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William Faulkner

William Faulkner photographed in 1954 by Carl Van Vechten
Born:	September 25, 1897 New Albany, Mississippi, U.S.A.
Died:	July 6, 1962 Byhalia, Mississippi, U.S.A.
Occupation:	Novelist, short story writer
Genres:	Southern Gothic
Literary movement:	Modernism, stream of consciousness
Influences:	James Joyce, William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Nathaniel Hawthorne, T.S. Eliot
Influenced:	Louise Erdrich, Toni Morrison

William Cuthbert Faulkner (September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American novelist and poet whose works feature his native state of Mississippi. Regarded as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, Faulkner was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Faulkner's writing is often criticized as being dense, meandering and difficult to understand due to his heavy use of such literary techniques as symbolism, allegory, multiple narrators and points of view, non-linear narrative, and especially stream of consciousness. Faulkner was known for an experimental style with meticulous attention to diction and cadence, in contrast to the minimalist understatement of his rival Ernest Hemingway.

Along with Mark Twain and possibly Tennessee Williams, Faulkner is considered to be one of the most important "Southern writers". He was relatively unknown before receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949, but his work is now favored by the general public and critics alike.^[1]

Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Awards 4 Personal 5 Later years 6 Bibliography 6.1 Novels 6.2 Snopes Trilogy 6.3 Short stories 6.4 Poetry 7 Published as 8 Discography 9 Listen to 10 References 11 External links

Faulkner was born William Falkner (without a "u")^[2] in New Albany, Mississippi, and raised in and heavily influenced by that state, as well as by the history and culture of the South. His great-grandfather, William Clark Falkner, was an important figure in northern Mississippi who served as a colonel in the Confederate Army, founded a railroad, and gave his name to the town of Falkner in nearby Tippah County. Perhaps most importantly, he wrote several novels and other works, establishing a literary tradition in the family. More relevantly, Colonel Falkner served as the model for Colonel John Sartoris in his great-grandson's writing.

It is understandable that the older Falkner was influenced by the history of his family and the region in which they lived. Mississippi marked his sense of humor, his sense of the tragic position of blacks and whites, his keen characterization of usual Southern characters and his timeless themes, one of them being that fiercely intelligent people dwelled behind the façades of good old boys and simpletons. After being snubbed by the United States Army because of his height (5ft 5½in), Faulkner first joined the Canadian and then the Royal Air Force, yet still did not see any action during World War I. The definitive reason for Faulkner's change in the spelling of his last name is still unknown. Some possibilities include adding a "u" to appear more British when entering the Royal Air Force, or so that his name would come across as more aristocratic. He may have also simply kept a misspelling that an early editor had made.

Although Faulkner is heavily identified with Mississippi, he was living in New Orleans in 1925 when he wrote his first novel, Soldiers' Pay, after being influenced by Sherwood Anderson into trying fiction. The small house at 624 Pirate's Alley, just around the corner from St. Louis Cathedral, is now the premises of Faulkner House Books, and also serves as the headquarters of the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society.

Faulkner married Estelle Oldham in April of 1929 at College Hill Presbyterian Church just outside of Oxford, Mississippi. In the 1930s Faulkner purchased Rowan Oak where he and his family lived for some time. Still, today, one can find Faulkner's mysterious scribblings on the wall here.

On writing, Faulkner remarked, "Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him," in an interview with The Paris Review in 1956.

Faulkner's most celebrated novels include The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932), The Unvanquished (1938), and Absalom, Absalom! (1936). Faulkner was a prolific writer of short stories: his first short story collection, These 13 (1932), includes many of his most acclaimed (and most frequently anthologized) stories, including "A Rose for Emily," "Barn Burning," "Red Leaves," "That Evening Sun," and "Dry September." In 1931 in an effort to make money, Faulkner crafted Sanctuary, a sensationalist "pulp fiction"-styled novel. Andre Malraux characterised "Sanctuary" as "intrusion of Greek tragedy in the pulp fiction". Its themes of evil and corruption (bearing Southern Gothic tones) resonate to this day. A sequel to the book, Requiem for a Nun, is the only play that he published. It includes an introduction that is actually one sentence spanning more than a page.

Faulkner was also an acclaimed writer of mysteries, publishing a collection of crime fiction, Knight's Gambit, that featured Gavin Stevens (who also appeared in Light in August, Go Down, Moses, The Town, Intruder in the Dust, and the short story "Hog Pawn"), an attorney, wise to the ways of folk living in Yoknapatawpha County. He set many of his short stories and novels in this fictional location, based on—and nearly identical to in terms of geography—Lafayette County, of which his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, is the county seat; Yoknapatawpha was his very own "postage stamp" and it is considered to be one of the most monumental fictional creations in the history of literature. His former home in Oxford, Rowan Oak, is operated as a museum by the University of Mississippi. Faulkner wrote two volumes of poetry -- The Marble Faun (1924) and A Green Bough (1933), neither of which was well received.

Faulkner's Literary accolades are numerous. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 for "his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." Interestingly enough, only two of what would be considered as Faulkner's "minor" novels were those to receive the Pulitzer Prize. First was his 1954 novel A Fable, which took the Pulitzer in 1955, and then his 1962 novel, "The Reivers," which was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer in 1963. He also won two National Book Awards, first for his Collected Stories in 1951 and once again for his novel A Fable in 1955.

In his later years, he conducted a 13-year affair with a young writer who considered him her mentor. The relationship with Joan Williams became the subject of play, written by Williams' son in 2005.^[3]

Having worked as a screenwriter as early as 1932, Faulkner continued in this line throughout the 30s and 40s. His best-known screen credits occurred in collaboration on scripts for Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep and Ernest Hemingway's To Have and Have Not, both directed by Howard Hawks). Faulkner started an affair with Hawks' secretary and script girl Meta Carpenter. Faulkner was rather famous for drinking as well, and throughout his life was known to be an alcoholic. Some of this can be seen in the film Barton Fink, where the character of W.P. Mayhew is a composite character of Lost Generation with novelists William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald being influences on the character, most notably Faulkner.

An apocryphal story regarding Faulkner in his Hollywood period found him with a case of writer's block at the studio. He told Hawks he was having a hard time concentrating and would like to write at home. Hawks was agreeable, and Faulkner left. Several days passed,with no word from the writer. Hawks telephoned Faulkner's hotel and found that Faulkner had checked out several days earlier. It seems Faulkner had been quite literal and had returned home to Mississippi to finish the screenplay.

A lost screenplay by Faulkner for Hawks, called 'Dreadful Hollow', has recently been rediscovered by his daughter Jill Faulkner Summers. This is based on a little known vampire story of the same name by Irina Karlova, published in 1941. Though not used by Hawks there are currently plans to film it as multi-million dollar Hollywood picture by producer Lee Caplin, who is also the literary editor of the Faulkner estate.^[4]

Faulkner donated his Nobel winnings "to establish a fund to support and encourage new fiction writers," eventually resulting in the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Faulkner served as writer-in-residence at the University of Virginia from 1957 until his death in 1962 of a heart attack. He was a friend of fellow Mississippi writer Muna Lee.

• Soldiers' Pay (1926)
• Mosquitoes (1927)
• Sartoris (Flags in the Dust) (1929)
• The Sound and the Fury (1929)
• As I Lay Dying (1930)
• Sanctuary (1931)
• Light in August (1932)
• Pylon (1935)
• Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
• The Unvanquished (1938)
• If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms/Old Man) (1939)
• Go Down, Moses (1942)
• Intruder in the Dust (1948)
• Requiem for a Nun (1951)
• A Fable (1954)
• The Reivers (1962)
• Flags in the Dust (1973)

• 1. The Hamlet (1940)
• 2. The Town (1957)
• 3. The Mansion (1959)

• "Landing in Luck" (1919)
• "The Hill" (1922)
• "New Orleans"
• "Mirrors of Chartres Street" (1925)
• "Damon and Pythias Unlimited" (1925)
• "Jealousy" (1925)
• "Cheest" (1925)
• "Out of Nazareth" (1925)
• "The Kingdom of God" (1925)
• "The Rosary" (1925)
• "The Cobbler" (1925)
• "Chance" (1925)
• "Sunset" (1925)
• "The Kid Learns" (1925)
• "The Liar" (1925)
• "Home" (1925)
• "Episode" (1925)
• "Country Mice" (1925)
• "Yo Ho and Two Bottles of Rum" (1925)
• "Music - Sweeter than the Angels Sing"
• "A Rose for Emily" (1930)
• "Honor" (1930)
• "Thrift" (1930)
• "Red Leaves" (1930)
• "Ad Astra" (1931)
• "Dry September" (1931)
• "That Evening Sun" (1931)
• "Hair" (1931)
• "Spotted Horses" (1931)
• "The Hound" (1931)
• "Fox Hunt" (1931)
• "Carcassonne" (1931)
• "Divorce in Naples" (1931)
• "Victory" (1931)
• "All the Dead Pilots" (1931)
• "Crevasse" (1931)
• "Mistral" (1931)
• "A Justice" (1931)
• "Dr. Martino" (1931)
• "Idyll in the Desert" (1931)
• "Miss Zilphia Grant" (1932)
• "Death Drag" (1932)
• "Centaur in Brass" (1932)
• "Once Aboard the Lugger (I)" (1932)
• "Lizards in Jamshyd's Courtyard" (1932)
• "Turnabout" (1932)
• "Smoke" (1932)
• "Mountain Victory" (1932)
• "There Was a Queen" (1933)
• "Artist at Home" (1933)
• "Beyond" (1933)
• "Elly" (1934)
• "Pennsylvania Station" (1934)
• "Wash" (1934)
• "A Bear Hunt" (1934)
• "The Leg" (1934)
• "Black Music" (1934)
• "Mule in the Yard" (1934)
• "Ambuscade" (1934)
• "Retreat" (1934)
• "Lo!" (1934)
• "Raid" (1934)
• "Skirmish at Sartoris" (1935)
• "Golden Land" (1935)
• "That Will Be Fine" (1935)
• "Uncle Willy" (1935)
• "Lion" (1935)
• "The Brooch" (1936)
• "Two Dollar Wife" (1936)
• "Fool About a Horse" (1936)
• "Vendee" (1936)
• "Monk" (1937)
• "Barn Burning" (1939)
• "Hand Upon the Waters" (1939)
• "A Point of Law" (1940)
• "The Old People" (1940)
• "Pantaloon in Black" (1940)
• "Gold Is Not Always" (1940)
• "Tomorrow" (1940)
• "The Tall Men" (1941)
• "Two Soldiers" (1942)
• "Delta Autumn" (1942)
• "The Bear" (1942)
• "Afternoon of a Cow" (1943)
• "Shingles for the Lord" (1943)
• "My Grandmother Millard and General Bedford Forrest and the Battle of Harrykin Creek" (1943)
• "Shall Not Perish" (1943)
• "Appendix, Compson, 1699-1945" (1946)
• "An Error in Chemistry" (1946)
• "A Courtship" (1948)
• "Knight's Gambit" (1949)
• "Nobel Prize Award Speech" (1949)
• "A Name for the City" (1950)
• "Notes on a Horsethief" (1951)
• "Mississippi" (1954)
• "Sepulture South: Gaslight" (1954)
• "Race at Morning" (1955)
• "By the People" (1955)
• "Hell Creek Crossing" (1962)
• "Mr. Acarius" (1965)
• "The Wishing Tree" (1967)
• "Al Jackson" (1971)
• "And Now What's To Do" (1973)
• "Nympholepsy" (1973)
• "The Priest" (1976)
• "Mayday" (1977)
• "Frankie and Johnny" (1978)
• "Don Giovanni" (1979)
• "Peter" (1979)
• "A Portrait of Elmer" (1979)
• "Adolescence" (1979)
• "Snow" (1979)
• "Moonlight" (1979)
• "With Caution and Dispatch" (1979)
• "Hog Pawn" (1979)
• "A Dangerous Man" (1979)
• "A Return" (1979)
• "The Big Shot" (1979)

• "Dull Tale" (1979)
• "Evangeline" (1979)
• "Love" (1988)
• "Christmas Tree" (1995)
• "Rose of Lebanon" (1995)
• "Lucas Beauchamp" (1999)

• Vision in Spring (1921)
• The Marble Faun (1924)
• A Green Bough (1933)
• This Earth, a Poem (1932)
• Mississippi Poems (1979)
• Helen, a Courtship and Mississippi Poems (1981)

• Novels 1926-1929: Soldiers' Pay, Mosquitoes, Flags in the Dust, The Sound and the Fury (Joseph Blotner and Noel Polk, eds.) (Library of America, 2006) ISBN 1-931082-89-8.

• Novels 1930-1935: As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, Light in August, Pylon (Joseph Blotner and Noel Polk, eds.) (Library of America, 1985) ISBN 978-0-94045026-4.

• Novels 1936-1940: Absalom, Absalom!, Unvanquished, If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem [The Wild Palms], The Hamlet (Joseph Blotner and Noel Polk, eds.) (Library of America, 1990) ISBN 978-0-94045055-4

• Novels 1942-1954: Go Down, Moses; Intruder in the Dust; Requiem for a Nun; A Fable, (Joseph Blotner and Noel Polk, eds.) (Library of America, 1994) ISBN 0-940450-85-2

• Novels 1957-1962: The Town; The Mansion; The Reivers: A Reminiscence (Joseph Blotner and Noel Polk, eds.) (Library of America, 1999) ISBN 1-883011-69-8

• The William Faulkner Audio Collection. Caedmon, 2003. Five hours on five discs includes Faulkner reading his 1949 Nobel Prize acceptance speech and excerpts from As I Lay Dying, The Old Man and A Fable, plus readings by Debra Winger ("A Rose for Emily," "Barn Burning"), Keith Carradine ("Spotted Horses") and Arliss Howard ("That Evening Sun," "Wash"). Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award.
• William Faulkner Reads: The Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, Selections from As I Lay Dying, A Fable, The Old Man. Caedmon/Harper Audio, 1992. Cassette. ISBN 1-55994-572-9
• William Faulkner Reads from His Work. Arcady Series, MGM E3617 ARC, 1957. Faulkner reads from The Sound and The Fury (side one) and Light in August (side two). Produced by Jean Stein, who also did the liner notes with Edward Cole. Cover photograph by Robert Capa (Magnum).

• William Faulkner reads the 1949 Nobel Prize acceptance speech and excerpts from As I Lay Dying, The Old Man and A Fable.

1. ^ *New York Times, October 12, 2006: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Nobel-Literature.html.
2. ^ *David Wallechinsky & Amy Wallace: The New Book of Lists, p.5. Canongate, 2005. ISBN 1-84195-719-4.
3. ^ "Her, too: Play depicts Faulkner relationship", Hook weekly, 2005-07-29. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
4. ^ The Sunday Times March 18th 2007 Laureate's lost vampire lark rises from dead

• William Faulkner on the Web
• Faulkner literary criticism
• William Faulkner at the Mississippi Writers Project
• The Paris Review Interview
• Nobel Prize in Literature 1949 Acceptance Speech (text and audio)

Persondata
NAME	Faulkner, William Cuthbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American novelist, short story writer
DATE OF BIRTH	September 25, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH	New Albany, Mississippi, U.S.A.
DATE OF DEATH	July 6, 1962
PLACE OF DEATH	Byhalia, Mississippi, U.S.A.