Pierre Petitclair (12 October 1813 – 15 August 1860) was one of the first native

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 ...

writers. He wrote two popular plays of the 19th century, ''La Donation'' (1842) and ''Une partie de campagne'' (1857), the latter notable for using rural québécois speech for the first time on stage. He also composed a number of poems throughout his life. He started out in studies of law, but flourished as an artist while working as a copyist for the notary

Archibald Campbell Archibald Campbell may refer to: Peerage * Archibald Campbell of Lochawe (died before 1394), Scottish peer * Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll (died 1513), Lord Chancellor of Scotland * Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll (c. 1507–1558) ...

. During this time he wrote his first play, never staged, ''Griphon ou la vengeance d'un valet,'' perhaps the first French-Canadian play. He reached the peak of his career in 1842 publishing within a couple of weeks three poems, “Pauvre soldat! qu’il doit souffrir!,” “À Flore,” and “Le règne du juste,” and also a comedy, “La donation".

References

19th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Quebec 1813 births 1860 deaths Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Canadian poets in French Canadian male poets Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Canadian poets 19th-century Canadian male writers {{Canada-playwright-stub