William Faulkner - The Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, As I Lay Dying, a Fable, the Old Man

"I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."
This historic recording contains the first readings by William Faulkner of his work. One hearing is hardly enough. As in his books, penetration deepens with each new experience of the work. Yield to Faulkner's serenity, the deep-south way with words, the unaffected ease with which he drifts into Yoknapatawpha dialect. A recording more important than this is not likely to be made soon.
Includes:
The Nobel Prize acceptance speech
As I Lay Dying (Tull-Darl-Vardaman-Vardaman,
A Fable (excerpt)
The Old Man (excerpt)
William Faulkner (1897-1962) is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all American novelists and short-story writers. His other works include the novels The Sound and the Fury, The Reivers, and Sanctuary. He twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and in 1949 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
This audio reproduces the full sound spectrum of the historic recordings; it has been re-mastered using contemporary digital equipment.