William Faulkner was first and foremost a novelist, and much of his achievement in the short-story form is closely related to his accomplishment as a novelist. This does not necessarily imply that his short stories are second to his novels in all respects, but it indicates how difficult it is to distinguish between Faulkner as novelist and as short-story writer. In the novel Faulkner was innovative, experimental, and influential, whereas his contribution to the short-story form is less significant. Yet one would do Faulkner 's short fiction a serious injustice by regarding it as inferior. Compared to his novels the short stories may appear less impressive; compared to most other short-story writers, though, Faulkner is a major practitioner of the form.

William Cuthbert Falkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on 25 September 1897, the first child of Maud Butler Falkner and Murry Cuthbert Falkner (he added the "u" to...