William Cuthbert Faulkner (originally Falkner) was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. The eldest of four sons born to Murry and Maud Falkner, the middle-class family moved to Oxford in Lafayette County in 1902. Faulkner spent most of his childhood there, raised by his mother, grandmother, and African American nanny Caroline (Callie) Barr. His family had been prominent in the area for generations: His great-grandfather was “a lawyer, planter, decorated Civil War officer, politician, railroad builder, and novelist” (Kartiganer, Donald. “William Faulkner.” Mississippi Encyclopedia, 1 April 2018). It’s unclear why Faulkner added the “u” to his surname (Hagood, Taylor. “William Clark Falkner.” Mississippi Encyclopedia, 11 July 2017). Theories include that he hoped to distinguish himself from his celebrated great-grandfather (or from his father), that his great-grandfather had removed the letter and William re-added it, that he wanted to appear more British when he joined the Royal Air Force, or that it was a misprint in an early publication and Faulkner didn’t object.

Uninterested in academics, William dropped out of high school in 1915. He worked in as a bookkeeper for a time and began writing poetry. In 1918, he joined the Canadian Royal Air Force, but the war ended without Faulkner seeing combat.