Eudora Welty (1909–2001) and William Faulkner (1897–1962) were almost unquestionably Mississippi's leading literary lions during the twentieth century. Their influence on American literature is immeasurable. On William Faulkner brings together Welty's reviews, essays, lectures, and musings on Faulkner, including such gems as her reviews of Intruder in the Dust and The Selected Letters of William Faulkner , as well as her comments during her presentation of the Gold Medal to Faulkner during the National Institute of Arts and Letters awards ceremony in 1962. The collection also features an excerpt from a letter she wrote to the novelist Jean Stafford, telling of meeting Faulkner and of going sailing with him. Included too are Welty's impassioned defense of Faulkner's work―published as a letter to the New Yorker ―and the obituary of the Nobel laureate that she wrote for the Associated Press. In addition, the book includes a cryptic postcard Faulkner wrote to Welty from Hollywood, plus six photographs, and a caricature of Faulkner drawn by Welty during the 1930s. Commenting on the place of both writers in contemporary literature, an essay by the noted literary scholar Noel Polk puts the collection in context and offers assessment and appreciation of their achievements in American literature. On William Faulkner is a valuable resource for exploring Faulkner's work and sensing Welty's critical voice. Her sharp critical eye and graceful prose make her an astute commentator on his legacy. Simply put, "This book collects Welty's writings on Faulkner." Eudora Welty and William Faulkner are, of course, the pair of giants on whose shoulders the literature of the state of Mississippi--indeed, all of southern literature--rests. The older Faulkner and the younger Welty were acquaintances but never buddies; Welty didn't need a mentor, and Faulkner didn't need an acolyte. But from the 1940s until Faulkner's death in 1962, Welty wrote, on several occasions, about the man who lived in the same state, which, for another writer, "was like living near a big mountain." But, as the introduction states, "the frequency with which [Welty] celebrates his work signals the evidence that . . . Faulkner was one of her touchstones." Components of this package of materials include a passage from a letter she wrote to novelist Jean Stafford about sailing with Faulkner in his little sailboat to a review of Intruder in the Dust appearing in the Hudson Review to a letter she wrote to the New Yorker defending this same Faulkner novel against Edmund Wilson's negative review. Brad Hooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved A memorable literary record that marks the encounter of two great American writers Eudora Welty was author of many novels and story collections, including The Optimist’s Daughter (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), Losing Battles , The Ponder Heart , The Robber Bridegroom , and A Curtain of Green and Other Stories , as well as collections of her photographic work― Photographs , Country Churchyards , and One Time, One Place: Mississippi in the Depression: A Snapshot Album , all published by University Press of Mississippi. Noel Polk (1943-2012) was professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University, author of many critical studies on Welty and Faulkner, and coeditor of the Library of America edition of Faulkner's works. Used Book in Good Condition