Notice to Students

      I don't think anybody can teach anybody anything. I think that you learn it, but the young writer that is as I say demon-driven and wants to learn and has got to write he don't know why, he will learn from almost any source that he finds. He will learn from older people who are not writers, he will learn from writers, but he learns it — you can't teach it.

I welcome E-mail from Faulkner readers of all ages, but because of the enormous number of posts I receive from students asking about Faulkner, in most cases I am unable to respond personally to your queries.

If you have a legitimate question about Faulkner’s writings, by all means write me. However, please do not ask for information that you might reasonably be expected to locate or determine on your own. Improper posts include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Requests for potential essay topics or for additional essays or materials about Faulkner (I am not a library)
• Questions concerning plot, characters, setting, theme, or anything else about any particular Faulkner work
• All queries about other online Faulkner sites (or literary works by Faulkner), which are available in The Carriage House section of this web site.

The best way to improve the chances of a personal response is to articulate your question as specifically as possible and to show me that you have read the Faulkner work(s) in question. But please understand, even if your inquiry is legitimate, I cannot guarantee a personal response because of the number of queries I receive.

Typically, I will not respond to the following types of messages:

• Requests that I send critiques, reviews, etc. (In most cases, this would require I scan in text from print sources ... assuming I have the articles in the first place.)
• Requests for online articles, critiques, etc. (Most of the ones I'm familiar with are already listed in the Carriage House section.)
• Requests for "more information" than is present on a given page in this web site. (There may be a reason why it's not there.)
• Requests for information that is already presented somewhere within this web site. (Please check this site thoroughly before writing.)

Finally, I may not respond because doing so would rob the recipient of the pure joys — and yes, frustrations — of discovering Faulkner. The purpose of this site is not to answer all of your questions about Faulkner. Rather, it is to introduce the man and his writing to a diverse audience, and to offer (via the bibliographies and other resources) avenues by which you can answer your questions yourself.

Please use the following form for your query. Make sure you enter a full name (first and last name) and carefully type your E-mail address in the space provided. Note: You must fill out each line, including your teacher's name, class, school name and location (city, state) to be eligible for a personal response.