Gérald Godin (November 13, 1938 – October 12, 1994) was a Canadian
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
from
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, ...
.
Born in
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
, he worked as a journalist at ''
La Presse'' and other newspapers and magazines. His most important poetry collection, ''Les cantouques: poèmes en langue verte, populaire et quelquefois française'', was published in 1967. He was among those arrested under the
War Measures Act
The ''War Measures Act'' (; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could thereby be taken. The Act was brough ...
during the
October Crisis
The October Crisis () was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross f ...
in 1970.
In the
1976 Quebec provincial election, he won a seat as a candidate for 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 establishi ...
, heavily defeating incumbent
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...
in his own riding of
Mercier. He served in various cabinet posts in the governments of
René Lévesque
René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...
and
Pierre-Marc Johnson. His life companion was the Québécois singer
Pauline Julien
Pauline Julien, (May 23, 1928October 1, 1998), nicknamed "La Renarde", was a singer, songwriter, actress, feminist activist and Quebec sovereigntist.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec,Christian Rioux and Betty Nygaard King."Pauline Julien" ''Th ...
.
As a poet, he won the
Prix Québec-Paris
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...
for his 1987 work ''Ils ne demandaient qu'à brûler''.
Godin died from brain cancer in October 1994.
The area surrounding the
Mont-Royal metro station has been named Place Gérald-Godin in his honour. One of his poems, ''Tango de Montréal'', is displayed as a mural overlooking the square.
Cégep Gérald-Godin (college), in
Sainte-Geneviève Saint Genevieve or Sainte-Geneviève may refer to:
* Saint Genevieve (419/422–512), the patron of Paris
* Saint Geneviève de Loqueffret (10th century), a local saint from Loqueffret Parish close, Loqueffret, Brittany
Buildings
* Bibliothèque ...
,
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 ...
, is named after him.
See also
*
List of Mauriciens
*
Politics of Quebec
The politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of Quebec is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Pr ...
*
Quebec general elections
This article provides a summary of results for the general elections to the Canadian province of Quebec's unicameral legislative body, the National Assembly of Quebec (and its predecessor, the Legislative Assembly of Quebec). The number of ...
*
History of Quebec
*
Quebec sovereigntism
Electoral record
References
External links
Gérald Godin'sentry in
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 ...
*
1938 births
1994 deaths
Parti Québécois MNAs
Journalists from Quebec
Poets from Quebec
20th-century Canadian poets
20th-century Canadian male writers
Canadian male poets
People from Trois-Rivières
Canadian poets in French
October Crisis
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Deaths from cancer in Quebec
Neurological disease deaths in Quebec
Deaths from brain cancer in Canada
20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec
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