Author Snapshot: Faulkner, W.
Author Snapshot Biography of William Faulkner
Born in 1887, Willian Faulkner was a bonafied "son of the South". A true Southern gentleman with a streak of arrogance, a love for whiskey, women and horses, a bent for eccentricity and a gift for the written word, Faulkner would wait many years before his writing found success.
He began writing poetry at a young age, and his first published work was a collection of poems called the The Marble Faun. It was shunned by the public and put down by his critics, and Faulkner decided a change of pace would help his writing.
Intending to travel to Europe, Faulkner became waylaid in New Orleans, where he met fellow writer Sherwood Anderson, destined to become his fast friend and instrumental in steering Faulkner toward writing novels. He wrote one novel in New Orleans, his first, Soldier's Pay, which was decidedly not a hit with the masses.
Undeterred, Faulkner returned to his birthplace of Oxford, Mississippi to continue to write novels. Among the novels written in this first Oxford period were As I Lay Dying and The Sound and The Fury, which would eventually become classics of American Fiction. Much like his other three novels of that time, they also did not sell well.
In 1931, Faulkner had his first "smash hit" with his novel Sanctuary, and he finally was being paid well for his work. More, he was being sought by Hollywood as a screenwriter and the public was clamoring for another novel. In the ensuing years he chose to remain in Oxford, becoming well known as an eccentric living a hermit-like existence.
In those ensuing Oxford years he wrote seven more literary novels, among them A Light in August and Absalom, Absalom!. Throughout his life he returned to Oxford, using it as a touchstone for his creativity. Though he did spend a brief time in Europe, had a brief stint as writer in residence at a Virginia university and traveled on brief trips to Hollywood to write for the film industry, he always came back to Mississippi to do the bulk of his writing.
William Faulkner died in 1962 of a heart attack at home, after having written more than 20 novels (including a little-known mystery series featuring characters from his more literary novels), several short stories (pulled into three collections during his time), multiple screenplays for Hollywood, one play (the sequel to Sanctuary), and two books of poetry. He remained known as a gentleman, alcoholic and eccentric recluse his entire life, living out the Southern Gothic undertones of his novels.
Online Resources On William Faulkner:
• The Mississippi Writer's Page from Ol' Miss: William Faulkner
• The William Faulkner Society
• William Faulkner on Wikipedia
• Nobel Prize Laureate Pages: William Faulkner
• Transcript of William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
• William Faulkner In Hollywood
• The Full Hypertext Version of The Sound and The Fury
• Read Kentucky: Saturday: May
• Words and Wisdom: Quotes from William Faulkner
• Faulkner Lesson Plans and Ideas for Teachers and Homeschoolers
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