Editing William Faulkner (section)

===Trip to the North and early writings===

When he was 17, Faulkner met [[Phil Stone]], who became an important early influence on his writing. Stone was four years his senior and came from one of Oxford's older families; he was passionate about literature and had bachelor's degrees from [[Yale University|Yale]] and the University of Mississippi. Stone read and was impressed by some of Faulkner's early poetry, becoming one of the first to recognize and encourage Faulkner's talent. Stone mentored the young Faulkner, introducing him to the works of writers like [[James Joyce]], who influenced Faulkner's own writing. In his early 20s, Faulkner gave poems and short stories he had written to Stone in hopes of their being published. Stone sent these to publishers, but they were uniformly rejected.<ref name="Coughlan, Robert 1953"/> In spring 1918, Faulkner traveled to live with Stone at Yale, his first trip to the North.<ref>[[#Zeitlin|Zeitlin (2016)]], p. 15.</ref> Through Stone, Faulkner met writers like [[Sherwood Anderson]], [[Robert Frost]], and [[Ezra Pound]].<ref name="connor5">[[#O'Connor|O'Connor (1959)]], p. 5.</ref>

During the [[First World War]], Faulkner attempted to join the US Army. There are accounts of this that indicate he was rejected for being under weight and his short stature of 5'5".<ref name="connor5"/> Other accounts purport to prove that the aforementioned accounts are false.<ref>[[#Zeitlin|Zeitlin (2016)]], pp. 17–18.</ref> Although he initially planned to join the [[British Army]] in hopes of being commissioned as an officer,<ref>[[#Zeitlin|Zeitlin (2016)]], pp. 15–17.</ref> Faulkner instead joined the [[Royal Flying Corps (Canada)|Royal Air Force (Canada)]] with a forged letter of reference and left Yale to receive training in [[Toronto]].<ref>[[#Zeitlin|Zeitlin (2016)]], pp. 17, 20.</ref>  He enlisted in Toronto on July 10, 1918, as a Private (II Class), No.173799, in the [[Royal Flying Corps (Canada)|RAF (C)]]<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= 1919|title=Attestation Form: William Faulkner |url=https://www.fold3.com/image/614970413/1567-page-260-uk-royal-air-force-airmens-service-records-1918-1940 |website= Fold3.com|location=National Archives |publisher=War Office |access-date=23 March 2025}}</ref> but never saw active service overseas during the First World War, only training at the recruit depot in Toronto.<ref>{{cite book|title=William Faulkner: Self-Presentation and Performance|last=Watson|first=James G.|year=2002|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin|isbn=978-0-292-79151-0}}</ref> 
[[File:William Faulkner in Toronto, Canada (1918).jpg|thumb|alt=Faulkner is pictured in a military uniform and cap, leaning on a cane. A caption reads "Royal Flying Corps".|Faulkner as a cadet in the Canadian RAF, 1918]]
On January 4, 1919, he was discharged as a Private (II Class) due to end the of the War, having served 179 days.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= 1919|title=Attestation Form: William Faulkner |url=https://www.fold3.com/image/614970413/1567-page-260-uk-royal-air-force-airmens-service-records-1918-1940 |website= Fold3.com|location=National Archives |publisher=War Office |access-date=23 March 2025}}</ref> Despite claiming so in his letters, Faulkner did not receive cockpit training or ever fly.<ref>[[#Zeitlin|Zeitlin (2016)]], pp. 24–25.</ref> Returning to Oxford in December 1918, Faulkner told acquaintances false war-stories and even faked a war wound.<ref>[[#Zeitlin|Zeitlin (2016)]], pp. 26–27.</ref>

In 1918, Faulkner's surname changed from "Falkner" to "Faulkner". According to one story, a careless typesetter made an error. When the misprint appeared on the title page of his first book, Faulkner was asked whether he wanted the change. He supposedly replied, "Either way suits me."<ref>Nelson, Randy F. ''The Almanac of American Letters'' Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1981: pp. 63–64. {{ISBN|0-86576-008-X}}</ref> His 1918 Attestation Papers for the RAF (C) note his name as “Faulkner”. In adolescence, Faulkner began writing poetry almost exclusively. He did not write his first novel until 1925. His literary influences are deep and wide. He once stated that he modeled his early writing on the [[Romanticism|Romantic era]] in late 18th- and early 19th-century England.<ref name="Ole Miss"/>

He attended the University of Mississippi, enrolling in 1919, studying for three semesters before dropping out in November 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/faulkner_william|title=University of Mississippi: William Faulkner|publisher=Olemiss.edu|access-date=September 27, 2010|archive-date=September 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922051232/http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/faulkner_william/|url-status=live}}</ref> Faulkner joined the [[Sigma Alpha Epsilon]] fraternity, and pursued his dream to become a writer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Messenger |first1=Christian K. |title=Sport and the Spirit of Play in American Fiction: Hawthorne to Faulkner |date=1983 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51661-7 |page=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2XOVxoWpiQC&pg=PA219 |language=en |access-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302103604/https://books.google.com/books?id=-2XOVxoWpiQC&pg=PA219 |url-status=live }}</ref> He skipped classes often and received a "D" grade in English. However, some of his poems were published in campus publications.<ref name="Coughlan, Robert 1953">Coughlan, Robert. ''The Private World of William Faulkner'', New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953 {{isbn|0-8154-0424-7}}</ref><ref name="Porter, Carolyn 2007">Porter, Carolyn. [https://books.google.com/books?id=awt9X0cAC40C ''William Faulkner''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202104652/https://books.google.com/books?id=awt9X0cAC40C&printsec=frontcover |date=December 2, 2020 }}, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007; {{ISBN|0-19-531049-7}}</ref> In 1922, his poem "Portrait" was published in the New Orleans literary magazine ''Double Dealer''. The magazine published his "New Orleans" short story collection three years later.<ref>[[#Koch|Koch (2007)]], p. 57.</ref> After dropping out, he took a series of odd jobs: at a New York City bookstore, as a carpenter in Oxford, and as the Ole Miss postmaster. He resigned from the post office with the declaration: "I will be damned if I propose to be at the beck and call of every itinerant scoundrel who has two cents to invest in a postage stamp."<ref>[[#O'Connor|O'Connor (1959)]], p. 6.</ref>