William Faulkner

As I Lay Dying

Named for his great-grandfather, a Civil War general, William Faulkner was born in 1897 and grew up hearing beguiling tales of the Old South told by his nanny, a former slave known as Mammy Callie.

From As I Lay Dying:

“So I saved out the eggs and baked yesterday. The cakes turned out right well. We depend a lot on our chickens. They are good layers, what few we have left after the possums and such.”

His father was a heavy drinker who demanded complete obedience. Billy, as he was known, was an average student and a poor athlete; the back brace his mother forced him to wear for two years to correct his poor posture elicited mockery from his peers. To compensate for his lack of popularity, he became a gifted teller of yarns and a serious reader, who revered the Old Testament, Don Quixote, and the writings of Balzac.

His first writings were poems, and his love of poetry, nurtured by a friend, inspired Faulkner to drop out of high school in eleventh grade. He took a job at a bank owned by a relative, and, while there, discovered whiskey.

Faulkner served in the Canadian Air Force during the First World War, briefly attended college, and took jobs as a newspaper writer and bookstore employee. In 1929 he wrote his masterpiece, The Sound and the Fury. That year he married Estelle Oldham after she divorced her first husband.

The novels he wrote in the next twelve years sealed his reputation as a giant of twentieth-century literature. He won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1949 and spent his later years living like the old Southern aristocrat he’d dreamed of being—financed by lucrative Hollywood screenwriting jobs, including The Big Sleep—and basking in the glow of worldwide adulation.

ALSO RECOMMENDED:

The Unvanquished. One of Faulkner’s short novels, set in Mississippi during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The Sartoris family, with their code of personal responsibility and courage, stands for the best of the Old South’s traditions.

Mint Julep

William Faulkner was a notorious drinker and one of his favorite drinks was the Mint Julep.

4–6 fresh mint sprigs

2½ oz. bourbon whiskey

1 tsp. powdered sugar

2 tsp. water

Crushed ice

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a Collins glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw. Serves 1.