From The Editor's Desk

The seventy-fifth anniversary celebration of the American Association of Teachers of French and the French Review, held in Boston from July 11-14, was by all accounts a terrific success. Over 500 people attended, a large increase over the 2001 Denver convention, and there were many highlights. These included a Bastille Day celebration at the French Library and Cultural Center, under the leadership of its new director, Elaine Leary; a clambake at Legal Seafoods, a concert given by Josée Vachon, and a reception sponsored by the French Cultural Services. A splendid "Spectacle martiniquaise" of dance and song sponsored by the Martinique Tourist Board of New York drew a huge crowd in anticipation of next year's meeting in Martinique. We all came away breathless and eager to visit this enchanting island and to meet its people. Attendees were given seventy-fifth anniversary pins and mallettes. The Park Plaza Hotel gave easy access to the spectacular Boston Commons and downtown Boston. Joyce Beckwith, the president of the Boston local organizing committee and Assistant Editor for Pedagogy for the French Review, deserves enormous credit for making the convention such a resounding success.

Over a dozen editors attended the annual Editors' Luncheon at the Brasserie Jo, including former Editor in Chief, Stirling Haig, who was our special guest. Jayne Goepper, Editor of the National Bulletin, Clyde Thogmartin, and I gave our fifth annual "Meet the Editors" session, and there was a breathtaking range of sessions and topics including one to honor the two hundredth anniversary of Victor Hugo's birth. The annual banquet was well-attended, and we were honored by the presence of past presidents Phil Stewart, Stirling Haig, and Gladys Lipton. The Consul General of Boston, Stéphane Chmelewsky, was a special guest at the banquet. Consul Chmelewsky read from a letter written by Jean Racine to his son, emphasizing the importance of foreign language study, and some of us were reminded of Grandgousier's letter to Gargantua. Other notable dignitaries in attendance included Chantal Manès, Chef du service de coopération universitaire, linguistique et éducative, from the French Embassy in Washington; Marc Champeau, from the Quebec Ministry of Education; Martine Defontaine, the Secrétaire générale of the Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Français, and Annie Monnerie-Goarin, Secrétaire Générale of the Alliance Française (Paris). The French Review is especially grateful to the French Cultural Services for a grant of $2,250 that helped to subsidize the cost of our Seventy-Fifth Anniversary issue published last May.

For those who stayed over for Bastille Day itself there was an extra treat. The French Consulate in Boston holds an annual Bastille Day reception in the Boston area, and this year it was held in Salem at the Peabody-Essex Museum. Consul General Chmelewsky gave a moving speech in both French and English about the historical ties that bind France and the United States. We then sang both the Marseillaise and the Star-Spangled Banner , an emotional experience for many of us. In conjunction with the reception, we attended an impressive exhibition of French maritime art on loan from the French Maritime Museum in Paris. Among the many stellar paintings and objets d'art was the prow of the boat that Marie-Antoinette sailed on the lakes of Versailles. All in all the seventy-fifth anniversary celebration was a memorable one!

With this issue I must announce an increase in the cost of sending out manuscripts from potential French Review authors to our readers. As you know, the cost of a first-class stamp has risen to $0.37. In the past we have asked those who submit articles to include ten stamps or a check in the appropriate amount (according to postal rates) to the French Review . This means that we have subsidized the cost of sending out the author's manuscript to a second reader. Unfortunately we can no longer do this as expenses for publishing our journal have continued to rise. From this issue forward authors must now send a check for $7.40or twenty thirty-seven cent stamps in order for their manuscript to be sent out. Authors who resubmit an article after a split decision will have to send an additional $3.70 in stamps or a check. We regret the need for this increase but must cover more of our operating costs.

I want you to know that planning for the Special Issue in honor of our meeting in Martinique, which will appear in May 2003, is proceeding very well and we had a large number of submissions. So the issue should turn out to be a fine one.

I hope that you all participated in the fourth annual Semaine du Français and that you and your students are flourishing as the holiday season approaches.

Christopher P. Pinet