As a longtime coordinator of the Faulkner conferences, what differences did you see in the response to this year's centennial conference?

Well, this year we had more participants than in many years. The first two years many people came because the conference was new and they were excited about it. When they realized that we were going to offer it every year, participants came some this year and some that year. But because it was the centennial we had a huge response and the University gave us extra funding so that we could have additional speakers. Thus, instead of having 10 or so, we had more than two dozen speakers; instead of having lots of long papers, we had a few addresses and several panels so that three or four people could address a topic. It really was an exciting time to bring together a lot of people who had worked on Faulkner for many years and some who had just started working on Faulkner.

Aren't the people who come to the conference usually academians?

No. It attracts all kinds of people: scholars who've written many articles and books on Faulkner, people who've read "A Rose for Emily," maybe some who've read nothing. We have people from the academic world, but we also have used car salesmen and psychiatrists and doctors. Just all kinds of people. Housewives, readers. They're not necessarily teachers and scholars. The Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference is unusual in that it's one of the few literary conferences in the world that attract a broad spectrum of readers. I think that attests to Faulkner's appeal. Of course, not everyone can read Faulkner because it takes a lot of time and you have to be devoted to it. But he does have dedicated readers everywhere, and they're not just those who teach literature.

Do you think Faulkner has a broad readership because of his characters, the way they reveal his understanding of human life?

I think it's everything. Faulkner can just tell a good story, and the way he uses language is amazing. I like what he said one time when thinking about his writing. He talked about how growing up he didn't really have a literary background or literary friends, or even literate ones sometimes. But he said that he didn't know where his writing came from, why he was chosen to be the vessel, what god or gods chose him to be the vessel to write what he did. So I think there is some divine inspiration there. Just one of the few major writers over the centuries who have been the vessels to keep us puny humans going.

How do you think Faulkner would have viewed the centennial festivities?

I think he probably would have been pleased with the turnout for the dedication of Bill Beckwith's statue of him at the City Hall because there was a big response. He certainly would have enjoyed Willie Morris's remarks and Shelby Foote's and seeing little Clay Beckwith sit on his daddy's lap. I think he would have been very pleased with the program that we had in the afternoon here on the campus with Bishop Gray and Richard Howorth and Larry Brown and Donald Kartiganer. And then the readings, I think that Evans Harrington did a wonderful job in selecting just the right readings and, of course, the readers themselves were good. And I think having Robert Riggs and the Oxford Piano Quartet play Mozart as people were coming in and having the wonderful graduate students end by singing spirituals made a perfect hour. I really think Faulkner would have approved.

From the discussions surrounding the centennial did you get any idea as to which of Faulkner's works are considered to be the most enduring?

Well, from the panel discussion at the Brown Bag and the comments that were made at the programs on campus and then on National Public Radio and the Jim Lehrer news hour, I guess the one work that everyone kept mentioning was Absalom, Absalom! But then you can't ignore The Sound and the Fury and The Big Woods and "The Bear" from it, and As I Lay Dying. Of course, some like the early novels like Mosquitoes, and then several people mentioned The Reivers. I think we are beginning to appreciate all of Faulkner. I went over to New Albany to hear Robert Hamblin give the keynote address for the festival held at William Faulkner's birthplace town. Bob used a wonderful Faulkner story, "Shall Not Perish," as the center of his talk on FaulknerÕs life and art. I did hear several people mention the importance of the short stories that have been ignored a lot. On National Public Radio three of them were dramatized.

I think that the centennial was an occasion for readers and scholars to think about Faulkner's work, to think about what they like best of all, and to think about what perhaps has been ignored but is valuable to them. It was a wonderful occasion for us to reflect on Faulkner's work and his contribution--what he has done, how he has been evaluated thus far, and if he and his work will endure. I think he will.