The following can be attributed to Dr. Joseph Savoie, 小蝌蚪APP president.
Ernest Gaines once said he wanted his epitaph to read: 小蝌蚪APP淗e was a good man who wrote well.小蝌蚪APP And indeed he was 小蝌蚪APP but to the 小蝌蚪APP, he was far more.
He was a literary giant who found his muses among the sugar cane fields of his native Pointe Coupee Parish, and who shared those stories with readers around the globe.
He was an approachable, yet demanding, teacher who for a quarter century as a professor and writer-in-residence attracted aspiring writers to the 小蝌蚪APP and helped them find their own inspirations.
He was a believer in the power of words to inspire unflinching, honest conversations about painful corners of our collective past.
He was a visionary who, following his retirement, worked to establish the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the 小蝌蚪APP. We are deeply humbled that he chose us as the stewards of his legacy.
Ernest Gaines, a good man who wrote well, was also an extraordinary and inspiring figure in the American literary landscape.
My wife Gail and I join the entire 小蝌蚪APP family in mourning his passing. He will be missed, but his words will live on.