Joan Williams
The Essay
00:00
The Wintering by Joyce Carol Oates
The Wintering was published in 1971. It's wildly uneven and too imitative of Faulkner, but it comes alive in the scenes where Williams, Alterigo, Amy Howard, and Jeff Almaner are the focus. The letters the protagonists send each other must be very similar to the one sent in real life. How do you get out from their shadow, and did Faulkner know she wouldn't? That's where the controversy is. Was he acting out some autumnal passion play to stimulate his own eroding abilities, or was he in love with someone from his country, the Delta?"
Transcript
Play full episode
