Welcome to the next installment of Speeches and Stories, Lyrics and Letters. This time we are looking William Faulconer‘s Nobel prize acceptance speech from 1950.

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Notes & Transcript:

William Faulkner, known for his literary prowess, rarely spoke publicly.

- His Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1950 was highly anticipated.

- At the time, global fears were heightened due to the Soviet Union's atomic bomb development.

- Faulkner challenged poets, authors, and humanity to look beyond the fear of nuclear war.

- He urged them to innovate and create something new from the human spirit's essence.

Excerpt:

I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail

From Faulkner's speech excerpt, here are some of the wisest insights:

-Endurance and Immortality: Faulkner rejects the idea that man's existence ends with doom, emphasizing that humanity's true immortality lies not in mere survival but in prevailing against challenges.

- Human Spirit: He argues that what makes humanity immortal is not just its ability to endure physically, but its possession of a soul capable of compassion, sacrifice, and endurance.

- Role of the Writer: Faulkner sees the writer's duty and privilege as reminding humanity of its noble qualities—courage, honor, hope, pride, compassion, pity, and sacrifice—which have historically sustained and elevated human existence.

- Purpose of Poetry and Writing: He believes that literature, particularly poetry, should not only chronicle human history but also serve as a source of strength and support, acting as pillars that help humanity endure and ultimately triumph over adversity.

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