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Jovette Marchessault () (February 9, 1938 – December 31, 2012)"Jovette Marchessault, écrivaine et artiste, est décédée à l'âge de 74 ans"
'' Le Devoir'', January 2, 2013.
was a Canadian writer and artist from Quebec, who worked in a variety of literary and artistic domains including
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s, poetry, drama, painting and sculpture. An important pioneer of
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
and
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
literature and art in Canada,
W. H. New William Herbert New (born March 28, 1938) is a Canadian poet and literary critic. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was educated at John Oliver Secondary School, where he received one of the top matriculation exam scores in British Columbi ...
, ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada'' (chapter "Gay and Lesbian Writing", pp. 418–22). University of Toronto Press, 2002. .
many of her most noted works were inspired by other real-life women in literature and art, including Violette Leduc, Gertrude Stein and
Alice B. Toklas Alice Babette Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967) was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Early life Alice B. Toklas was born in San F ...
, Emily Carr,
Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...
and Helena Blavatsky.Jovette Marchessault
at The Canadian Encyclopedia.


Career

Born in Montreal, Marchessault worked in a textile factory in her youth before travelling extensively in the late 1950s on a journey of self-discovery that would inform much of her work. By 1970, she was regularly exhibiting artwork in Montreal, Toronto, New York City, Paris and Brussels. She published her first novel, ''Le Crachat solaire'', in 1975; this would be the first volume in her ''Comme une enfant de la terre'' trilogy, which also included the novels ''La Mère des herbes'' (1981) and ''Des Cailloux blancs pour les forêts obscures'' (1987). As a playwright, she published numerous plays; her early works ''Les Vaches de nuit'', ''Les Faiseuses d'anges'' and ''Chronique lesbienne du moyen-âge québécois'' were also republished in 1980 in one volume as ''Triptyque lesbien''. Marchessault contributed as a journalist to publications such as '' Le Devoir'', '' Châtelaine'', ''La Vie en rose'', ''La Nouvelle barre du jour'', '' Fireweed'' and ''13 Moon''. She co-founded the publishing house Squawtach Press, and was a lecturer in the theater department at the Université du Québec à Montréal.


Awards and honors

Marchessault's play ''La Terre est trop courte, Violette Leduc'' was a nominee for French-language Drama at the
1982 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1982 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 Generals Awa ...
, and her play ''Le Voyage magnifique d'Emily Carr'' won the award at the
1990 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1990 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10000 and a specially bound edition of his or her book. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. English Langua ...
. She was inducted into the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec in 1993. A portrait of Marchessault, by artist
Robert Laliberté Robert Laliberté (born 1951)Inductee: Robert Laliberté