Requiem for a Nun

Infobox Book
name = Requiem for a Nun
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author = William Faulkner
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publisher = Random House [ [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/283855 Requiem for a nun. [WorldCat.org ] ]
pub_date = 1951
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"Requiem for a Nun" is a book written by William Faulkner in 1951. Like many of Faulkner's works, "Requiem" experiments with narrative technique - the book is part novel, part play. The protagonist is Temple Drake, a character introduced as a college student in "Sanctuary", one of Faulkner's early novels. In "Requiem" Temple, now married with a child, must learn to deal with her violent, turbulent past as related in "Sanctuary". The main narrative, which is presented in dramatic form, is interspersed with prose sections recounting the history of the fictional Yoknapatawpha County.

"Requiem for a Nun" is perhaps best known for one of Faulkner's most famous lines, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." This line is often misquoted, as it was by Senator Barack Obama in his speech "A More Perfect Union. [cite news |first=Scott |last=Horton |authorlink=Scott Horton (lawyer) |title=The Past Is Not Past. Or Is It? |url=http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002725 |work=No Comment |publisher=Harper's Online |date=2008-03-24 |accessdate=2008-03-29 ] [cite web |url=http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords/ |title=A More Perfect Union |accessdate=2008-03-29 |last=Obama |first=Barack |authorlink=Barack Obama |date=2008-03-18 |work=barackobama.com]

The novel was dramatized for the theater in 1956 by Albert Camus, entitled "Requiem pour une nonne". Camus also wrote the preface to the 1957 French translation of the novel by Maurice Coindreau.

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