Oxford’s 2nd Renaissance

By Larry Wells

From Wells’ remarks at a panel at the 2021 Virtual Mississippi Book Festival in a panel discussion moderated by John T. Edge and featuring authors Michael Gorra, Ralph Eubanks and Wells. Go here to view their virtual discussion: https://vimeo.com/627013932

My memoir “In Faulkner’s Shadow” is about my courtship and marriage to Dean Faulkner Wells, niece of William Faulkner; but it’s also the story of how Oxford emerged from Faulkner’s shadow and became a literary community in its own right.

When William Faulkner died in 1962 the question that plagued Oxford was, “Is ther...