François Ricard (4 June 1947 – 17 February 2022) was a Canadian writer and academic from Quebec."François Ricard: comme une grande province tranquille"
'' La Presse'', March 22, 2014. He was a professor of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

since 1980, including a special but not exclusive focus on the work of

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

and

Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (; March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, an ...

, and has published numerous works of

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Shawinigan Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,620 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) ...

,François Ricard
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Ricard was educated at

and the

University of Provence The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I () was a Public university, public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three University of Aix-Marseille, Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of t ...

. He was a founder of the literary journal ''Liberté'', has served on the editorial boards of the publishing houses Éditions Sentier and Éditions du Boréal, and has contributed to both

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

and

Télé-Québec The (; ), branded as () (formerly known as ), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec. The network's main studios an ...

as a literature reviewer and a host of documentary programming on Quebec literature and history. Ricard died in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on 17 February 2022, at the age of 74.

Awards

He won the

Governor General's Award for French-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, se ...

at the

1985 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1985 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. English French References {{GovernorGeneralsAwards Governor General's Awards Governor ...

for ''La littérature contre elle-même'', and ''Gabrielle Roy: A Life'', an English translation by Patricia Claxton of his 1996 book ''Gabrielle Roy, une vie'', won the 1999 Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize"Ricard wins biography prize". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', November 10, 1999. and the

Governor General's Award for French to English translation This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{Governor General's Literary Awards * Translation awards ...

at the 1999 Governor General's Awards. The original French edition of ''Gabrielle Roy, une vie'' was a shortlisted nominee for the Governor General's Award at the 1997 Governor General's Awards, and ''Le dernier après-midi d’Agnès: essai sur l’oeuvre de Milan Kundera'' was nominated at the

2003 Governor General's Awards The 2003 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (70 books) were announced October 20, the four children's literature winners announced and presented November 10, other winners announced and presented November 12. E ...

."Atwood's novel gets third citation". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', October 21, 2003.

Works

* ''L'art de Félix-Antoine Savard dans « Menaud, maître-draveur »'', 1972 * ''Gabrielle Roy'', 1972 * ''Une liaison parisienne'', 1980 * ''Le Prince et la Ténèbre'', 1980 * ''L'Incroyable odyssée'', 1981 * ''La Littérature contre elle-même'', 1985 * ''Guide de la littérature québécoise'', 1988 * ''La Chasse-galerie et autres récits'', 1989 * ''La Génération lyrique'', 1992 ** English translation ''The Lyric Generation'', 1994 * '' René Richard : 1895-1982'', 1993 * ''Gabrielle Roy : une vie'', 1996 ** English translation ''Gabrielle Roy: A Life'', 1999 * ''Le Temps qui m'a manqué'', 1997 * ''Le Pays de Bonheur d'occasion et autres récits autobiographiques épars et inédits'' * ''Introduction à l'œuvre de Gabrielle Roy : 1945-1975'', 2001 * (éd.) Gabrielle Roy, ''Mon cher grand fou'', 2001 * ''Le Dernier Après-midi d'Agnès : essai sur l'œuvre de Milan Kundera'', 2003 * ''Chroniques d'un temps loufoque'', 2005 *''Moeurs de province'', 2014

References

External links

François Ricard
at Les Éditions du Boréal {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricard, Francois 1947 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Canadian biographers 20th-century Canadian essayists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian biographers 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian male biographers Canadian non-fiction writers in French Poets from Quebec People from Shawinigan Academic staff of McGill University Canadian male poets Canadian male essayists McGill University alumni Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction writers Prix Athanase-David winners