One hundred years ago, one of America's great writers was born. William Faulkner not only revolutionized Southern literature, he transformed the novel. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll examine Faulkner's legacy and talk with Charles Frazier, the author of the best-selling novel Cold Mountain.
Bill Ferris, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and President Clinton's choice to head the National Endowment for the Humanities, tells Steve Paulson why Southerners feel a shock of recognition when they read William Faulkner and why Faulkner is a pivotal figure in modern American literature. And, in a conversation with Steve Paulson recorded in 1991, literary critic Cleanth Brooks analyzes the remarkable tradition of Southern writing in the early part of this century. Cleanth Brooks enjoyed a distinguished career at Yale and died in 1994 at the age of 87.SEGMENT 2:
Charles Frazier, author of the remarkable and best- selling Civil War novel "Cold Mountain," talks with Jim Fleming. He says the plot of the book is based on an old story from his family; that Cold Mountain is a real place that has been home to his people for 200 years; and that as a representative of Appalalachian culture he fits into the literary tradition of William Faulkner -- "the 800 pound gorilla of Southern writing."SEGMENT 3:
Storyteller Caroliese Frink Reed tells Judith Strasser how the oral tradition has been important for African Americans since slavery times. She tells a couple of quick stories after which you'll never say "uh hum" again!
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