Germaine Guèvremont, born GrignonFrench Canadian Writers: Germaine Guèvremont
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Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...

Centre for Language and Literature. (April 16, 1893 – August 21, 1968) was a Canadian writer, who was a prominent figure in Quebec literature. Born in 1893 in

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, she was educated in Quebec and

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, and worked as a journalist for women's magazines before marrying Hyacinthe "Hy" Guèvremont and moving with him to Sorel in 1916. She was a

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for a number of years, but later returned to journalism as a writer for '' The Gazette'' and an editor for ''Le Courrier de Sorel''. The Guèvremonts later moved to

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, where Germaine worked as a court stenographer during the

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. She also began to publish

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, which were compiled into her debut book, ''En pleine terre'', in 1938. She published the novel ''Le Survenant'' in 1945, followed by the sequel ''Marie-Didace'' in 1947. ''The Outlander'', an English translation of her two novels in one volume, was published in 1950, and won the fiction prize in the 1950 Governor General's Awards. The book was also published in the United Kingdom under the title ''Monk's Reach''. William H. New, ''The Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''. . She did not publish any further novels, but continued to publish journalism and short stories as well as writing radio and television adaptations of her fiction works. She began to write her

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late in life, but completed only two chapters before her death in 1968. She was the cousin of Claude-Henri Grignon, the author of ''Un Homme et son péché''. Ironically, Guèvremont's novels are largely recognized as the last influential examples of '' romans du terroir'', the traditionalist form of Quebec literature in the early 20th century, while Grignon's ''Un Homme'' broke with that tradition and is recognized as one of Quebec's first influential modernist novels.Claude-Henri Grignon
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Works

* ''En pleine terre'' (1942/1946) * ''Le Survenant'' (1945) * ''Marie-Didace'' (1947) * ''The Outlander'' (1950; English translation of both ''Le Survenant'' and ''Marie-Didace'' in one volume)

Awards and honours

In addition to her Governor General's Award win, ''Le Survenant'' won the Prix David from the government of Quebec and the Prix Sully-Olivier de Serres from the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. She was a member of the

Académie des lettres du Québec The Académie des lettres du Québec is a national academy for Quebec writers. It was founded as the Académie canadienne-française in 1944 by Victor Barbeau and a group of writers. In 1992 it changed its name to the Académie des lettres du Québ ...

, and was honored on a

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in 1976. ''Le Survenant'' was chosen for the 2010 edition of

Première Chaîne A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

's ''

Le Combat des livres ''Le Combat des livres'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Première in Canada. A French edition of the ''Canada Reads'' competition, the program was launched in 2004. It aired annually from ...

''.

References

External links

* * Archives of Germaine Guèvremon
(Fonds Germaine Guèvremont, R12045)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guevremont, Germaine 1893 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Quebec 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian novelists in French Canadian radio writers Canadian short story writers in French 20th-century Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian journalists Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women novelists Canadian women short story writers Canadian women television writers Canadian television writers Journalists from Quebec People from Saint-Jérôme Governor General's Award–winning fiction writers Canadian women radio writers Novelists from Quebec