William Faulkner

Introduction

Considered one of America’s greatest and most influential authors, William Faulkner is often credited with inventing the stream of consciousness style of writing, but many other authors had used it before him. He did, however, perfect the art. He was born in Mississippi, and his southern upbringing contributed heavily to his most famous works, including The Sound and the Fury and Absalom! Absalom! In addition to novels, Faulkner wrote a number of short stories (most notably “A Rose for Emily”), and he also dabbled heavily in mysteries and crime fiction. Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949.

Essential Facts

1. Although William Faulkner is one of literature’s best-known alcoholics, he insists he never drank while writing. He used liquor as a way to escape his life, but he did not feel that it aided the creative process in any way.
2. The author Joan Williams claims to have had a four-year affair with Faulkner. She wrote about it in the novel The Wintering.
3. Faulkner lived in Hollywood during the 1930s and wrote screenplays, including The Big Sleep and the film adaptation of To Have and Have Not.
4. The main character in the 1991 film Barton Fink is said to be based on William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
5. Faulkner used to write notes about his current project on the walls of his home office. Visitors today can still see his notes for A Fable there.