William Faulkner at the University of Virginia

His place as one of the great writers of the 20th century firmly established, William Faulkner accepted an invitation in 1957 from U.Va.'s English department to come to the University as writer-in-residence. Faulkner's appointment was cause for excitement among students and faculty, though the winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature initially caught Virginians off guard. After Faulkner arrived on Grounds, his "observations on 'Virginia snobs' caused somewhat of a sensation," wrote Virginius Dabney in Mr. Jefferson's University. "He liked the state, he said, 'because Virginians are all snobs and I like snobs.'" For full article, go to http://www.uvamagazine.org/site/c.esJNK1PIJrH/b.4103475//