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are in tact – you’ll see Faulkner’s prized typewriter, rusted golf clubs, an outline for a never-written fable written on the walls, and a half bottle of Jack left on the mantle above the kitchen fireplace. His 1950 Nobel Prize is on permanent display at the Center for Southern Culture on the Ole Miss campus. Faulkner never actually thought much of the award and didn’t even wish to accept it in person, but his daughter forced him to make the trip. The Center has a copy of Faulkner’s acceptance speech, which became an instant classic.

Even with its undeniable sense of tradition and history, Oxford isn’t all about the past. Square Books is one of the last, and very best, indie bookstores in America. It’s set on the Square, the heart of downtown Oxford. Visiting authors read from their newly published works, and autographed copies of hot novels abound. If you’re hell-bent on Billy, there’s a Faulkner section upstairs, next to the café.

And Oxford is still prowling with literary lions. Tom Franklin can be found swilling adult liquids from time to time at the City Grocery, a restaurant and bar on the south end of the Square. The Creole-spiced lamb meatloaf and the Southern classic, shrimp and grits, are both exceptional. The bar, with a balcony overlooking the outdoor action, is upstairs. You can stay in one of the cheap motor inn chains off the highway, or spend and enjoy Puddin’ Place, a cozy B&B set in a turn-of-the-century home filled with antiques, and within walking distance of the Square.

After enjoying Oxford (and you will), detour through Tupelo, the birthplace of King Presley, and hop on the glorious Natchez Trace Parkway. Folks have been traveling through this oak-and-swamp-studded countryside since before Europeans landed in America. But things don’t get literary until you land in Natchez proper, where the woods part to reveal historic antebellum mansions. But Natchez isn’t all old-world glamour. It has dirt under its fingernails too.

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THE FRENCH QUARTER LIT TOUR

Hungry for more dirt on the French Quarter literary set of years gone by? Join one of Professor Ken Holditch’s New Orleans Literary Tours. The two-hour walking tour is led by one of the professor’s knowledgeable guides, and makes for a great way to take in the sights and sounds of what Tennessee Williams called Little Bohemia. Call Professor Holditch at 504-949-9805.

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The Big Muddy meanders through town, and back when Mark Twain was steamboat pilot Samuel Clemens, he visited countless times. He drank at the Under the Hill Saloon (still a local hot spot with live music on weekends), and he crashed upstairs at what is now the Mark Twain Guesthouse. The three rooms vary in size and aren’t fancy, but they’re inexpensive and comfortable. It offers up free laundry facilities, and rooms on the riverside have a balcony overlooking the mighty Mississippi River.

Mark Twain is synonymous with this great river. His years as a riverboat pilot remained with him for the rest of his life, and helped him bring Huck’s adventures with Jim to life in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, widely considered the first Great American Novel. While in Natchez, dine with a river view at Magnolia Grill, a casual spot for tasty salads and grilled fish, shrimp and steaks. It’s down the block from Under the Hill Saloon.

Eventually, all southern roads pass through New Orleans, and the literary one is certainly no exception. From Natchez drive south on 61 until it merges with I-110E in Baton Rouge and then I-10E towards New Orleans. This is the town of Tennessee Williams, Anne Rice and Ignatius J Reilly. Some of the first women-only literary salons were held in New Orleans. Faulkner, Twain, and William Burroughs – an original Beat who Jack Kerouac’s fictional self visited in Louisiana in On The Road – settled here for a spell.

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ADAPTATION

The book is always better, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love movies. Here are three Southern Gothic dramas that made the leap with style:

• A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Brando’s Stanley Kowalski