John Faulkner (September 24, 1901 – March 28, 1963) was an American writer. His works, in a plain style, depict life in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. Faulkner is best-remembered for the novels ''Men Working'' ( 1941) and ''Dollar Cotton'' (

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

), and the

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

, ''My Brother Bill: An Affectionate Reminiscence'' (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

), about his elder sibling, author

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

. John Faulkner was also an accomplished, self-taught painter. He did a series of

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

s known as ''The Vanishing South'' and wrote a short paragraph to describe each one.

Early life

He was born John Wesley Thompson Falkner III in

Ripley, Mississippi Ripley is a city in Tippah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,395 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tippah County. Colonel William Clark Falkner, great-grandfather of authors William Faulkner and John Faulkner, ...

, the third son of Murry Cuthbert Falkner (August 17, 1870–August 7, 1932) and Maud Butler (November 27, 1871–October 16, 1960). His brothers were author

(September 25, 1897–July 6, 1962); Murry Charles "Jack" Falkner (June 26, 1899–December 24, 1975); and Dean Swift Falkner (August 15, 1907–November 10, 1935). The family moved to

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...

, where John grew up and lived most of his life. He attended college at Ole Miss, where he earned a B.S. degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

. He was employed for a time as assistant city engineer in Greenville. He then went to work as a project engineer with the Mississippi State Highway Department and moved to Greenwood. He and Lucille Ramey (November 1, 1903–September 1984) were married on September 2, 1922. They had two sons, Jimmy Faulkner (July 18, 1923–December 24, 2001), also a writer, and Murry Falkner (born February 22, 1928). Faulkner eventually quit the highway department and moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he became a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

airline pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. In 1935, his younger brother, Dean Faulkner, died crashing the airplane that brother William had sold to him. John's airline company was not providing him with income and, in 1938, he moved from Memphis, to the hill country of northeastern

Lafayette County, Mississippi Lafayette County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. At the 2010 census, the population was 47,351. Its county seat is Oxford. The local pronunciation of the name is "la-FAY-et." The county's name honors Marquis de Lafayette, a French ...

, approximately from Oxford, as manager of his brother William's farm, "Greenfield", which was in Beat Two (Mississippi counties are divided into "beats," an autonomous section under its elected supervisor of roads). The rural farmers around Greenfield fascinated Faulkner. Remarkably different from the small-town people he was familiar with, and fiercely independent, his contact with them inspired him to write. During the two years he managed the farm in Beat Two, the area that serves as the setting for much of his fiction, he was also a supervisor for the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

and had to cope with the hillmen who were on its rolls. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, John Faulkner served as a commissioned

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. After the war he earned his living by writing, lecturing and painting.

Writing career

John Faulkner's fascination with the rural farmers of Beat Two formed the basis for his writings. One of his early works is a historical

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

, ''The Mississippi Hill Country''. His first novel, titled ''Beat Six'', however, remained unpublished for several decades. His first published novel, ''Men Working'' ( 1941), is a satirical comedy that exposes how government bureaucracy (in the form of the WPA) adversely affects the lives of a farm family who are forced to leave the land during the Depression in order to find work. In

, Faulkner published ''Dollar Cotton'', his only work set outside the hill country of Mississippi. It tells the story of Otis Town, who around the turn of the century acquires a virgin tract of Mississippi Delta and after tremendous efforts turns it into a lucrative cotton plantation, only to lose everything in the 1921 recession when the cotton market collapses. He also published magazine stories. A number of his

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

appeared in '' Collier's''. Faulkner's third novel, ''Chooky'' (

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

), is a series of sketches about an eleven-year-old boy, who is a composite of Faulkner's two sons, Jimmy and Murry, who was himself nicknamed "Chooky." Faulkner's next novel was published by a different publisher as an original paperback under the title ''Cabin Road'' (

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

). This and his next four

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

s are prime examples of Southwestern humor, detailing a cast of backwoods people who cannot comprehend the complexities of the 20th century. Much of the humor in these final works is bawdy, but much also derives from the absurdities resulting from the arrival of strangers in "Beat Two." His final work was a memoir and tribute to his brother, William Faulkner, titled ''My Brother Bill: An Affectionate Reminiscence''. Faulkner began writing the book almost immediately after William's death on July 6, 1962, and completed the

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

shortly before his own death the following year. It details mostly childhood events from their lives.

Death

John Faulkner died at age 61 from a stroke in Oxford, Mississippi, two weeks after he finished reading the

galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be use ...

of ''My Brother Bill''. He is interred in St. Peter's Cemetery, Oxford.

Works

Fiction

*''Men Working''. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1941. *''Dollar Cotton''. New York: Harcourt, Brace,

. *''Chooky''. New York:

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

. *''Cabin Road''. New York: Fawcett,

. *''Uncle Good's Girls''. New York: Fawcett,

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. *''The Sin Shouter of Cabin Road''. New York: Fawcett, 1955. *''Ain't Gonna Rain No More''. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett,

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. *''Uncle Good's Weekend Party''. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

. *''Beat Six''. Athens, GA: Hill Street Press,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Nonfiction

*''My Brother Bill: An Affectionate Reminiscence''. New York: Trident,

External links

John Faulkner profile
The Mississippi Writers Page; accessed September 26, 2017.
''John Faulkner's Vanishing South'' at AmericanHeritage
ArticleArchives.com; accessed September 26, 2017.
John Faulkner Memorial
findagrave.com; accessed September 26, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, John 1901 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American novelists Novelists from Mississippi 20th-century American painters American male painters People from Ripley, Mississippi People from Oxford, Mississippi Writers from Memphis, Tennessee Painters from Mississippi American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers Commercial aviators 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Tennessee 20th-century American male artists