Nicole Brossard (born November 27, 1943) is a leading

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 Fr ...

formalist poet and novelist. Her work is known for exploration of feminist themes and for challenging masculine-oriented language and points of view in French literature. She lives in

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...

, a suburb 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 ...

, Canada.

Early life

Brossard was born in Montreal, Quebec. She attended Collège Marguerite Bourgeoys and the Université de Montréal.

Career

Brossard wrote her first collection in 1965, ''Aube à la saison''. The collection ''L'Echo bouge beau'' marked a break in the evolution of her poetry that included an open and active participation in many literary and cultural events, including poetry recitals. In 1975, she participated in a meeting of writers on women, after which she began to take an activist role in 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 to write poetry with a more personal and subjective tone. Her writing includes sensual, aesthetic and feminist political content. Brossard co-founded a feminist newspaper, ''Les têtes de pioches'', with France Théoret. She wrote a play ''Le nef des sorcières'' (first performed in 1976). In 1982, she founded a publishing house: L'Intégrale éditrice. Brossard's poetry collection, ''Double Impression'', won the 1984 Governor General's Award. In 1987 her romance novel, ''Le désert mauve'', was published. The Nicole Brossard archives are located in downtown Montreal at the

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec ( 'National Library and Archives of Quebec') or BAnQ is a Quebec government agency which manages the province's legal deposit system, national archives, and national library. Located at the Gr ...

. and 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 ...

. In April 2019, Brossard was announced as the 2019

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

Lifetime Recognition Award recipient.

Awards

*1974: Governor General's Award for Poetry *1984: Governor General's Award for Poetry *1991:

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 ...

*1991: Harbour Festival Prize *2019:

America Award in Literature The America Award is a lifetime achievement literary award for international writers. It describes itself as a modest attempt at providing alternatives to the Nobel Prize in Literature. It was first presented in 1994. The award does not entail a ...

for a lifetime contribution to international writing

Selected bibliography

*''Aube à la saison'' - 1965 *''Mordre en sa chair'' - 1966 *''L'écho bouge beau'' - 1968 *''Suite logique'' - 1970 *''Un livre'' - 1970 (translated in English as ''A Book'') *''Le centre blanc'' - 1970 *''Mécanique jongleuse'' - 1974 (translated in English as ''Day-Dream Mechanics''; winner of the 1974 Governor General's Award for Poetry) *''La partie pour le tout'' - 1975 *''Sold-Out, étreinte / illustration'' - (1973) 1977 *''L'amèr ou le Chapitre effrité'' - 1977(translated in English as ''These Our Mothers'') *''French kiss, étreinte / exploration'' - (1974) 1979 *''Les sens apparent'' - 1980 (translated in English as ''Surfaces of Sense'') *''Amantes'' - 1980 (translated in English as ''Lovhers''; nominated for a

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 ...

) *''Journal intime'' - 1984 *''Double impression'' - 1984 (winner of the 1984 Governor General's Award for Poetry) *''Domaine d'écriture'' - 1985 *''La lettre aérienne'' - 1985 (translated in English as ''The Aerial Letter'') *''Le désert mauve'' - 1987 (translated in English as ''Mauve Desert'') *''L'amer'' - 1988 *''Installations: avec sans pronoms'' - 1989 *''A tout regard'' - 1989 *''La nuit verte du parc labyrinthe'' - 1992 *''Langues obscures'' - 1992 *''Baroque d'aube'' - 1995 (translated in English as ''Baroque at Dawn'') *''Vertige de l'avant-scène'' - 1997 (nominated for a

) *''Au présent des veins'' - 1999 *''Musée de l'os et de l'eau'' - 1999 (translated into English as ''Museum of Bone and Water''; nominated for a

;) *''Hier'' - 2001 (translated in English as ''Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon'') *''Cahier de roses & de civilisation'' - 2003 (nominated for a

) ;English translations *''These Our Mothers''- 1983; translated by Barbara Godard *''Baroque at Dawn'' - 1997 *''Museum of Bone and Water'' - 2005 *''Fluid Arguments'' - 2005 *''Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon'' - 2006 *''Picture Theory'' - 2006 *''Mauve Desert'' - 2006 *''Notebook of Roses and Civilization'' - 2007; translation by

Robert Majzels Robert Majzels (born May 12, 1950) is a Canadian novelist, poet, playwright and translator. Life Majzels was born in Montreal, Quebec. In 1986, he graduated with a master's degree in English Literature from Concordia University in Montreal, w ...

and

Erín Moure Erín Moure (born 1955 in Calgary, Alberta) Erín Moure is a Canadian poet and translator with 18 books of poetry, a coauthored book of poetry, a volume of essays, a book of articles on translation, a poetics, and two memoirs; she has translated ...

, shortlisted for the 2008 Canadian

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, the awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. ...

*''Fences in Breathing'' - 2009 *''Nicole Brossard: Selections'' - 2010; edited by Jennifer Moxley for the series: Poets for the Millennium from University of California Press *''White Piano'' - 2013; translation by

and

, shortlisted for the 2014

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...

References

External links

Griffin Poetry Prize biography, including audio and video clipsEPC and PennSound linkThe Literary Encyclopedia Nicole Brossard BioFine Feminist Workings
Susan Rudy's review of ''Nicole Brossard: Essays on Her Works'', by Louise H. Forsyth; published by Guernica Editions in 2005
Fonds Nicole Brossard (R11718)
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brossard, Nicole 1943 births 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets Writers from Montreal Canadian women poets Canadian poets in French Governor General's Award-winning poets Living people Prix Athanase-David winners Officers of the Order of Canada Harbourfront Festival Prize winners People from Outremont, Quebec Canadian LGBT poets 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Knights of the National Order of Quebec Canadian lesbian writers