Madeleine Gagnon (born July 27, 1938) is a

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 ...

educator, literary critic and writer.

Biography

She was born in

Amqui Amqui () is a town in eastern Quebec, Canada, at the base of the Gaspé peninsula in Bas-Saint-Laurent. Located at the confluence of the Humqui and Matapédia Rivers, it is the seat of La Matapédia Regional County Municipality. The main access r ...

in the valley of the

Matapedia River The Matapedia River (french: Rivière Matapédia) is a river in the Matapedia Valley in the province of Quebec, Canada. It runs on from Matapedia Lake down to the village of Matapédia where it empties into the left bank of Restigouche River on ...

and was educated at the Collège Notre-Dame d'Acadie in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

, at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

and the Université d'Aix-en-Provence. From 1969 to 1982, she taught literature at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...

. She then was visiting professor and writer-in-residence at the Université de Montréal, at the

Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...

, at the Université du Québec à Montréal and at the

Université du Québec à Rimouski The Université du Québec à Rimouski (commonly referred to as UQAR) is a public university located in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada with a campus in Lévis. Since its establishment in 1969, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) has granted ...

. She wrote for the magazines ''Chroniques'' (which she founded with Patrick Straram), ''Liberté'', ''La Nouvelle Barre du jour'', ''Possibles'', ''Osiris'', ''Estuaire'', ''Urgences'', ''Passages'', and ''Actuels''. In 1986, her book ''Les Fleurs du Catalpa'' received the Grand Prix de poésie from the

Journal de Montréal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

, Her poetry collection ''Chant pour un Québec lointain'' received the

Governor General's Award for French-language poetry This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-language poetry. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for French language poetry or drama was divided. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s ...

, the Prix Arthur-Buies from the Salon du livre de Rimouski and the Prix Artquimédia from the town of Amqui. In 2002, she was awarded the

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 ...

. Gagnon was named a member of 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 1987.

Selected works

* ''La venue à l'écriture'', feminist essays (1976) with

Hélène Cixous Hélène Cixous (; ; born 5 June 1937) is a French writer, playwright and literary critic. She is known for her experimental writing style and great versatility as a writer and thinker, her work dealing with multiple genres: theater, literary an ...

and Annie Leclerc * ''La terre est remplie de langage'', poetry (1993) * ''Le Deuil du soleil'', autobiographical novel (1998), nominated for

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 ...

* ''Rêve de pierre'', poetry (1999) * ''Les femmes et la guerre'', essay (2001), received the Prix Marcel-Couture * ''Le chant de la terre'', poetry anthology covering the period 1978-2002 (2002)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gagnon, Madeleine 1938 births Living people Canadian poets in French Canadian novelists in French Governor General's Award-winning poets Canadian women poets Canadian women novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women essayists Writers from Quebec Université de Montréal alumni University of the Mediterranean alumni Academic staff of the Université de Montréal Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Academic staff of the Université de Sherbrooke 20th-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian essayists