After the reading he answered questions about his own work and about the art of writing. Later he met the press publicly and responded graciously to probing questions. The following morning he met with cadets in two advanced literature courses and discussed a wide range of subjects--his philosophy of life, his writings, his views on America. All these sessions were tape recorded and photographed. Two members of the English department at West Point edited the transcriptions of the tapes for this volume. It is reprinted in this new edition in commemoration of Faulkner's sojourn to the academy forty years ago and of the academy's bicentennial. Faulkner at West Point , first published in 1964, includes a new preface, an introduction, and reflections on the historic visit written by two graduates who were present as cadets during the Nobel writer's appearance. All these materials, along with the original text, testify to the import of Faulkner's visit and, at times, to the curmudgeonly Faulkner's obliging good will in answering questions about himself and the writing process. This memorable book documents not only the collegial spirit of fellowship that Faulkner enjoyed while at the academy but also the great writer's thoughts and opinions expressed shortly before his death. William Faulkner, a Mississippian, was one of the most admired and renowned writers of the twentieth century. Among his works are The Sound and the Fury , Light in August , Absalom, Absalom! , Sanctuary , and As I Lay Dying . Joseph L. Fant and Robert Ashley, now retired, were professors of English at the U.S. Military Academy.

125 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Bob Nedderman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read the Vintage paperback edition of this book as an undergraduate in the early 1970s. For me, it is a formative book, full of truth about writing, reading, and about the writers need to tell stories honestly and from the heart. After nearly sixty years his words still speak to me.

[Tom V · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a refreshing rendering of the man Faulkner was at the end of his life: gentleman, redneck, artist, philosopher, and ever the enigma. Within a few short months of his visit to West Point in April, 1962, Faulkner was dead. There's no inkling here of morbidity, and in fact, we see the man as optimistic about the future of man, even in the age of the bomb.

The book is essentially a transcription of recordings made during lectures (more Q&A sessions, actually) and a press-type conference. The first year cadets get a chance at the author, and the questions posed and his responses are enlightening.

At his core, Faulkner said he wrote about the condition of the heart, and whether anyone could ever rightly comprehend all that transpires, for good or for evil, in the enduring (a favorite word of his)of mankind.

As an afterword, we see a letter written to General William Westmoreland just a few days before Faulkner's death, and his quiet politeness in giving thanks for the hospitality of the men of West Point to him and his family is a poignant coda to a life well-written.

4 stars.

[Niall]

Parts of the Q&A sessions are slightly repetitive but these moments generally reveal Faulkner's fierce determination in seeking catharsis and regeneration through the depiction of evil. His comments about the author's desire to condense all experience into one word and his explanation of his lengthy sentences as a product of that desire are pretty fascinating.