Video background from The Library of Congress Webcasts site:

"Two years ago, an important literary discovery was revealed—the existence of a wealthy plantation owner's mid-1800s diary that had been read by William Faulkner and served as the great author's source for names, incidents and details in his prize-winning novels. Sally Wolff uncovered the connection between the diary and Faulkner when she was working on a book about the people who knew Faulkner."