William Faulkner Facts: Interesting Trivia About The American Writer

Winning a Nobel Prize in Literature is regarded as the epitome of all achievements in the field.

In this article, we'll talk about William Faulkner, a Nobel laureate from the United States. Despite various adversaries, Faulkner won the greatest award for literature.

William Faulkner was born Sept 25, 1897, in the city of New Albany of Mississippi, from where his family moved to Oxford when he was quite young. William Faulkner was born William Cuthbert Falkner to Murry Cuthbert Falkner and Maud Butler of New Albany.

William Faulkner is famous in the American society of writers and poets, and amongst the most avid readers of English literature for his countless contributions like the ‘The Sound And The Fury' and ‘As I Lay Dying’. Faulkner’s short stories and novels revolve around the fictional location of Yoknapatawpha County, which is actually in the Lafayette County of Mississippi.

His last name 'Falkner' was changed to 'Faulkner' due to an error made by a typesetter and it didn't bother him.

Taking a look at William Faulkner’s past helps to understand some of the reasoning behind his creative imagination. His family, especially William Faulkner's mother and grandmother along with his nanny, were responsible for nurturing his artistic mind.

While his mother and grandmother were themselves, bibliophiles, with a keen interest in painting and photography, his father enlightened the adventurous spirit within his son.

His mother also laid great emphasis on William’s education and taught her son to read before he was even enrolled in a school. She also exposed her children to the works of Charles Dickens at a very tender age.

With the advent of the First World War, William Faulkner joined the Royal Air Force of Canada after being rejected by the US Air Force. Later, William Faulkner joined the University of Mississippi where he attended three semesters before he chose to drop out.

William Faulkner later moved to the city of New Orleans to write his first novel, ‘Soldiers' Pay’ in 1925. In 1927, William Faulkner wrote ‘Sartoris’, his first work which mentions the Yoknapatawpha County.

In the following years, Faulkner wrote ‘The Sound And The Fury’ and the famous ‘As I Lay Dying’, both of which earned him great recognition. This recognition Faulkner’s on the path to Hollywood where Faulkner worked as a screenwriter.

Read on to learn more about the short stories that William Faulkner wrote before World War II as well as his first novel.

Some Fun Facts About William Faulkner

William Faulkner's masterpieces were packed with the smells and sights of the deep south of America and depicted distinct characters similar to those of the people living n the south.

His famous image of the Yoknapatawpha County envisaged his version of his homeland Mississippi just the way he perceived it. The characters of his stories also portrayed immortal characters that he had envisioned himself after being inspired by the history of his family.

Faulkner had a humorous and philanthropic nature and always used to amuse the people around him. There were several instances when the rather shy writer showed the world a new perspective of himself.

Once, he was invited to dinner by the first lady of the United States but Faulkner refused the invitation, by saying that the White House was too far from where he lives and that it was too long a way to go just to eat.

Faulkner was given the job of a postmaster at the University of Mississippi from where he was later thrown out for reading while on duty. Another fact that many might find interesting about the American writer is that Faulkner didn't graduate from high school or college.

Faulkner married his friend from childhood, Estelle Oldham, with whom he lived for his entire life in Oxford. William had a quiet and charismatic personality and usually avoided the spotlight or providing too much information about his personal life.

Interviewing the American litterateur was also difficult as he hardly granted any interviews. William Faulkner died on July 6, 1962, in Byhalia, Mississippi at the age of 64.

Interesting Facts About William Faulkner’s Writing

Faulkner is one of the most well-known US writers of the 20th century. His legendary stories depicted the plummeting of societies of southern America. His powerful imagination and creative visions earned him the honor of being amongst the greatest novelist of America.

William Faulkner’s eminence also paved the way for him to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949.

William was able to publish his first work 'The Marble Faun' after being financially assisted by Phil Stone in 1924. His complete works comprise 19 novels, 20 screenplays, one play, a total of six collections of poems, more than 125 short stories, and American letters as well as essays.

His writings also made him quite popular amongst the ladies, with one of his most loved works ‘The Wintering', based on his affair with a young writer, Joan Williams. William Faulkner also wrote ‘The Marble Faun’ and ‘A Green Bough' as his two volumes of poetry along with ‘Knight’s Gambit' which is a collection of crime-based fiction.

‘Snopes Trilogy’, ‘The Town’, ‘The Mansion’, and his last work ‘The Reivers' were also some of his most credible works.

Facts About William Faulkner’s Accomplishments

William Cuthbert Faulkner was honored with the Nobel Prize for the creative prose he wrote about the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. He was commemorated for his artistic contribution to modern American literature.

Although William was one of the most prominent authors of his time, he kept his personal life and accomplishments pretty private. So much that his own daughter only heard of the news of his Nobel win at school the day after he won.

Faulkner donated part of the money he received for the award towards establishing a fund to support and nurture budding writers, which later took the name of the ‘PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction'.

He also donated one to a local bank to support the education of African American teachers.

He is known for using the stream-of-consciousness technique with his novels, including 'Absalom, Absalom! ', 'Sanctuary', 'Light in August', 'As I Lay Dying', ‘The Sound and the Fury', and many more.

William also received a Pulitzer Prize for his novel ‘A Fable’ (1955) and another Pulitzer Prize for his novel ‘The Reivers’ (1963). He also had the honor of winning the National Book Award twice for 'Collected Stories' (1951) and 'A Fable' (1955).

Interesting Facts About William Faulkner’s Education

William Faulkner was the eldest of four brothers. His parents came from a wealthy family that lost a significant amount of their fortune during the Civil War of the 1860s.

Literature ran in his veins as his grandfather was also a writer (author of 'The White Rose of Memphis'), and both parents were avid readers. His father ran a hardware store along with a stable in Oxford and later joined the state university as a business manager.

Faulkner left public school after the fifth grade and later left high school before he graduated. He was rejected by the US Army for not meeting the height and weight requirements so he later joined the Royal Air Force of Canada, which he left after suffering a leg injury.

He later admitted himself to the University of Mississippi but left the course in his third semester.

He moved to New York for a few years where he did all kinds of odd jobs to make ends meet. He later went on a year-long walking tour of Europe with a friend in 1925.