William Faulkner

William Cuthbert Faulkner (September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was a Nobel Prize-winning novelist from Mississippi. Though his works are sometimes challenging or even difficult, he is regarded as one of America's most important fiction writers.

Biography

Faulkner was born William Falkner (no "u") in New Albany, Mississippi, and raised in and heavily influenced by that state, as well as the ambience of the South. His great-grandfather, William Clark Falkner, was an important figure in the history of 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 Tipah County. Perhaps most importantly, he wrote several novels and other works, establishing a literary tradition in the family. Eventually, Colonel Falkner was the model for Colonel John Sartoris in his great-grandson's writing.

Related Topics:
New Albany, Mississippi - William Clark Falkner - Confederate Army - Falkner - Tipah County

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It is understandable that the younger Falkner was influenced by, and drew on, the history of his family and the region. 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. The definite reason for Faulkner's change in the spelling of his last name is still unknown, but possibilities include adding it to appear more British when entering the RAF, adding it so his name would come across as more aristocratic, or even keeping a misspelling that an early editor had made.

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Although Faulkner is heavily identified with Mississippi, he was living in New Orleans in 1925 when he wrote his first novel, Soldier's Pay. 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.

Related Topics:
New Orleans - 1925 - St. Louis Cathedral

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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! (1937). 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," "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. 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 has published. It includes an introduction that is actually one sentence spanning more than a page. He received a Pulitzer Prize for A Fable, and won a National Book Award (posthumously) for his Collected Stories.

Related Topics:
The Sound and the Fury - 1929 - As I Lay Dying - 1930 - Light in August - 1932 - The Unvanquished - 1938 - Absalom, Absalom! - 1937 - Short stories - These 13 - A Rose for Emily - Red Leaves - That Evening Sun - Dry September - 1931 - Pulp fiction - Southern Gothic - Requiem for a Nun - Pulitzer Prize - A Fable - National Book Award

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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 his fictional Yoknapatawpha County, 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.

Related Topics:
Light in August - Go Down, Moses - The Town - Intruder in the Dust - Hog Pawn - Yoknapatawpha County - Oxford, Mississippi - Rowan Oak - University of Mississippi

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In the later years Faulkner moved to Hollywood to be a screenwriter (producing 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, Meta Carpenter. Faulkner was rather famous for drinking as well, and throughout his life was known to be an alcoholic. The hard-drinking character of Bill Mayhew in the Coen Brothers' movie Barton Fink was almost certainly based on Faulkner.

Related Topics:
Hollywood - Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep - Ernest Hemingway - To Have and Have Not - Howard Hawks - Alcoholic - Barton Fink

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According to rumor, Faulkner's alcoholism was particularly drastic after a major accomplishment, when he would go on prolonged binges. Normally during his bouts with drinking he would stay in bed and have various family members bring him his drinks and keep him company. An interesting anecdote describes Faulkner after his most important achievement, the winning of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949, where he drank heavily in anticipation of his departure for Stockholm. His nephew brought him a drink and began to talk about his triumphs in a recent football game, which took place on the same day Faulkner was told he had to sail for the prize ceremony. Despite his inebriation, Faulkner put two and two together, realized that a family member had intentionally lied to him about the true date of his Nobel Prize reception in order to ensure his sobriety at the event, then resumed drinking steadily until the actual date. It is said that his speech was not noted for its greatness until the next day when it appeared in writing because Mr. Faulkner stood too far from the microphone, mumbled, and spoke with his usual deep Southern drawl, making it almost impossible for those in attendence to hear or understand him. Recordings of the Nobel Prize speech, which appear on the "Faulkner Reads" recording with sections from As I Lay Dying, The Old Man, and A Fable were recorded in a studio after the actual event. In it, he remarked "I decline to accept the end of man... Man will not only endure, but prevail..." Both events were fully in character. 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.

Related Topics:
Nobel Prize in Literature - 1949 - Stockholm - As I Lay Dying - The Old Man - A Fable - PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

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The text of the Nobel Prize speech is also available on the website of the Nobel Foundation http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1949/faulkner-speech.html, together with a partial audio recording. It is not specified whether this recording is live or if it was made in a studio after the event, but reverberation, echo and ambient noises, along with hesitations and mispronunciations, plus minor differences of style with the published text seem to indicate it is indeed live.

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Faulkner served as Writer-In-Residence at the University of Virginia from 1957 until his death in 1962.

Related Topics:
University of Virginia - 1957 - 1962

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In 2005, Faulkner climbed to the top of the best seller lists when Oprah Winfrey selected As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury, and Light in August for her book club. This selection probably meant that, during the summer of 2005, Faulkner had more readers (or at least people who bought his books) than he ever did during his lifetime.

Related Topics:
Oprah Winfrey - As I Lay Dying - The Sound and the Fury - Light in August

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