1. William Faulkner Known for writing about: Complexities of sexual, family, social and racial identities The pull and burden of the past

2. Yoknapatawpha County Wrote about Mississippi Discovered that his “own little postage stamp of native soil was worth writing about” and could never be exhausted Mythical Yoknapatawpha County is setting for 15 of his novels

3. The Snopes Trilogy The Hamlet (1940) about the Snopeses of “Barn Burning” Two later books, The Town (1957) and The Mansion (1959) complete the Snopes trilogy

4. Katherine Anne Porter Born and raised in Texas Initially a journalist Lived in Mexico as a young woman; in Europe later on Admired for her technical skill, powerful emotions

5. Ralph Ellison Born in Oklahoma Attended Tuskegee Institute Also a musician

6. Invisible Man “Battle Royal” is actually the opening chapter of Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man Novel goes on to follow unnamed protagonist to college and later to New York City and finally underground