William Faulkner spent a year in New Orleans. It influenced his writing all his life.

For aspiring writers, New Orleans in the 1920s wasn’t just another city; it was a cultural crucible where artistic voices were forged amid a tolerant, bohemian atmosphere. For William Faulkner, his transformative stay in the French Quarter in 1925 proved pivotal, marking his transition from an aspiring poet to a fledgling novelist and profoundly shaping his literary trajectory.

When Faulkner arrived in January 1925, a few months after his 27th birthday, he was only passing through on his way to Europe. But he quickly fell under the city’s spell, finding in its French Quarter a poor man’s Paris where he could live cheaply and richly among artists.

He rented a modest apartment in Pirate’s Alley (then Orleans Alley), today a literary landmark. This lean living situation was part of the Qu