William Faulkner

A celebrated and prolific novelist and short story writer, William Faulkner was considered one of the preeminent writers to emerge from the American South in the years between the two world wars. The term Southern Gothic was coined to characterize his dark, brooding vision of the South's decaying way of life, as evidenced in powerful works like The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932) and Absalom, Absalom! (1936). Strong themes in Faulkner's work included the South's legacy of race relations, violence and abject poverty in the post-Civil War era. Of course, a number of his works were adapted for the screen by others, while Faulkner collaborated on several original screenplays and adaptation, most notably "Gunga Din" (1939), "To Have and Have Not" (1944) and "The Big Sleep" (1946). But it was his contributions to American literature - which earned him a Nobel Prize in 1949 and two subsequent Pulitzers - that made him a 20th century giant. Faulkner was remembered as an authentic American voice who gave life and breath to a region rich in vivid characters and dark history.