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When I received the Fall 2004 issue of the Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Cultures: Special Issue: William Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha on September 16th, I was shocked and saddened by the news of Professor Michel Gresset's death, a leader of Faulkner studies in France. The journal carried in its opening pages the main obituary written by Professor Nicole Moulinoux of France, along with memorial pieces by Professors Francois Pitavy and Noel Polk. (More than two months have passed when I first heard the news, yet the impact of it still remains strongly in me.) Some of you may already have knowledge of this sad news, but permit me to inform others and share the sorrow.
We of Faulkner studies in Japan are greatly indebted to the late Professor Gresset; our society and journal in particular owe him an extraordinary debt of gratitude. We express our heartfelt condolences to his family on their bereavement and pray for the repose of his soul. According to Professor Nicole Moulinoux's obituary, Professor Gresset died of natural causes in Paris on May 31st in 2005. He was born on November 18, 1936 and was 68 years of age. We mourn his premature departure and are saddened by it. On behalf of the William Faulkner Society of Japan, please allow me to offer my sincere and heartfelt sympathies. Our prayers are respectfully with him. |