Postmodernism is nothing if not self-referential, and so it seemed fitting that the 26th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference--"Faulkner and Postmodernism"--spent a part of its week analyzing itself: what it was for, what Faulkner conferences in general were for, and, perhaps, by extension, what Faulkner is for. Some registrants waited, with increasing anxiety, for definitions of postmodernism to descend, but while most speakers either explicitly or implicitly clarified that version of the concept relevant to their approach to Faulkner, it seems fair to say that postmodernism remained (where it doubtless belongs) in the realm of the plural.

The presenters discussed the invariably subversive, often parodic, effect that postmodernism has tended to have with regard to such issues as the relation between high and popular culture; the nature (and possibility) of a definitive text; the place of propriety and decorum (sometimes called "good taste") in serious literature; the relation between individualist and communitarian values; the possibility of a spiritual dimension in what might appear to be a radically secular literary age. In virtually every case, postmodernism emerges in the position of troublemaker, the unwelcome guest, insisting on the significance of what has seemed dispensable, the ambiguity of what has seemed clear-cut, the need to come to terms with what has seemed, literally, indigestible.

A quality of innovativeness was evident not only in the choice of conference theme but in the makeup of the registrants. Supported by a generous grant from Saks Incorporated, on behalf of McRae's, Proffitt's, and Parisian Department Stores, 30 high school teachers from five Southern states received full fellowships to attend the conference. Emphasizing the deep connection of the company to Southern culture, Brad Martin, chairman of the board and chief executive office of Saks, said that the purpose of the gift is "to provide high school teachers in our communities with an opportunity to broaden their awareness and understanding of the importance and relevance" of the great works of Southern literature. In addition to the regular conference program, Saks Fellows attended three special workshops led by members of the Department of English at the University.

The conference opened with a University Museums exhibition, Phil Mullen, Oxford Photographer, 1949-1951, followed by a welcome by University Chancellor Robert C. Khayat, announcement of the winner of the 10th annual Faux Faulkner contest, Samuel M. Tumey, a selection of songs by the University of Mississippi Gospel Choir, directed by Dee Thomas, and Voices from Yoknapatawpha, dramatic readings from Faulkner's fiction.

Other events during the week included a reading by novelist and short story writer John Barth, presentations by members of Faulkner's family and friends, guided tours of North Mississippi, and a closing party at Ammadelle, the antebellum home of Dorothy Lee Tatum.

The theme of the conference, focusing on the perpetual freshness of Faulkner--the ability of his fiction to become relevant to the newest approaches of literary critics--combined, as usual, with the context of a setting--the people and place of Oxford, Mississippi--that epitomizes the enduring appeal of this American writer: somehow always in the forefront of literary thinking even as he remains both the "proprietor" and the possession of his "postage stamp of native soil."

Donald M. Kartiganer