"To understand the world, you have to understand a place like Mississippi." - William Faulkner
OXFORD
MISSISSIPPI DELTA
Faulkner's House
William Faulkner (September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi who wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays, and screenplays. He is generally known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where he lived.
Mississippi played an essential role in the life and writing of Faulkner. In class, we read and discussed his novel As I Lay Dying which also took place in that fictional county.
Rowan Oak, the house he lived in, is a large 2 story house with plenty of surrounding area of tall trees and barns. It is a Greek revival house made from four acres of hardwood and cedar by Colonel Robert Sheegog, This house was purchased by the Faulkner's in 1930 where they lived until his death in 1962.
The Lyceum (also a part of the The Circle Historic District) is located in the University of Mississippi campus. This building has a significant association in the Civil Rights Movement. On October 1, 1962, Ole Miss was integrated by the enrollment of James H. Meredith, an African-American military veteran.
In Mississippi in the fall of 1962, there was violent resistance the desegregation of the university surrounding the front of the Lyceum which led to intervention by the Federal government to protect the safety of citizens. Below is a photo of the sign associated with the Lyceum.
The Lyceum
Photo Credit: Ramsha Momin