You can’t head into the heart of Faulkner Country without a little soul searching first. You have to ask yourself, is this a religious pilgrimage? Or are you hunting for bear?         

 

If you want to simply pay your respects one of the greatest literary geniuses the world has ever produced, then it’s probably best to start in Oxford at the shrines—Rowan Oak, of course, and the J.D. Williams Library, where Faulkner’s Nobel enjoys pride of place wrapped in a swath of regal purple.

If, however, you’re foolhardy enough to think you can track the source of this great genius, run it to ground—if, in short, you’re coming to hunt for bear—well, then, you already know that like all the very best Faulknerian quests, yours is doomed.

It’s appropriate then, that you start in a graveyard….