Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is 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 Fre ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Tremblay was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

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 thirte ...

, where he grew up in the

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

neighbourhood of

Plateau Mont-Royal Le Plateau-Mont-Royal () is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Plateau-Mont-Royal takes its name from its location on a plateau, on the eastern side of Mont-Royal and overlooking downtown Montreal, acro ...

; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood with a working-class character and

joual ''Joual'' () is an accepted name for the linguistic features of Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for some. ''Joual'' is stigmatized by some and ...

dialect - something that would heavily influence his work. Tremblay's first professionally produced play, '' Les Belles-Sœurs'', was written in 1965 and premiered at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert on August 28, 1968. It transformed the old guard of Canadian theatre and introduced

to the mainstream. It stirred up controversy by portraying the lives of working-class women and attacking the strait-laced, deeply religious society of mid-20th century Quebec.

Career and impact

The most profound and lasting effects of Tremblay's early plays, including ''Hosanna'' and ''La Duchesse de Langeais'', were the barriers they toppled in Quebec society. Until the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

of the early 1960s, Tremblay saw Quebec as a poor, working-class province dominated by an

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

elite and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Tremblay's work was part of a vanguard of liberal, nationalist thought that helped create an essentially modern society. His most famous plays are usually centred on gay characters. The first Canadian play about and starring a drag queen was his play ''

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek ...

'', which was first performed at Théâtre de Quat'Sous in Montreal in 1973. The women in his plays are usually strong but possessed with demons they must vanquish. It is said he sees Quebec as a matriarchal society. He is considered one of the best playwrights for women. In the late 1980s, '' Les Belles-sœurs'' ("The Sisters-in-Law") was produced in Scotland in Scots, as ''The Guid-Sisters'' ("guid-sister" being Scots for "sister-in-law"). His work has been translated into many languages, including

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

, and including such works as ''Sainte-Carmen de la Main'', ''Ç'ta ton tour, Laura Cadieux'', and ''Forever Yours, Marilou'' (''À toi pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou''). He has been openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

throughout his public life, and he has written many novels (''The Duchess and the Commoner'', ''La nuit des princes charmants'', ''Le Coeur découvert'', ''Le Coeur éclaté'') and plays (''Hosanna'', ''La duchesse de Langeais'', ''Fragments de mensonges inutiles'') centred on gay characters. In a 1987 interview with

Shelagh Rogers Shelagh Rogers, OC, is a Canadian broadcast journalist based in British Columbia. She is the host and producer of CBC Radio One's '' The Next Chapter'', and former chancellor of the University of Victoria. Background Rogers grew up in Ottawa ...

for

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's ''The Arts Tonight'', he remarked that he has always avoided behaviours he has considered masculine; for example, he does not smoke and he noted that he was 45 years old and did not know how to drive a car. "I think I am a rare breed," he said, "A homosexual who doesn't like men." He claims one of his biggest regrets in life was not telling his mother that he was gay before she died. His latest play to receive wide acclaim is ''For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again'', a comedic and nostalgic play, centred on the memories of his mother. He later published the Plateau Mont-Royal Chronicles, a cycle of six novels including ''

The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant ''The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant'' (originally published in French as ''La grosse femme d'à côté est enceinte'', and translated into English by Sheila Fischman in 1981) is a 1978 novel by Canadian author Michel Tremblay. The story takes p ...

'' (''

La grosse femme d'à côté est enceinte ''The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant'' (originally published in French as ''La grosse femme d'à côté est enceinte'', and translated into English by Sheila Fischman in 1981) is a 1978 novel by Canadian author Michel Tremblay. The story takes p ...

'', 1978) and ''The Duchess and the Commoner'' (''La duchesse et le roturier'', 1982). The second novel of this series, ''Therese and Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel'' (''Thérèse et Pierrette à l'école des Saints-Anges'', 1980), was one of the novels chosen for inclusion in the French version of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'', ''Le combat des livres'', broadcast on Radio-Canada in 2005, where it was championed by

union activist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

Monique Simard. Tremblay also worked on a television series entitled ''Le Cœur découvert'' (''The Heart Laid Bare''), about the lives of a gay couple in Quebec, for the French-language TV network Radio-Canada. In 2005 he completed another novel cycle, the ''Cahiers'' (''Le Cahier noir'' (translated as ''The Black Notebook''), ''Le Cahier rouge'', ''Le Cahier bleu''), dealing with the changes that occurred in 1960s Montreal during the Quiet Revolution. In 2009 ''The Fat Woman Next Door'' was a finalist in CBC's prestigious Canada Reads competition.

Political views

For many years, Tremblay has believed that the only reasonable solution for Quebec is to separate from Canada. Once the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

was elected in Quebec, he softened his views on allowing his plays to be produced in English there. He made it clear, however, that that did not mean that he agreed with bilingualism, calling it "stupid" and stating that he thought it ridiculous to expect a housewife in Vancouver to be fluent in both English and French.
'' Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC'' March 28, 1978 Despite his often outspoken views in public, Tremblay's treatment of politics in his plays is subtle. Speaking of politics and the theatre in an Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC interview in 1978, Tremblay said:

"I know what I want in the theatre. I want a real political theatre, but I know that political theatre is dull. I write fables."

In April 2006 he declared that he did not support the arguments put forward for the separation of Quebec. But he clarified his thoughts some time later by saying he was still a supporter of Quebec sovereignty, though critical of the actual state of the debate, which in his opinion was too much focused on economic issues. In response to this, the columnist Marc Cassivi of '' La Presse'' wrote that "there was only one closet a Quebec artist could never exit and that was the federalist one."

Awards and honours

Tremblay has received numerous awards in recognition of his work. These include the ''Prix Victor-Morin'' (1974), the ''Prix France-Québec'' (1984), the Chalmers Award (1986) and the

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and humanities. The priz ...

(1994). He received the Lieutenant-Governor's award for Ontario in 1976 and 1977. Tremblay was named the "Montréalais le plus remarquable des deux dernières décennies dans le domaine du théâtre" (the most remarkable Montrealer of the past two decades in theatre) (1978). In 1991 he was appointed ''Officier de l'Ordre de France,'' and in the same year, ''Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Québec.'' He is also a recipient of the ''Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France'' (1994). In 1999, Tremblay received a

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. This produced controversy when several well-known Quebec nationalists suggested that he should refuse the award. While he did not do this, he did admit, for the first time, that he had refused 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 ...

in 1990. In 2000, ''Encore une fois, si vous le permettez'' (''For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again'') won a Chalmers Award and a Dora Mavor Moore Award.Tremblay, Michel
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'' 2005-02-04

Works

Novels and short story collections

Note: Most titles also available in English translations * ''Contes pour buveurs attardés'' (1966) (''Tales for Belated Drinkers'') * ''La Cité dans l'œuf'' (1969) (''The City in the Egg'') * '' C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux'' (1973) (''It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux'') * ''Le Cœur découvert'' (1986) (''The Heart Laid Bare'') * ''Les Vues animées'' (1990) (''The Animated Views'') * ''Douze coups de théâtre: récits'' (1992) (''Twelve Strokes of Drama: Stories'') * ''Le Cœur éclaté'' (1993) (''The Heart Broken'') * ''Un ange cornu avec des ailes de tôle'' (1994) * ''La nuit des princes charmants'' (1995) (''Some Night My Prince Will Come'') * ''Le Fantôme de Don Carlos''(1996) (''The Phantom of Don Carlos'') * ''Quarante-quatre minutes, quarante-quatre secondes'' (1997) (''Forty-Four Minutes, Forty-Four Seconds'') * ''Hôtel Bristol New York, N.Y'' (1999) (''Bristol Hotel New York, NY'') * ''L'Homme qui entendait siffler une bouilloire'' (2001) (''The Man who heard a Whistling Kettle'') * ''Bonbons assortis'' (2002) (''Assorted Candies'') * ''Le Trou dans le mur'' (2006) (''The Hole in the Wall'') * ''La Traversée du continent'' (2007) (''Crossing the Continent'') * ''La Traversée de la ville'' (2008) (''Crossing the City'') * ''La Traversée des sentiments'' (2009) (''Crossing Feelings'') * ''Le passage obligé'' (2010) * ''La grande mêlée'' (2011) * ''Au hazard la chance'' (2012) * ''Les clefs du Paradise'' (2013) * Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal, series of six novels: :''

'' (1978) (''The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant'') :''Therese and Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel, Thérèse et Pierrette à l'école des Saints-Anges'' (1980) (''Therese and Pierrette and the Little Hanging Angel'') :''La Duchesse et le roturier'' (1982) (''The Duchess and the Commoner'') :''Des nouvelles d'Édouard'' (1984) (''News from Édouard'') :''Le Premier Quartier de la lune'' (1989) (''The First Quarter of the Moon'') :''Un objet de beauté'' (1997) (''A Thing of Beauty'') * The Notebook Trilogy: :''Le Cahier noir'' (2003) (''The Black Notebook'') :''Le Cahier rouge'' (2004) (''The Red Notebook'') :''Le Cahier bleu (Tremblay), Le Cahier bleu'' (2005) (''The Blue Notebook'')

Plays

Note: Most titles also available in English translations *''Le Train'', 1964. ("The Train") *''En pièces détachées'', 1970. (available in English as "In Parts") *''Trois petits tourts'', 1971. ("Three Pies") * ''À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou'' (1971) (''Forever Yours, Marilou'') *'' Les Belles-Sœurs'', 1968. (available in English as "The Sisters In-Law" and in Scots as ''The Guid-Sisters'') *''Demain matin, Montréal m'attend'', 1972. ("Tomorrow Morning, Montreal Waits for Me") *''

'' et ''La Duchesse de Langeais'', 1973. (available in English as ''Hosanna'' and ''La Duchesse de Langeais'') *''Bonjour, là, bonjour'', 1974. (available in English as ''Hello There, Hello'') *''Les Héros de mon enfance'', 1976. ("The Heroes of my Childhood") *''Sainte Carmen de la Main'' et ''Surprise ! Surprise !'', 1976 (Under the name ''Sainte-Carmen of the Main'', this play received its first U.S. run at New York City's Cubiculo Theatre in 1986) *''Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra'', 1977. ("Manon Damned, Sacred Sandra," available in English as ''Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra'') *''L'Impromptu d'Outremont'', 1980. (''The Impromptu of Outremont'') *''Les Anciennes Odeurs'', 1981. ("The Ancient Odours") *'' Albertine en cinq temps'', 1984 (''Albertine in Five Times'') *''Le Gars de Québec: d'après le Revizor de Gogol'', 1985. ("The Boys of Quebec from the Government Inspector by Gogol") *'' Le Vrai Monde ?'', 1987. (''The Real World?'') *''Nelligan'', 1990. ("Nelligan") *''La Maison suspendue'', 1990. (''The House Adjourned, available in English as ''La Maison suspendue'') *''Marcel poursuivi par les chiens'', 1992. (''Marcel Pursued by the Hounds'') *''En circuit fermé'', 1994. ("Closed Circuit") *''Messe solennelle pour une pleine lune d'été'', 1996. ("Solemn Mass for a Full Moon Summer") *''Encore une fois si vous permettez'', 1998 (''For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again'') *''L'État des lieux'', 2002. ("The Current Situation") *''Impératif présent'', 2003. ("Present") *''Bonbons assortis au théâtre'', 2006 (''Assorted Candy for the Theatre'') *''Le Paradis à la fin de vos jours'', 2008 ("Paradise at the end of your days") *''Fragments de mensonges inutiles'', 2009 ("Pieces of useless lies") *''L'Oratorio de Noël'', 2012

Film scripts

*''

Françoise Durocher, Waitress ''Françoise Durocher, Waitress'' is a Canadian dramatic television film, directed by André Brassard and released in 1972. The film presents a portrait of Françoise Durocher, a waitress at a diner in Quebec, as portrayed by 24 different actress ...

'' - 1972 *'' Once Upon a Time in the East (Il était une fois dans l'est)'' - 1974 *'' Let's Talk About Love (Parlez-nous d'amour)'' - 1976 *'' The Late Blossom (Le Soleil se lève en retard)'' - 1977 *'' The Heart Exposed (Le Cœur découvert)'' - 1987 *'' It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux (C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux)'' - 1998

Works about Tremblay

* Tremblay, Michel. (2003). ''Birth of a Bookworm''. Translated by Sheila Fischman. Talonbooks: Vancouver, BC. . * Tremblay, Michel. (1998). ''Bambi and Me''. Translated by Sheila Fischman. Talonbooks: Vancouver, BC. . * Renate Usmiani, ''Michel Tremblay''. Douglas and McIntyre, 1982, * Gilbert David and Pierre Lavoie, editors, "Le Monde de Michel Tremblay". ''Cahiers de Théâtre'' JEU/Éditions Lansman, 1993. * Craig Walker, "Michel Tremblay: Existential Mythopoeia," ''The Buried Astrolabe: Canadian Dramatic Imagination and Western Tradition''. McGill-Queen's UP, 2001, (hardcover), (paperback)

References

External links

Official Biography of Tremblay (Agence Goodwin)

* ttp://www.cbc.ca/wordsatlarge/features/feature.php?storyId=476 Interview, online from CBC Words at Large (audio excerpt)
CBC Digital Archives – Impressions of Michel Tremblay

Michel Tremblay entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia

Watch ''The Wanderer'', an adaptation of Michel Tremblay's short story ''The Devil and the Mushroom''
*
Fonds Michel Tremblay (R11821)
at Library and Archives Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Tremblay, Michel 1942 births Living people Canadian male novelists Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Canadian gay writers Knights of the National Order of Quebec Writers from Montreal Prix Athanase-David winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian LGBT novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian novelists in French Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers People from Le Plateau-Mont-Royal