William Faulkner: Titan of 20th century American literature

This celebrated author has powerfully made his presence felt in both popular and Modernist genre of literature. Renowned for novels set in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictitious place set in the American South, he has been conferred the Nobel Prize for literature and two Pulitzer Prizes for fiction.

Born on September 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi, USA he was the first of four sons of Murry Cuthbert Falkner and Maud Butler. His mother and his maternal grandparents greatly influenced his creative resourcefulness as they were all avid readers and actively took part in creative pursuits themselves.

Early life
His childhood years were one of adventure and he was taught how to hunt, fish and track by his father, while his mother taught him and his brothers to take pleasure in reading and going to church. Thus, from a very young age, he was exposed to classics by Charles Dickens and the like. He began writing poetry and started to model most of his works on the Romantic era. Although he was a good student in school, his academic performance began to decline as he reached high school where he gradually lost interest in studying.

Rising career
Faulkner’s earliest works include poetry such as his most famous collection titled The Marble Faun, published in 1924. His first novel, Soldiers’ Pay, in 1925 earned him much recognition. His second novel was titled Mosquitoes and two years later, he penned his first novel set in Yoknapatawpha County. It was named Flags in the Dust. To the writer’s surprise, several publishers did not accept Flags in the Dust and he had to get the novel re-edited. It was eventually published in 1928 as Sartoris.

In 1931, his first collection of short stories titled These 13, was published. It contains some of Faulkner’s most famous stories including Red Leaves, Dry September, A Rose for Emily and That Evening Sun. Many of those stories were set in Yoknapatawpha County.

By 1932, Faulkner was in need of money. That year, Faulkner was offered work as a screenwriter in Hollywood; which he accepted and was paid well. Alongside working for films, he continued to write several stories and novels, which included important ones like Light in August (1932) and Absalom, Absalom! (1936). His stint in screenwriting continued well into the 1940s. In 1949, he brought out another collection of short stories, this time written in the crime fiction genre titled Knight’s Gambit.

Major Works
The Sound of Fury, published in 1929, was one of his early creations which wasn’t successful during its initial release. However, after another one of his works named Sanctuary was published, the novel achieved critical and mainstream success. The novel is ranked as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library and was re-released in 2012 as a limited-edition collection.

Sanctuary, published in 1931, was Faulkner’s first international literary breakthrough. The magnum opus became popular and was adapted for a film titled The Story of Temple Drake.

Awards and achievements
In 1949, Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his ‘unique contribution to the modern American novel’. He was also honored with the Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur, in 1951. He won two Pulitzer Prizes for his novels A Fable and The Reivers in 1955 and 1963. The latter was awarded posthumously.

Interesting facts
On June 17, 1962, William Faulkner suffered a serious injury in a fall from his horse, which led to thrombosis. He suffered a fatal heart attack on July 6 and at the age of 64 passed away.

In 1918, he changed his surname from Falkner to Faulkner when a typist made a mistake on his first book’s title page. He wrote his first novel at 25. Prior to that, he had focused on poetry.

He attended the University of Mississippi from 1919 to 1920 and dropped out after three semesters. Faulkner received a D in English at the University of Mississippi because he had skipped many classes.

William worked as a postmaster at the University of Mississippi to but was fired when caught reading on the job. The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction created in his memory is awarded to new fiction writers.

Jackie Kennedy, once invited him to dinner when she was the First Lady of the United States. His excuse was that it was 160 km away just to go eat. In 1987, the USA Postal Service issued a 22-cent postage stamp in his honour.