СAPP writer-in-residence emeritus Ernest J. GainesСAPP novels earned critical acclaim, readers across the world, literary awards and, most recently, a U.S. postage stamp featuring his portrait.
Gaines, who died in November 2019 at age 86, placed words over accolades, however. СAPPI donСAPPt need public attention, and IСAPPm not interested in written criticism of my work СAPP but public attention is gratifying,СAPP he once explained. Gaines needed to write, particularly about СAPPthis Louisiana thing that drives me,СAPP and the region near River Lake Plantation in Oscar, La.
ThatСAPPs one reason Gaines might have found the U.S. Postal ServiceСAPPs commemoration of his life and work in the Atchafalaya Ballroom of UL LafayetteСAPPs Student Union gratifying. The recent first-day-of-issue ceremony signaled the official unveiling of his stamp, the 46th in the postal serviceСAPPs Black Heritage Series.
But the event also brought together his family members, friends, former students and readers, who heard writers, scholars, academics and public figures extoll Gaines and his work. A sampling of quotes from several of the ceremonyСAPPs speakers is below.
Dianne Gaines, widow of Dr. Ernest J. Gaines
СAPPThis is such an honor and a joy to be here, for this great honor acknowledging the talent and achievement of Ernest Gaines. We are so proud, all of us are here today, because we are proud of him. All of us are proud of him. We loved Ernest and we are proud.СAPP
Donald L. Moak, member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors
СAPPErnest Gaines lived a uniquely American life, and told uniquely American stories. His novels would give a voice to individuals who were too often overlooked and remind us of the dignity present in every human being.СAPP
Dr. Joseph Savoie, president of СAPP
СAPPNow, through the work of the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the СAPP СAPP here, in this little postage stamp of place, in a Louisiana that he held his mirror up to so we could all see ourselves more clearly СAPP these principles endure. WeСAPPre so proud and honored to be stewards of this immense literary legacy and the powerful lessons that it carries.СAPP
Cheylon Woods, director of UL LafayetteСAPPs Ernest J. Gaines Center
СAPPHe helped many students find their narrative voice and put their passions to paper. His ability to encourage and nurture someoneСAPPs passion, I believe, was one of his strongest traits. My fondest memory or Ernest J. Gaines is an inscription he wrote when he signed a copy of the Tragedy of Brady Sims for me. It reads, СAPPThank you for taking care of my words.СAPPСAPP
Dr. Keith Clark, professor of English and African American Studies, George Mason СAPP
СAPPIt is so fitting that an artist who began his literary tutelage writing letters is now bestowed with the honor of a first-class postage stamp, a tribute to the power of letters to still connect us across states and continents and time zones even in a dizzyingly digitized age that too often minimizes the potency of paper.СAPP
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Photo caption: Donald L. Moak, U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, Dianne Gaines, widow of Dr. Ernest J. Gaines, and Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president, are shown beside an image of Dr. GainesСAPP postage stamp. The СAPPСAPPs writer-in-residence emeritus, who died in 2019, was celebrated during a recent postal ceremony in the Student Union that signaled the official unveiling of the stamp. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / СAPP