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Anne Hébert (pronounced in French) (August 1, 1916 – January 22, 2000), was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
, three times, twice for fiction and once for poetry.


Early life

Hébert was born in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault (name later changed to Sainte-Catherine-de-Portneuf, and in 1984 to Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier),
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. Her father, Maurice Hébert, was a poet and literary critic. She was a cousin and childhood friend of modernist poet Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau. She began writing poems and stories at a young age.


Career

By the time she was in her early twenties, Hébert's work had been published in a number of periodicals. Her first collection of poems, ''Les Songes en Équilibre'', was published in 1942. In it she writes of herself as existing in solitude in a "dreamlike torpor". It received positive reviews and won her the Prix David. Saddened by the 1943 death of her thirty-one-year-old cousin, Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, and by the death of her only sister Marie in 1952, Hébert's poetry became filled with images of death and drowning." No Quebec publisher would publish her 1945 collection of stories, ''Le Torrent''. It was finally published in 1950 at the expense of Roger Lemelin. The provocative tales were considered shocking at the time, but later grew in popularity. Hébert was affiliated with Canada's first film bureau. She worked for Radio Canada, Film Board of Canada and National Film Board of Canada during the 1950s. Again, she could not find a publisher for her second book of anguish-filled poetry, ''Le Tombeau des rois'' (The Tomb of Kings), and had to publish it at her own expense in 1953. In 1954 Hébert used a grant from the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
to move to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, thinking that the city would be more receptive to her writing. ''Les Chambres de bois'' (1958), her first novel, was a passionate story which depicted violence and brutality through evocative imagery. Hébert was one of the first Québécois writers to experiment in her work with the expression of alienation and rebellion, rather than realistic narration and discussion." In 1960 during Québec's
Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...
, Hébert published ''Mystère de la parole'', a new collection of poems about more down-to-earth subjects than her previous work. Hébert's 1970 novel ''Kamouraska'' combines two romantic yet suspenseful stories and is set in 19th-century Québec. Hébert returned to Canada in the 1990s. Her last novel ''Un Habit de lumière'' was published in 1998. Hébert died of
bone cancer A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...
on January 22, 2000, in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
.


Recognition

Hébert's first book of poetry, ''Les Songes en Équilibre'', won Quebec's Prix David. She won the Prix France-Canada and the
Ludger-Duvernay Prize The Ludger-Duvernay Prize is a Quebec award created in 1944 and named in honour of journalist Ludger Duvernay. It is awarded by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal to recognize the merits of a person whose competence and influence in the ...
in 1958 for ''Les chambres de bois''. Hébert was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
in 1960. Her ''Poèmes'' (a reprinting of ''Le Tombeau des rois'', coupled with a section of new poems, ''Mystère de la parole'') won the
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
for poetry in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
. She twice won the Governor General's Award for fiction, for her novels ''Les enfants du sabbat'' (
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
) and ''L'enfant chargé des songes'' (
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
). She won the Molson Prize in 1967. Hébert won France's Prix de librairies for her 1970 novel ''Kamouraska'' and its
Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French List of literary awards, literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or Verse (poetry), verse by male ...
for her 1982 novel ''Les fous de Bassan''. Both books have also been made into movies, ''Kamouraska'' in 1973 directed by
Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.
, and ''Les fous de Bassan'' in 1986 by Yves Simoneau. ''Kamouraska'' also won the Grand Prix of the Académie royale de la langue françaises de Belgique. Hébert's work has been translated into at least seven languages, including English, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. ''The First Garden,'' the English translation of ''Le premier jardin'', won the Félix Antoine-Savard Prize for Translation in 1991, L'école Anne-Hébert, opened in Vancouver in 1983, is an elementary school that offers instruction from kindergarten through grade 6 in French only. In 2013, documentary filmmaker Michel Langlois released ''Anne des vingt jours'', a biographical documentary about Hébert.


Commemorative postage stamp

On September 8, 2003, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
National Library of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...
,
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
released a special commemorative series, "The Writers of Canada", with a design by Katalina Kovats, featuring two English-Canadian and two French-Canadian stamps. Three million stamps were issued. The two French-Canadian authors used were Hébert and her cousin, Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau.


Publications


Novels

* ''Les chambres de bois''. (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1958), – ''The Silent Rooms'' (1974, translated by Kathy Mezei) * '' Kamouraska'' (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1970.), – ''Kamouraska'' (1974, translated by Norman Shapiro) * ''Les enfants du sabbat''. (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1975), – ''Children of the Black Sabbath'' (1977, translated by Carol Dunlop-Hébert) * '' Heloise'' (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1980.), – * ''Les fous de Bassan'' – (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1982.), – ''In the Shadow of the Wind'' (Toronto: Anansi, 1983; translated by Sheila Fischman) * ''Le premier jardin''. (Paris: Seuil, 1988.), – ''The First Garden'' (Toronto: Anansi, 1991; translated by Sheila Fischman) * ''L'enfant chargé de songes''. (Paris : Editions du Seuil, 1992), – ''The Burden of Dreams'' (Toronto: Anansi, 1994; translated by Sheila Fischman) * ''Est-ce que je te dérange?'') – (1998) – ''Am I disturbing you?'' (Anansi, 1999; translated by Sheila Fischman) * ''Un habit de lumière''. (Paris : Editions du Seuil, 1999.), – ''A Suit of Light''. (Toronto: Anansi, 2000, translated by Sheila Fischman) * ''Collected Later Novels''. (Toronto: Anansi, 2003, translated by Sheila Fischman),


Poetry

* ''Les songes en equilibre'' – (1942) * ''Le tombeau des rois'' (''The Tomb of the Kings'') – (1953) * ''Poèmes'' (''Poems'') – (1960) – ''Poems by Anne Hébert'' (Don Mills, ON: Musson Book Co., 1975, translated by Alan Brown)., * ''Selected Poems'' – (1987) – ''Selected Poems'' (1987) * ''Le jour n'a d'égal que la nuit'' (Québec : Boréal,
992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea. Euro ...
, ''Day Has No Equal But the Night'' (Toronto: Anansi, 1997; translated by Lola Lemire Tostevin) * ''Oeuvre poétique''. (1993) * ''Poèmes pour la main gauche'' – ( ontréal Boréal,
997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power stru ...
,


Short stories and novellas

* ''Le torrent''. (1950), – ''The Torrent'' (1973, translated by Gwendolyn Moore) * ''Aurélien, Clara, Mademoiselle et le Lieutenant anglais.'' (1995) ''Aurélien, Clara, Mademoiselle, and the English Lieutenant'' (Toronto: Anansi, 1996; translated by Sheila Fischman) * ''Est-ce que je te dérange?'' (Paris : Editions du Seuil, 1998), – ''Am I Disturbing You?'' (Toronto: Anansi, 1999; translated by Sheila Fischman)


Theater

* ''La Mercière assassinée'' – (The Murdered Shopkeeper, translated by Eugene Benson and Renate Benson, ''Canadian Drama/L'Art dramatique Canadien'', vol. 10, no.2 (1984).) * ''Le temps sauvage'' – (1956) – (The Unquiet State, translated by Eugene Benson and Renate Benson, ''Canadian Drama/L'Art dramatique Canadien'', vol. 14, no. 2 (1988).) * ''Les Invités au Procès'' – (The Guests on Trial, translated by Eugene Benson and Renate Benson, ''Canadian Drama/L'Art dramatique Canadien'', vol. 9, no.1 (1983).) * ''La cage suivi de L'île de la demoiselle'' – (1990) – (The Cage and L'Île de la demoiselle, translated by Pamela Grant, Gregory J. Reid, and Sheila Fischman, (2010).)


Film scripts

* ''L'Éclusier'' (''Lock-keeper'') – (1953) * ''The Charwoman'' – (1954) * ''Midinette'' (''Needles and Pins'') – (1955) * ''La Canne à pêche'' – (1959) * ''Saint-Denys Garneau'' – (1960) * ''L'Étudiant'' – (1961) * '' Kamouraska'' – (1973) * '' Les Fous de Bassan'' – (1987)


References


Notes


External links


Anne Hébert's
entry in
The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...
* English translation of one of Hébert's poems:
Woman Bathing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebert, Anne 1916 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian modernist poets Modernist women writers Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Canadian poets in French Deaths from cancer in Quebec Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award–winning fiction writers Governor General's Award–winning poets Officers of the National Order of Quebec Prix Alain-Grandbois Prix Athanase-David winners Prix Femina winners Prix des libraires winners Poets from Quebec 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian novelists in French Novelists from Quebec