    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [August 3, 1999]
    [Page 1377]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Death of Willie Morris
    August 3, 1999

        Hillary and I were greatly saddened to learn of the death of our
    good friend Willie Morris. When I was a senior in college, I was
    captivated by his wonderful memoir, ``North Toward Home.'' I had the
    opportunity to visit New York City and meet him, then the remarkably
    young editor of Harper's magazine, who had started out in a small
    Southern town not unlike my own and who never lost his fascination with
    the human condition. In the 1980's, we became reacquainted, and I have
    enjoyed his wit, warmth, and wisdom ever since. Willie Morris was not
    only my friend, he was a national treasure. He had enormous pride in and
    love for the South, but he also had a passion to right the wrongs of our
    racial history. He will take his place beside Faulkner and Welty in the
    pantheon of the South's greatest writers. Our thoughts and prayers go to
    his wife Joanne, his son David, and his family and friends.