Antonine Maillet, (; born May 10, 1929) is an

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the desc ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

. She was born in Bouctouche,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada."Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958-2009)'', edited by David Lonergan, Prise de paroles, pp. 41-68.

Education

Following high school, Maillet received her BA from the Collège Notre-Dame d'Acadie in 1950, followed by an MA from the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on highe ...

in 1959. She then received her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

in literature in 1971 from the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

. Her thesis is entitled ''Rabelais et les traditions populaires en Acadie''. Bottos, Katia. ''Antonine Maillet conteuse de l'Acadie ou l'encre de l'aède.'' L'Harmattan, 2011.Buck, Claire (1992). ''Bloomsbury guide to women's literature''. London: Bloomsbury. .

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It wa ...

185786618.

Career

Maillet taught literature and folklore at the college Notre-Dame d'Acadie (1954-1960); at the University of Moncton (1965-1967); at the Collège des Jésuites de Québec (1968-1969); at the University of Laval (1971-1974); then at the University of Montreal between (1974-1975). She later worked for Radio-Canada in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...

as a scriptwriter and host. In 1988 Maillet hosted the French-language

Leaders' Debate A leaders' debate or presidential debate is a public debate held during a general election campaign, where the candidates expose their political opinions and public policy proposals, and criticism of them, to potential voters. They are normally ...

for Radio-Canada TV between Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political s ...

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

Leader

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

, and

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

leader Ed Broadbent. From 1989 to 2000, she served as chancellor of the

. In 1976 she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

and was promoted to Companion in 1981. Maillet was awarded the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1980. In 1985 she was made an Officier des Arts et des Lettres de France and in 2005 she was inducted into the

Order of New Brunswick The Order of New Brunswick (french: Ordre du Nouveau Brunswick) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under ...

. She is a member of the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

since 1 July 1992. This gives her the right to the honorific prefix "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

" and the

Post Nominal Letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"PC" for Life. In 1979 her work ''Pélagie-la-Charrette'' won the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

, making her the first non-European recipient. In 1994, the College Militaire Royal theatre group performed in a play by Maillet both at CMR and at

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

. Maillet was granted an Honorary Degree from RMC in 1995. Bouctouche 1930 port

Selected works

*''Pointe-aux-Coques'' - 1958 *''On a mangé la dune'' - 1962 *''Les Crasseux'' - 1968 *''

La Sagouine ''La Sagouine'' is a play written by New Brunswick author Antonine Maillet that tells the story of ''la Sagouine'', an Acadian cleaning lady from rural New Brunswick. The play is a collection of monologues, written in Acadian French Acadian F ...

'' - 1971 *''Rabelais et les traditions populaires en Acadie'' - 1971 *''Don l'Orignal'' - 1972 (winner of the ( 1972 Governor General's Award for Fiction) *''Par derrière chez mon père'' - 1972 *''Gapi et Sullivan'' - 1973 *''L'Acadie pour quasiment rien'' - 1973 *''Mariaagélas'' - 1973 *''Évangéline Deusse'' - 1975 *''Gapi'' - 1976 *''La veuve enragée'' - 1977 *''Les Cordes-de-bois'' - 1977 *''Le Bourgeois Gentleman'' - 1978 *''Pélagie-la-Charrette'' - 1979 (winner of the

) *''Cent ans dans les bois'' - 1981 *''Christophe Cartier de la Noisette dit Nounours, conte jeunesse illustré par Hans Troxler *''La Contrebandière'' - 1981 *''Les drolatiques, horrifiques et épouvantables aventures de Panurge, ami de Pantagruel'' - 1981 *''La Gribouille'' - 1982 *''Crache à pic'' - 1984 *''Garrochés en paradis'' - 1986 *''Le Huitième Jour'' - 1986 *''Margot la folle'' - 1987 *''L'oursiade'' - 1990 *''William S.'' - 1991 *''Les confessions de Jeanne de Valois'' - 1992 *''La nuit des rois'' - 1993 *''La Fontaine ou la Comédie des Animaux'' - 1995 *''Le Chemin Saint-Jacques'' - 1996 *''L'Île-aux-Puces'' - 1996 *''Chronique d'une sorcière de vent'' 1999 *''Madame Perfecta'' - 2002 *''Le temps me dure'' - 2003 *''Pierre Bleu'' - 2006 *''Le Mystérieux Voyage de Rien'' - 2009 *''Fais confiance à la mer, elle te portera'' - 2010

References

External links

Antonine Maillet Profile at Government of CanadaLa Sagouine, Acadian tourist attraction ''Antonine Maillet - The Possibilities Are Endless'' (Trailer)
National Film Board of Canada
''Antonine Maillet, Novelist'' - Cover story, Atlantic Insight Magazine, July 1980
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maillet, Antonine 1929 births Living people Acadian people Canadian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian novelists Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Members of the Order of New Brunswick Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People from Bouctouche Prix Goncourt winners Université Laval alumni Writers from Moncton Canadian women novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian novelists in French Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French