Apr. 20, 1962 - William Faulkner ended a two-day visit to West Point today. He said he had been “pleasantly astounded” by the literary curiosity and understanding of the Corps of Cadets. The Nobel Prize winner appeared in two English classes today. He addressed the bulk of the cadets last night and, after parrying questions on many topics, commented that students he had talked with at Princeton and the University of Virginia had been “a little soft” in their inquiries compared with the cadets. Mr. Faulkner held classes rapt as he discussed the destiny of man in a “ramshackle world,” declaring that a writer should “cut his throat and quit” whenever he felt satisfied with a book he had written. He also said that “The Sound and the Fury” was the book closest to his heart because it had caused him the most anguish. It is to him, he said, what the crippled child is to its mother.
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