If I had not existed, someone else would have written me, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, all of us. - William Faulkner

The works of William Faulkner stand out as some of the most ambitious, experimental, and fantastic pieces of American Literature. Where figures like Hemingway and Raymond Carver looked to strip language down to its barest essentials Faulkner’s writings are filled with complexity, emotion, and ‘streams of consciousness’. While these techniques have made his works impenetrable to some, they open worlds of imagination for others. Faulkner has cast a long shadow across literature that Southern writers are still forced to contend with.

William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, in 1897. Five years later the family moved to Oxford in the neighbouring Lafayette County. Though he would move around, living for a time in California, Oxford would remain Faulkner’s home for most of his life and colour most of his work. Yoknapatawpha County, a fictionalised version of Lafayette County, provided the set for most of his stories that largely dealt with the Southern experience.

This localised style of writing was practically inevitable given how Faulkner was raised. While his father passed his time hunting, fishing, and tracking his mother, and her mother, indulged in reading and painting. More important than these inherited interests was the tradition of storytelling that surrounded Faulkner as he grew up. Tales were often recounted of his great-grandfather and his exploits during the Civil War.

One of the most important storytellers in Faulkner’s early life though was his black nanny, Caroline Barr. She afforded him insight into the world of the South that was usually unavailable to someone of his class and race. She told him tales of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Civil War. These stories helped open Faulkner’s eyes to the politics of sexuality and race which became so central to his later writings.

Photo of William Faulkner by Carl Van Vechten, 1954

Though Faulkner eventually made his name through the novel his first forays into the world of writing was with poetry. After excelling early on in school Faulkner began to become more withdrawn and show indifference to his studies. His grades suffered and he eventually failed to graduate high school. During this time he began to write extensively, though, and met Philip Stone, a Yale graduate with an interest in literature. Stone acted as an important guide during Faulkner’s early development as a writer.

Another important support in Faulkner’s early development as a writer was the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Though he had failed to graduate High School Faulkner was able to enrol in the University of Mississippi in 1919 thanks to his father’s role as business manager there. While the academic world again proved fruitless life on campus helped Faulkner a great deal. His brothers in the fraternity greatly encouraged his writing and he had some poems published in campus journals.

His grades continued to be poor, however, and in the autumn of 1920 he dropped out. For the next few years Faulkner continued to write short stories and poems while building his contacts in the literary world. In 1925 Faulkner penned his first novel, ‘Soldiers’ Pay’, followed by ‘Mosquitoes’ later that same year. His third novel, ‘Flags and Dust’, was the first of Faulkner’s works set in Yoknapatawpha and drew heavily on the history of the South.

While Faulkner was immensely proud of this work his publishers were less impressed and refused to publish. Faulkner was dismayed by this and determined to disregard the publishers when penning his next work. This new approach saw Faulkner develop a far more experimental style as he created the world of ‘As I Lay Dying’. While this work is highly praised now it brought Faulkner little financial success when published.

Photo of William Faulkner by Carl Van Vechten, 1954

Faulkner tried to use his writings to support himself and his family over the next few years. By 1932 it was obvious that this was impossible and he moved to California to work as a screenwriter for MGM studios. Faulkner continued to work in Hollywood throughout the ‘30s and ‘40s, writing fiction in his spare time—including the much acclaimed ‘Absalom, Absalom!’. In 1949 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and catapulted to fame.

Though an undeniable genius, William Faulkner was not without his faults or flaws. He was often consumed by a fierce need to write and had several affairs. He had also struggled with a drinking problem for most of his life, which only seemed to get worse the further his star rose. In 1962 William Faulkner died from a heart attack. In the years since winning the Nobel Prize he had become one of America’s most celebrated writers, winning two Pulitzer Prizes and National Book Awards.

This episode of ‘Talking Books’ is dedicated to the life and writing of William Faulkner. Join Susan as she talks with author and biographer Jay Parini about the life of William Faulkner before delving into his writings with Professors Stephen Matterson and John T Matthews. What is it that makes Faulkner such a great and unique writer? How important is the history of Mississippi and the South to his writings? How did he address the racially divided South? And what was it like to live with this literary genius?