Marie Uguay (April 22, 1955 – October 26, 1981) was a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

poet from the province of

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 ...

. She was born in the former town of

Ville-Émard Ville-Émard is a neighbourhood located in the Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Overview Geography This neighbourhood is bordered by the Aqueduct Canal to the east as far north as Desmarchais Boulevard where it meets Côte-Saint- ...

which has now become a district of the city of

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 ...

. A victim of

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

, she had her right leg amputated at the age of 21 while she was still undergoing studies 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 ...

in literature. She died at the age of 26, from cancer, on October 26, 1981. A cultural center in Ville-Émard was named for Uguay after her death and is still open today, as well as a public library.

Childhood

She was born with the name ''Marie Lalonde'' but eventually borrowed her maternal grandfather's name in his honor. He was a violin teacher, an amateur of literature and she viewed him as a role model. She began writing very early, first writing stories for her pleasure. Soon she began writing poetry as she appreciated how full of life a text could become through poetic verses.

Work

Uguay's poetry is marked by her reflections on Québec separatism, the

feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...

, and on her illness. The critic Ben Libman has compared Uguay's prodigious brilliance to that of

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

and

Jules Laforgue Jules Laforgue (; 16 August 1860 – 20 August 1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbo ...

, writing that "What astonishes about Uguay’s poetry, then, is not the maturity that, despite itself, is youthful but the youthfulness that, despite itself, is mature."

Bibliography

Original works

* ''Signe et rumeur'' (1976) * ''L'Outre-vie'' (1979) * ''Autoportraits'' (1982) (posthumous) * ''Journal'' 2005 (posthumous)

Works translated into English

* ''Selected poems (1975-1981)'' (translated by

Daniel Sloate Daniel Sloate (January 27, 1931 – April 10, 2009) was a Canadians, Canadian translation, translator, poetry, poet and playwright. Sloate attended the University of Western Ontario (where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. in French literature, ...

)

References

1955 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets Writers from Montreal French Quebecers Canadian poets in French Université du Québec à Montréal alumni People from Le Sud-Ouest 20th-century Canadian women writers {{Canada-poet-stub