There were three wars at work in the mind of William Faulkner: the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II. He did not fight in any of them, yet they are all there, in novels, short stories, essays, and letters. The aim of the 28th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference is to explore the role that war played in the life and work of a writer whose career seems forever poised against a backdrop of wars going on or recently ended or in the volatile years between--or, perhaps most significant of all, the backdrop of that war that ended 32 years before he was born.

Some of the issues that might be raised: What is the nature of Faulkner’s treatment of military engagement: the kinds of episode he tends to emphasize, the behavior of people in the midst of war? How does he describe the behavior and attitudes of those who, like himself, were not combatants, but who seem to have a deep, at times obsessive, concern with the wars they did not fight? How are the factors of race, class, and gender affected by the action of war or its remembrance? What role do women play in Faulkner’s wars? What are the psychological and perhaps aesthetic implications behind Faulkner’s long maintained masquerade as a World War I fighter pilot, wounded in action? Finally, how does our contemporary conception of war, influenced by the Vietnam experience as well as more recent conflicts, affect our reading of Faulkner’s treatments of war?

Authors whose papers are selected for presentation at the conference will receive (1) a waiver of the conference registration fee, (2) lodging at the University Alumni House from Saturday, July 21, through Friday, July 27, and (3) reimbursement of up to $500 in travel expenses within the continental United States ($.31 per mile by automobile or tourist class airfare). Papers presented at the conference will be published by the University Press of Mississippi.

The 14th edition of the University of Chicago Manual of Style should be used as a guide in preparing manuscripts (3,000 to 6,000 words). Three copies of manuscripts must be submitted by January 15, 2001. Notification of selection will be made by March 1, 2000. Manuscripts and inquiries about papers should be addressed to Donald Kartiganer, Department of English, The University of Mississippi, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677-1848. Telephone: 662-915-5793. E-Mail: dkartiga@olemiss.edu.