James Gray Watson: 1939-2010

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JAMES GRAY WATSON (JUNE 16, 1939-MARCH 30, 2010) WAS BORN IN Baltimore, completed undergraduate work at Bowdoin College, and earned the M.A. and Ph.D. in English at the University of Pittsburgh. He taught English for over forty years at the University of Tulsa, ending his career there as the Frances W. O'Hornett Professor of Literature. He was recognized as one of the world's leading scholars in William Faulkner, whose works he examined in a series of books, articles, and lectures; and he was recently at work on the writings of Peter Matthiessen. He enjoyed repeating the story of how he was introduced to Faulkner's works while a student at Bowdoin, when he was given a copy of As I Lay Dying as he recovered from a lacrosse injury. In addition to his international academic reputation, Jim's extraordinary commitment to …