In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Gabriella chats with veteran biographer Carl Rollyson about his two-volume biography of William Faulkner, a giant of 20th century literature who won the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes: The Life of William Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead and The Life of William Faulkner: This Alarming Paradox. Carl also published William Faulkner Day by Day, which provides a unique insight into the minute of Faulkner’s daily life and relationships.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
- The meaning of The Past Is Never Dead and This Alarming Paradox.
- Why Carl chose to end The Past Is Never Dead in 1934.
- How Carl oriented Faulkner within the historical, social and cultural context of his time.
- How Carl crafted a portrait of the whole human being by balancing Faulkner’s public, professional and personal lives with literary criticism.
- How Carl reconciled the contradictory aspects of Faulkner’s behaviour.
- Why Carl crafted William Faulkner Day by Day and why he wrote the narrative in present tense.
- Why Carl argues that Faulkner deserves to be reread as a literary figure and a still-relevant force, especially in relation to issues of race, sexuality and equality.
- Carl’s views on the role of a biographer.
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