Episode 12 of READING MCCARTHY is a thorough rumination of the influences of Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner on the works and style of Cormac McCarthy.   Our guest today is Faulkner scholar and critic Dr. Jay Watson.  

Jay Watson is Distinguished Professor of English and Howry Professor of Faulkner Studies at the University of Mississippi, where he also directs the annual Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha conference. He is author or editor of thirteen books, most recently a monograph, WILLIAM FAULKNER AND THE FACES OF MODERNITY, and a coedited collection, FAULKNER AND SLAVERY.

 The music for READING MCCARTHY is composed, performed, and produced by Thomas Frye.  Songs for this podcast include “The World to Come” (intro), “Blues for Blevins” (Outro), “Much Like Yourself” (at 10:00), “Running with Wolves” (38:36), and “Toadvine” (53:35).  

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New! A book adaptation of many of the episodes focusing on McCarthy's Southern novels is forthcoming in December, 2026.  Click the link for details on Reading Cormac McCarthy: Scholars Discuss the Southern Novels.

Starting in spring of 2023, the podcast began accepting minor sponsorship offers to offset the costs of the podcast.  This may cause a mild disconnect in earlier podcasts where the host asks for patrons in lieu of sponsorships.   But if we compare it to a very large and naked bald man in the middle of the desert who leads you to an extinct volcano to create gunpowder, it seems pretty minor...