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Marcantoine Crespi, French literature specialist, teacher, and poet, passed away June 27 in Montreux, Switzerland, at age 53.
Crespi joined the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Lafayette College in 1986 as a part-time instructor, a position that he held until he became ill in 2001. Crespi was a highly dedicated teacher, scholar, and poet who had committed his professional life to sharing his knowledge and appreciation of French language, literature, and culture with his students and colleagues. In addition to teaching a wide variety of French language and literature courses, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Club. He also made a significant contribution to the success of the Lafayette study abroad program in Dijon, France, which he directed in spring 1995 and fall 1998, 2000, and 2001.
Crespi held a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. In his dissertation, he explored elements of Surrealism in the works of French poet André Breton. Crespi was also known to the literary world as a talented and passionate poet who expressed his views on such universal themes as love and death, as well as the struggles of contemporary life. His poetic endeavors included several contributions to literary reviews as well as published volumes, both in the United States and abroad. His poems have appeared in revues and magazines, such as Poésie-USA, Revue de Poésie pour la Francophonie Septentrionale, 1981, and Les Écrivains, Magazine Littéraire Français de Rutgers College, spring 1984. His selected volumes of poetry include Derrière l’Avenir, choix de poèmes, Paris, Editions de la Nouvelle Pléiade, 1992, and Volcans Intimes, poèmes, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne (Switzerland), Editions Ouverture, 1996.
By his will, Crespi’s book collection has been donated to Skillman Library.
Alumni reflections on Crespi:
http://news.lafayette.edu/2005/11/03/reflections-on-marcantoine-crespi-audrey-twyman-96/
http://news.lafayette.edu/2005/11/03/reflections-on-marcantoine-crespi-alison-shipitofsky-96/
http://news.lafayette.edu/2005/11/03/reflections-on-marcantoine-crespi-tripti-thomas-96/