William Faulkner's Rowan Oak

Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. As a child he moved with his family to Ripley, Mississippi, and then to Oxford, which he called home for most of his life. In the spring of 1918, at age 21, he moved to Connecticut to live with his friend Phil Stone, a student at Yale University. That summer he added a "u" to his name (his family name was spelled Falkner) and joined the Canadian Air Force, a career that lasted only a few months.

In 1925, Faulkner moved to New Orleans, searching for an atmosphere and motivation for writing. There he met writer Sherwood Anderson, who encouraged Faulkner to submit a novel manuscript to a publisher. This resulted in the publication of Soldiers' Pay in 1926. Several novels later, Faulkner wrote The Sound and the Fury (1929), a highly experimental novel immediately acclaimed a masterpiece.

Faulkner married Estelle Franklin, a long-time friend, on June 20, 1929. Together they had two daughters, one who died nine days after birth. Franklin had two children from a previous marriage. The couple purchased the home now known as Rowan Oak in 1930.

Sanctuary (1931) shocked his audience with violence, yet brought Faulkner notoriety, sales, and a Hollywood contract. Subsequently, he sought a Hollywood career as a screenwriter, while continuing to write short stories for popular magazines. He worked for four studios, including Warner Brothers in 1942. The novel Intruder in the Dust (1948) restored his reputation with the nation's readers and again provided him with volume sales.

During his writing career, Faulkner received many awards, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters on November 23, 1948. Two years later, Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for literature. He received the National Book Award for Collected Stories in 1951 and for A Fable in 1955. Also in 1955, Faulkner received a Pulitzer Prize for A Fable.

After receiving the Nobel Prize in 1950, Faulkner spent a great deal of time traveling and speaking. However, he also found time for writing, producing six novels in eleven years. During this period, he wrote about the changing cultural and political atmosphere in the South, a topic of many of his speeches during this time.

William Faulkner entered the hospital in Byhalia, Mississippi, on July 6, 1962. A few hours later, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

In 1963, one year after his death, Faulkner's last novel, The Reivers (1961), received

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