Shortly after the New Year, Gogol's Overcoat will launch with some content from both Paul Smith and me. We are going to do a lot of different things with that blog. One thing that I'll announce ahead of time, in case some want to read along, is a recurring feature called Faulkner Fridays. For every Friday in 2012, I will be writing my thoughts on a Faulkner novel or short story/-ies. Although I am a fan of his, I have not read all of his works, so I thought this would be the perfect time to read and review him in a setting where I can have a steady pace that should not overwhelm me too much.
Here's the planned schedule:
January:
6 – As I Lay Dying
13 – "A Rose for Emily" (likely a reprint of my review from 2011)
20 – Sanctuary
27 – "Barn Burning"
February:
3 – Light in August
10 – "Red Leaves"
17 – "Shingles for the Lord"
24 – Pylon
March:
2 – "Hair"
9 – Absalom, Absalom!
16 – "A Justice"
23 – "The Tall Men"
30 – The Unvanquished
April:
6 – "Centaur in Brass"
13 – If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem
20 – "A Courtship"
27 – The Hamlet
May:
4 – "A Bear Hunt"
11 – Go Down, Moses
18 – "Dry September"
25 – "Lo!"
June:
1 – Intruder in the Dust
8 – "Two Soldiers"
15 – Requiem for a Nun
22 – "Death Drag"
29 – A Fable
July:
6 – "Shall Not Perish"; "Elly"
13 – The Town
20 – "Uncle Willy"; "Mule in the Yard"
27 – "That Will be Fine"; "The Evening Sun"
August:
3 – The Mansion
10 – "Ad Astra"
17 – "Wash"
24 – The Reivers
31 – "Beyond"
September:
7 – Soldier's Pay
14 – "Victory"
21 – "Honor"
28 – Mosquitoes
October:
5 – "Black Music"
12 – ""Crevasse"
19 – Flags in the Dust
26 – "Dr. Mortino"
November:
2 – "The Leg"
9 – The Sound and the Fury
16 – "Turnabout"; "Artist at Home"
23 – "Fox Hunt"; "The Brooch"
30 – "Mistral"; "My Grandmother Millard"
December:
7 – "All the Dead Pilots"; "Golden Land"
14 – "Pennsylvania Station"
21 – "Divorce in Naples"; "Carcassome"
28 – "There Was a Queen"; "Mountain Victory"
The novel order is taken from the publication dates of the Library of America editions (so 1930-1962 and then 1926-1929), and the stories alternate between sections of Collected Stories, the 1976 Vintage edition. Let me know if you plan on reading along for all or part of these. I hope this alternation (with a few longer gaps) between novels and short fiction will help prevent burnout. I'm also considering doing something similar for Henry James' novels, short fiction, lit criticism, and travel writings, but that might transpire over 2012-2013 due to the longer period in which James was active as a writer.
Here's the planned schedule:
January:
6 – As I Lay Dying
13 – "A Rose for Emily" (likely a reprint of my review from 2011)
20 – Sanctuary
27 – "Barn Burning"
February:
3 – Light in August
10 – "Red Leaves"
17 – "Shingles for the Lord"
24 – Pylon
March:
2 – "Hair"
9 – Absalom, Absalom!
16 – "A Justice"
23 – "The Tall Men"
30 – The Unvanquished
April:
6 – "Centaur in Brass"
13 – If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem
20 – "A Courtship"
27 – The Hamlet
May:
4 – "A Bear Hunt"
11 – Go Down, Moses
18 – "Dry September"
25 – "Lo!"
June:
1 – Intruder in the Dust
8 – "Two Soldiers"
15 – Requiem for a Nun
22 – "Death Drag"
29 – A Fable
July:
6 – "Shall Not Perish"; "Elly"
13 – The Town
20 – "Uncle Willy"; "Mule in the Yard"
27 – "That Will be Fine"; "The Evening Sun"
August:
3 – The Mansion
10 – "Ad Astra"
17 – "Wash"
24 – The Reivers
31 – "Beyond"
September:
7 – Soldier's Pay
14 – "Victory"
21 – "Honor"
28 – Mosquitoes
October:
5 – "Black Music"
12 – ""Crevasse"
19 – Flags in the Dust
26 – "Dr. Mortino"
November:
2 – "The Leg"
9 – The Sound and the Fury
16 – "Turnabout"; "Artist at Home"
23 – "Fox Hunt"; "The Brooch"
30 – "Mistral"; "My Grandmother Millard"
December:
7 – "All the Dead Pilots"; "Golden Land"
14 – "Pennsylvania Station"
21 – "Divorce in Naples"; "Carcassome"
28 – "There Was a Queen"; "Mountain Victory"
The novel order is taken from the publication dates of the Library of America editions (so 1930-1962 and then 1926-1929), and the stories alternate between sections of Collected Stories, the 1976 Vintage edition. Let me know if you plan on reading along for all or part of these. I hope this alternation (with a few longer gaps) between novels and short fiction will help prevent burnout. I'm also considering doing something similar for Henry James' novels, short fiction, lit criticism, and travel writings, but that might transpire over 2012-2013 due to the longer period in which James was active as a writer.
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4 comments:
Awesome -- my favorite American novelist. I might even have time to play along eventually. Glad you're doing this!
Glad to hear this piques your interest, Matt. Faulkner is one of my favorites as well, although there are several others competing for top honors (some of whom I may cover separately next year or 2013). It's my ambition to eventually read and review over the next decade or two all of the Library of America editions, as the ones I own have a wealth of stories in them.
Great plan, and I like the alternation between long and short works.
One consideration: most of Faulkner's works are interconnected, of course, but the connection between Sound/Fury and Absalom is particularly palpable: Sound's events help explain some of narrator Quentin's strange reactions in Absalom. It might make more sense to read those two "in order".
I might consider that, but sometimes it's fun to read something out of order and then add that commentary in to the end of the first book, so it could go both ways. I chose the order largely based on the Library of America publication dates of the five novel volumes (the four earliest being last, oddly enough), so we'll see.
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