Jacques Poulin (born 23 September 1937 in Saint-Gédéon,

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 ...

) is a Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

with a quiet and intimate style of writing. Poulin studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and arts at the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

; he started his career as commercial

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

and later became a college guidance counselor. Only after the success of his second novel, ''Jimmy'' (1969), was he able to devote himself completely to his writing. Poulin has written fourteen novels, many of which have been translated into English by

Sheila Fischman Sheila Leah Fischman (born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian translator who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature from French to English. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, she was brought up in Ontario. She hold ...

, and published by Cormorant Books. Poulin lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for 15 years, but now lives in Quebec City. Poulin's ''

Volkswagen Blues ''Volkswagen Blues'' is a French-language novel by French-Canadian writer Jacques Poulin, his sixth, which was originally published by Québec-Amérique in 1984 and was re-issued by Babel in 1998. ''Volkswagen Blues'' was translated into English ...

'' was selected as a candidate in the CBC's 2005 edition of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'', where it was championed by Roch Carrier, author and former National Librarian of Canada.

Awards and recognition

*Winner of 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 ...

in 1978 for ''Les grandes marées''. *Nominated for the

in 1984 for ''Volkswagen Blues''. *Nominated for the

in 1989, winner of the

Prix Québec-Paris Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

in 1989, the Prix Molson from the

Académie des lettres du Québec The Académie des lettres du Québec is a national academy for Quebec writers. It was founded as the Académie canadienne-française in 1944 by Victor Barbeau and a group of writers. In 1992 it changed its name to the Académie des lettres du Qué ...

in 1990 and the Prix France-Québec in 1991 for ''Le Vieux Chagrin''. *Winner of the Quebec government's

Prix Athanase-David The Prix Athanase-David is a literary award presented annually by the government of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (w ...

in 1995 *Winner of the

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

from the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

in 2000 *Winner of the Gilles-Corbeil Prize (Le Nobel québécois) in 2008

Bibliography

*The "Jimmy" Trilogy: **''Mon cheval pour un royaume'' — 1967 (Translated as ''My Horse for a Kingdom'') **''Jimmy'' — 1969 (Translated as ''Jimmy'') **''Le cœur de la baleine bleue'' — 1970 (Translated as ''The Heart of the Blue Whale'') *''Faites de beaux rêves'' — 1974 (Not yet translated) *''Les grandes marées'' — 1978 (''Spring Tides'', translated by

, (

Archipelago Books Archipelago Books is an American not-for-profit publisher dedicated to promoting cross-cultural exchange through international literature in translation." Located in Brooklyn, New York, it publishes small to mid-size runs of international fiction ...

), 2007) *''

'' — 1984 (Translated as ''Volkswagen Blues'') *''Le Vieux Chagrin'' — 1989 (Translated as ''Mr. Blue'') *''La tournée d'automne'' — 1993 (Translated as ''Autumn Rounds'') *''Chat sauvage'' — 1998 (Translated as ''Wild Cat'') *''Les yeux bleus de Mistassini'' — 2002 (Translated as ''My Sister's Blue Eyes'') *''La traduction est une histoire d'amour'' — 2006 (''Translation is a Love Affair'', translated by

(

), 2009) *''L'anglais n'est pas une langue magique'' — 2009 (Not yet translated) *''L'homme de la Saskatchewan'' — 2011 (Not yet translated) *''Un jukebox dans la tête'' — 2015 (Not yet translated)

External links

Prix Athanase-David 1995 announcement

Critical bibliography (Auteurs.contemporain.info)

Jacques Poulin entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
*Archives of Jacques Pouli
(Fonds Jacques Poulin, R11789)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulin, Jacques 1937 births Living people Canadian male novelists Writers from Quebec Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Université Laval alumni Prix Athanase-David winners 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian novelists in French 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers

Awards and recognition

Bibliography

See also

External links