Faulkner at 100: Retrospect and Prospect (July 27-August 1, 1997) will bring together the largest gathering of Faulkner scholars ever assembled in the 24-year history of the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference in order to celebrate the centennial of the writer many believe to be the most important American novelist of the 20th century. Twenty-three of the world's leading Faulknerians will be on hand to assess his life and work. The program will include a number of formal lectures as well as five panel presentations devoted to the following topics: the ultimate value of Faulkner's achievement, the shape of his career, his place in the American literary tradition, neglected aspects of his work, and new biographical dimensions. There will be a final panel of respondents who will review the conference.

Appearing at the conference along with scholars serving as lecturers and panelists are three special guests: novelist and critic Albert Murray; novelist and short story writer Randall Kenan; Major-General (retired) Joseph L. Fant, who hosted Faulkner's visit to West Point shortly before his death in 1962; and Martin J. Dain, who photographed Faulkner and his county in the early 1960s and whose work will be exhibited during the conference.

Among other program events will be discussions by Faulkner friends and family, a slide presentation by J. M. Faulkner and Meg Faulkner DuChaine, and sessions on Teaching Faulkner conducted by James B. Carothers, Robert W. Hamblin, Arlie Herron, and Charles A. Peek. Also scheduled are guided tours of Faulkner's home and sites relevant to his fiction, as well as Oxford and the surrounding area of North Mississippi. The University's John Davis Williams Library will display Faulkner books, manuscripts, photographs, and memorabilia; and the University Press of Mississippi will exhibit Faulkner books published by university presses throughout the United States. Also, films relating to the author's life and work will be available for viewing during the week.

The conference will begin on Sunday, July 27, with a reception at the University Museums for the opening of Faulkner's World: The Photographs of Martin J. Dain, mounted by Tom Rankin. The exhibition will be on view at the University Museums through September and will then travel to other sites for two years. The first session will feature Voices from Yoknapatawpha, a program of readings of Faulkner passages selected by Evans Harrington, founding director of the conference. Also on the afternoon program will be the announcement of the winners of the eighth Faux Faulkner Contest. The contest, coordinated by the author's niece, Dean Faulkner Wells, is sponsored by Jack Daniels Distillery, Yoknapatawpha Press and its Faulkner Newsletter, and the University of Mississippi.

Other events on Sunday will include a buffet supper served at the home of Dr. and Mrs. M. B. Howorth Jr. Tours of North Mississippi are scheduled for Tuesday, a picnic will be served at Rowan Oak on Wednesday, and Square Books will host a party on Thursday evening following a reading by Randall Kenan. The conference will end on Friday, August 1, with a reception at Faulkner's childhood home, now owned by Betty Jane Gary.

For more information about the conference, write Charlene Dye at the Center for Public Service and Continuing Studies, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677; telephone 601-232-1047; fax 601-232-5138; e-mail cdye@olemiss.edu.