@DigYok

Digital Yoknapatawpha is a group of international Faulkner scholars who have mapped the places, people, and events in the author's mythical Mississippi county.

faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/
Joined July 2019
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#OTD: Doak’s Stand Treaty was signed Oct. 18, 1820 in which the United States purchased over 5 million acres of Choctaw territory in west-central Mississippi. Faulkner references the "dark denizens...dispossessed at Doak's Stand" in REQUIEM FOR A NUN. pbs.org/video/the-treaty-of-…
Upper Choctaw Boundary at Milepost 128.4 on the Natchez Trace Parkway near Canton, Mississippi. National Park Service Photo. Online at https://www.nps.gov/places/upper-choctaw-boundary.htm

ALT Upper Choctaw Boundary at Milepost 128.4 on the Natchez Trace Parkway near Canton, Mississippi. National Park Service Photo. Online at https://www.nps.gov/places/upper-choctaw-boundary.htm

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On July 6, 1962, William Faulkner died at age 64, probably of complications from a horse riding accident. He is buried in Oxford beside Estelle, who died 10 years later. People often leave bourbon bottles at the site, not as litter but presumably as a kind of tribute. #OTD
Faulkner gravesite in St. Peter's Cemetery, Oxford, Mississippi. Source: Wikimedia Commons

ALT Faulkner gravesite in St. Peter's Cemetery, Oxford, Mississippi. Source: Wikimedia Commons

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On July 4,1863, Vicksburg, the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders after a 47-day siege. THE UNVANQUISHED opens with Bayard and Ringo playing with a "living map" of the siege until Loosh, an angry slave, knocks it apart. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/?…
First edition cover of THE UNVANQUISHED

ALT First edition cover of THE UNVANQUISHED

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Happy 4th of July! On this 250th anniversary of the United States, we are reminded of what Faulkner wrote in an essay denouncing segregation in the June 1956 issue of Harper's: "We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. harpers.org/archive/1956/06/…
First page of "On Fear: The South in Labor," an essay by Faulkner in the June 1956 issue of Harper's Magazine. The essay was reprinted with some revisions in ESSAY, SPEECHES, AND PUBLIC LETTERS, edited by James B. Meriwether (Random House, 2004).

ALT First page of "On Fear: The South in Labor," an essay by Faulkner in the June 1956 issue of Harper's Magazine. The essay was reprinted with some revisions in ESSAY, SPEECHES, AND PUBLIC LETTERS, edited by James B. Meriwether (Random House, 2004).

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On July 3, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ends with Pickett's disastrous Charge which Faulkner famously evokes in INTRUDER IN THE DUST: "every southern boy" can imagine "when it's still not yet two oclock" and victory for the South seems possible. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/?…
First edition cover of INTRUDER IN THE DUST

ALT First edition cover of INTRUDER IN THE DUST

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On 2 July 1961, 3 weeks before turning 62 and after a long struggle with physical and cognitive problems, Ernest Hemingway committed suicide in Ketchum, Idaho. He and Faulkner were old admirers and rivals. Faulkner often mentions him on the UVA tapes. faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/di…
Ernest Hemingway. Source: Wikimedia Commons

ALT Ernest Hemingway. Source: Wikimedia Commons

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On the dateline of Yoknapatawpha events, a lot happens in July. In July 1918, for example, Johnny Sartoris dies flying for the RAF over France. And it's through the heat of a Mississippi July that the "foolish hegira" of the Bundrens takes place in AS I LAY DYING.
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June 2, 1910, is the date of Quentin's section in THE SOUND AND THE FURY. Extant manuscripts and typescripts show Faulkner's struggle to begin the section. The earliest ms, for example, gives no hint that Quentin is in Massachusetts. See more here: faulkner.drupal.shanti.virgi…
Detail: Page [34], SOUND AND THE FURY Ms. Source: Faulkner Foundation Collection UVA Library,

ALT Detail: Page [34], SOUND AND THE FURY Ms. Source: Faulkner Foundation Collection UVA Library,

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ON THIS DATE: On April 12, 1930, Faulkner bought the antebellum plantation house he named Rowan Oak and lived in for the rest of his life. This 1949 photo was taken by someone in Oxford for the making of the movie version of INTRUDER IN THE DUST. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/m…
Source: University of Tennessee Library.

ALT Source: University of Tennessee Library.

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#OTD: The last section of THE SOUND AND THE FURY takes place on Easter Sunday, April 8, 1928. Faulkner read the novel's account of the service in the black church, including the sermon Rev Shegog preaches, on his last day as Writer-in-Residence at UVA. faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/di…
Ralph Thompson photo, c1958; Source: UVA Library

ALT Ralph Thompson photo, c1958; Source: UVA Library

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"April Seventh, 1928," the title and date of the opening section of THE SOUND AND THE FURY, is both the Saturday before Easter and Benjy Compson's 33rd birthday. At UVA in 1957, Faulkner was asked about the symbolic significance of the dates in the novel. faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/di…
Ralph Thompson photo, 1957; Source: UVA Library

ALT Ralph Thompson photo, 1957; Source: UVA Library

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CALL FOR PAPERS: "William Faulkner and Louise Erdrich" conference, Oct. 22-24, 2026 at Southeast Missouri State University. Deadline for 20-minute paper abstracts is May 15, 2026. Undergraduates are welcome to submit. More info at the conference website semo.edu/faulkner-studies/co…
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Also ON THIS DATE: "April Sixth, 1928," the third section of Faulkner's THE SOUND AND THE FURY takes place. Narrated by Jason Compson, it is Good Friday. Use DY's Limit By Section option to explore just that section's Locations, Characters and Events. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/?…
DY commentary page for THE SOUND AND THE FURY showing all characters and events heatmaps in the novel.

ALT DY commentary page for THE SOUND AND THE FURY showing all characters and events heatmaps in the novel.

DY commentary page for THE SOUND AND THE FURY showing just the characters and events heatmaps in "April Sixth, 1928," the third section of the novel (highlighted in red just below the map).

ALT DY commentary page for THE SOUND AND THE FURY showing just the characters and events heatmaps in "April Sixth, 1928," the third section of the novel (highlighted in red just below the map).

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ON THIS DATE: On April 6, 1862 the 2-day Battle of Shiloh began. In Faulkner's fiction, this is where General Compson loses an arm and either Henry Sutpen or Charles Bon is wounded. The Tennessee battlefield is only about 100 miles from "Yoknapatawpha." faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/f…
Results of a keyword search for "Shiloh"

ALT Results of a keyword search for "Shiloh"

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ON THIS DAY, 12 March 1958, THE LONG, HOT SUMMER - the film version of THE HAMLET, starring Paul Newman - was released. In April Faulkner was asked about it, but told the UVA audience he was not a "moving picture man," despite all his time in Hollywood. faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/di…
Movie poster from "The Long, Hot Summer"

ALT Movie poster from "The Long, Hot Summer"

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Sherwood Anderson, best known for WINESBURG, OHIO, died on this date, March 8, in 1941. Faulkner met him in New Orleans in 1924, and as he told a UVA audience in one of his many tributes to the older writer, Anderson became a major influence on his career. faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/di…
Sherwood Anderson, courtesy of the Library of America

ALT Sherwood Anderson, courtesy of the Library of America

In the June 1953 issue of The Atlantic, Faulkner wrote an appreciation of Sherwood Anderson.

ALT In the June 1953 issue of The Atlantic, Faulkner wrote an appreciation of Sherwood Anderson.

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ON THIS DAY, 7 March 1957, Faulkner read a half-hour excerpt from "Spotted Horses" to UVA's English Club. The story dates back to 1926, and was first published in 1931, but he read from the version in THE HAMLET (314-27, 333-37). faulkner.lib.virginia.edu/di…
Photo by Ralph Thompson

ALT Photo by Ralph Thompson

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DY's force directed graphs also provide ways to explore how gender organizes social space and defines relationships in Faulkner's world. Note how segregated is the cluster of men in "DRY SEPTEMBER" from the "women" they claim to be defending. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/c…
Screenshot: DRY SEPTEMBER characters in Force Directed Graph

ALT Screenshot: DRY SEPTEMBER characters in Force Directed Graph

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DY's Character-Events graphs can help you explore the place women occupy in Yoknapatawpha. Here: where Gender=Male and Gender=Female are Present in "DRY SEPTEMBER" - one of the texts where men and women seem to occupy almost entirely distinct spheres. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/c…
Composite image: "Gender=Female" and "Gender=Male" Character-Events graphs

ALT Composite image: "Gender=Female" and "Gender=Male" Character-Events graphs

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March is Women's History Month. A DY character search reveals dozens of real life or historical male characters in Faulkner's fiction but only three women in four texts, including an "unnamed lady poet" who is almost certainly Djuna Barnes. faulkner.iath.virginia.edu/f…
Search result for real life/historical females DY editors have identified in Faulkner's fiction

ALT Search result for real life/historical females DY editors have identified in Faulkner's fiction

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