Gilbert La Rocque (April 29, 1943 - November 26, 1984) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

."Gilbert La Rocque"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'', May 7, 2009. He was most noted for his novel ''Les masques'', which was a finalist for the

Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...

at the

1980 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1980 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. English French {{GovernorGeneralsAwards Governor General's Awards Governor General's Awa ...

and won the Prix Suisse-Canada in 1981.1980
. ''Québec-Amérique''. Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, La Rocque worked as a bank teller and as a clerk at the city hall of

Montréal-Nord Montreal North (french: Montréal-Nord) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city of Montréal-Nord on Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. It was amalgamated into t ...

prior to the publication of his first novel ''Le Nombril'' in 1970. New, W. H., ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''.

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...

, 2002. . During his writing career, he was also editorial director of the publishing houses Éditions l'Homme, Éditions de l'Aurore and Éditions Québec-Amérique. He died of a brain tumor in 1984. Following his death, his correspondence with writer

Gérard Bessette Gérard Bessette (25 February 1920, in Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois, Quebec – 21 February 2005, in Kingston, Ontario) was a French Canadian writer and educator. Bessette grew up in Montreal and attended the Collège Saint-Ignace. He continued h ...

was published in 1994.

Works

Novels

* ''Le Nombril'' (1970) * ''Corridors'' (1971) * ''Après la boue'' (1972) * ''Serge d'entre les morts'' (1976) * ''Les Masques'' (1980) * ''Le Passager'' (1984)

Plays

* ''Le Refuge'' (1979)

Other

* ''Provencher, le dernier des coureurs de bois'' (1974) * ''Le Voleur'' (1976, with Claude Jodoin) * ''Gérard Bessette et Gilbert La Rocque - correspondance'' (1994)

References

1943 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male novelists Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian novelists in French Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French 20th-century Canadian biographers Writers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male biographers {{Quebec-writer-stub