A visiting Japanese poet and professor has found a connection with American novelist William Faulkner and his stories of the southern United States.

Ryo Nonaka, a professor of English and American culture at the School of Literature at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, is studying Faulkner's works this semester at the Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast Missouri State University.

The center here is one of four Faulkner research centers. None is in Japan.

Nonaka says many Japanese readers enjoy the unusual characters and the paradoxes found in Faulkner's stories. Faulkner visited Japan in 1955. After his visit, a growing number of Faulkner scholars have emerged from the country.

Nonaka especially likes Faulkner's story-telling method. "He gives fragmentary data for the reader to compose our own interesting and meaningful story," Nonaka said. "It's very exciting for the reader, and I think very difficult for the author to make such well-related cooperation in the story."

The style is similar to the Japanese poetry style called Haiku, Nonaka said.

"In Japan, silence, reticence, and conciseness are virtues," Nonaka explained. "We have very short poems, Haiku, which are just 17 syllables. Faulkner's style is very Haiku-like. I think that is one reason we can easily understand his style."

In addition, many of Faulkner's works were set in small towns in the south and dealt with issues like racism.

Those themes translate to Japanese culture. "Many Japanese novel heroes are farmers, poor farmers," Nonaka explained. "We don't have racism like the American south, but we have minority groups, especially the poor and the very poor. These groups are despised. So we can relate."

Faulkner's characters with their eccentric personalities captured Nonaka's interest nearly 30 years ago.

"I was overwhelmed by his characters. They are all eccentrics almost without exception and yet typical and very human." He wanted to learn more about the writer who could portray the personalities.

In his home country, Nonaka isn't alone in his interest in Faulkner.

A Faulkner Society recently formed in Japan and quickly enrolled 200 members. About the same number of members belong to the long-standing United States chapter, said Dr. Robert Hamblin, director of the Faulkner Center at Southeast.

Nonaka writes poetry and scholarly books in addition to teaching. He has taken a six-month study leave from his university to study Faulkner and American culture.

"I wanted to know more about America, American democracy, and I thought it would be fascinating to see life in a small town," he said.

The Mississippi River and Mark Twain also hold fascination for the visiting scholar. Twain is another American author popular in Japan, and Nonaka takes regular walks from campus to the Cape Girardeau riverfront to watch the Mississippi River roll past.

"The water is energetic, fierce, wild, and at the same time very comforting," he said.

Nonaka and his wife, Keiko, plan to stay in Cape Girardeau through February. They have visited Oxford, Miss., to see where Faulkner lived, and they hope to return. They would also like to visit Hannibal and Ste. Genevieve.