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Oxford,
Mississippi (Home of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha)
By Carl Edwin Lindgren, Oxford, Mississippi
 Located
over sixty miles south of Memphis, TN on Interstate 55 and twenty-three
miles east on Mississippi Highway 6, Oxford is a bit too far off the
beaten track - the sort of place a traveler might pass by unless,
perhaps, he had read about it.
Located at the 'hub' of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha, County, Oxford
is a contemporary study in contrast. Within its bounds one may hear talk
of choral music and of cotton farming. One may dine in elegant Victorian
splendor or casually consume catfish and hush puppies from chipped
china. Mules and Mercedes, quite countryside or cosmopolitan clamor,
football or shade tree fantasy . . . all can be found here. Oxford
graciously welcomes both traveler and intellect.
At Oxford's epicenter stands the Lafayette County Courthouse: an
imposing, white structure encircled by wizened oaks. From its deeply
shaded benches old men relive past ventures or simply watch the comings
and goings on the City Square. Engraved on a plaque beside the southern
entrance are the following words from William Faulkner's Requiem for
a Nun:
But above all the courthouse; the center, the focus,
the hub; sitting looming in the center of the county's circumference
like a single cloud in its ring of horizon, laying its vast shadow to
the uttermost rim of horizon; musing, brooding, symbolic and ponderable,
tall as a cloud, solid as rock, dominating all: protector of the weak,
judicate and curb of the passions and lusts, repository and guardian of
the aspirations and the hopes . . .
In turn-of-the-century photographs, horse drawn buggies and heavily
laden mule carts dominate the center of town. On Saturdays the
Courthouse Square resembled the frantic, teeming activity of a
modern-day city. Farmers from the surrounding countryside, housewives,
businessmen and townspeople crowded the narrow sidewalks looking for
bargains, discussing news of the day or trading just plain good gossip.
Not much has changed. The Oxford Square is still the city's center of
activity. It offers a little something for just about everyone. One may
visit Nelson's "the South's Oldest Department Store," where shoeboxes
are (to one's surprise) deftly wrapped in brown paper and skillfully
tied with string. One may browse through Southern literature at one of
the South's most innovative bookstores (Square Books), or perhaps just
window shop after a leisurely lunch at one of several nearby
restaurants. On the sidewalks and in the shops a visitor has the
opportunity of meeting Oxford's own literary clan (John Grisham, Larry
Brown, Barry Hannah and Richard Ford) or one of the many celebrities who
attend autograph parties at Square Books, lecture at "The Book"
conference, or study Faulkner. The Square is also host to raucous
university football pep rallies, sophisticated sidewalk art shows, First
Saturday (a series of displays, concerts, plays, and crafts presented by
the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council), book signings, (Grisham, Walker, Rice,
etc.), solemn Fourth of July ceremonies and, a sentimental favorite -
the annual hometown Christmas parade.
A mile west of the Square one encounters the youthful vigor of the
University of Mississippi. This attractively landscaped campus has
during its history weathered both Civil War and civil strife. Two deeply
shaded groves at its center entice the visitor to enjoy a picnic lunch,
play a game of Frisbee, or take a restful nap on a blanket spread
beneath its ancient oaks. For the more energetic there are the lighted
tennis courts, 18-hole golf course, and walking and jogging tracks.
The visual serenity of the campus may be deceptive. Behind its many
doors, Ole Miss positively vibrates with energy. Contributing to the
academic tremors are, among others, the National Center for the Study of
Physical Acoustics, The Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (a
pioneer in natural products research), the much acclaimed Center for the
Study of Southern Culture and the internationally renown Mississippi
Blues Archive (housing the B.B. King Collection, the Living Blues
Archival Collection and the Kenneth S. Goldstein Folklore Collection).
The Center for the Study of Southern Culture is dedicated to the study
of all subjects Southern including, but far from limited to, its
literature and folklore, its music, art, politics, and history. Under
its auspices Drs. Charles Reagan Wilson and Ann Abadie co-edited the
authoritative and exhaustive 1,634 page best-seller, The Encyclopedia
of Southern Culture.
The Center enthusiastically encourages public participation in its
activities. The annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference continue to
attract scholars and Faulkner enthusiasts from all around the U.S. as
well as from China, Russia, and Japan. This summer, the Center, besides
holding another Conference will host brownbag lunches, guest lecture
series, and Elderhostels.
Any journey into Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County would not be complete
without a visit to the home of its "Sole Owner and Proprietor." Rowan
Oak, constructed in the 1840's by a pioneer settler, stands deep within
one of Oxford's most heavily wooded neighborhoods. Its now dormant
formal gardens, bricked terraces and stable were all designed by
Faulkner.
Many of Faulkner's famous novels were written at Rowan Oak. In fact, it
was here that he sketched the outline for A Fable on the wall of
an upstairs backroom, and here that he tried (with only moderate
success) to avoid the publicity and attention accorded a Nobel Laureate.
William Faulkner's mythic county is bounded on the north by the
Tallahatchie River (remember “Ode to Billy Joe”) and to the south by the
Yocona(patawpha) River. Its boundaries to the east and west are left to
the reader's imagination. Along the "spokes" radiating from the
courthouse, straight city streets quickly turn to winding county roads
as one wanders further into Yoknapatawpha.
Some roads lead to farms and mile after green mile of cotton, or sorghum
or soybean. Others take the traveler through communities with names such
as Tula, Abbeville, Yocona, Thaxton or Taylor where, almost without
fail, a cola and a "moon-pie" can be bought for about a dollar at a
small family-owned grocery. And if, just a mile or so down the road, one
pulls to the side, rolls down the window, closes one’s eyes and listens,
one just may hear the dust-softened voice of a farmer as he coaxes his
tired mule to plow just one more row before sunset.
The following is a collection of over 50
of Lindgren's favorite photographs. most have been exhibited in India,
Russia, the U.S., England and other areas throughout the world.
The Gallery will open in January 2007
Donations are needed. |
