Faulkner also disparaged the popular magazines - though he frequently sold short stories to them. To what extent was Faulkner’s deeply ambivalent relationship to - and involvement with - American popular culture reflected in his modernist or art fiction? Peter Lurie finds convincing evidence that Faulkner was keenly aware of commercial culture and adapted its formulae, strategies, and, in particular, its visual techniques into the language of his novels of the 1930s. Lurie contends that Faulkner’s modernism can be best understood in light of his reaction to the popular culture of his day. Using Theodor Adorno’s theory about modern cultural production as a framework, Lurie’s close readings of Sanctuary, Light in August, Absalom! Absalom!, and If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem uncover the cultural history that surrounded and influenced the development of Faulkner’s art. Lurie is particularly interested in the influence of cinema on Faulkner’s fiction and especially the visual strategies he both deployed and critiqued. Offering innovative readings of these canonical works, this study sheds new light on Faulkner’s uniquely American modernism.