Hubert Aquin (24 October 1929 – 15 March 1977) was a

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 thirtee ...

novelist,

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

, essayist, filmmaker and editor. Aquin 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 ...

and graduated from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

in 1951. From 1951 to 1954, he studied at the

Institut d'études politiques An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

in Paris. On his return to Montreal worked for

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

from 1955 until 1959. From 1959 until 1964, he also worked as a screenwriter, director and film producer with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

. From 1960 to 1968, Aquin was active in the movement for

Quebec independence The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...

. He was an executive member of the first independentist political party, the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale (1960–1969). In 1964, he announced that he was going "underground" to work for independence through terrorism; he was arrested shortly thereafter and detained for four months in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

. It was there that he wrote his first novel, '' Prochain épisode'' (1965), the story of an imprisoned revolutionary. In December 1964, he was acquitted of illegal possession of a firearm. Regarded as a classic of Canadian literature, Aquin's novel ''Next Episode'' (the English translation of ''Prochain épisode'' by

Sheila Fischman Sheila Leah Fischman (born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian translator who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature from French to English. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, she was brought up in Ontario. She hold ...

), was chosen for the 2003 edition of

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 ''

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 ...

'' competition, where it was championed by journalist

Denise Bombardier Denise Bombardier, (born January 18, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) is a journalist, essayist, novelist and media personality who worked for the French-language television station Radio-Canada for over 30 years. Bombardier is noted for her stan ...

. It was the winning title. An earlier English translation by Penny Williams, keeping the French title, was published in 1967. The self-destructive thoughts of the novel's narrator foreshadow Aquin's own death: On 15 March 1977, Aquin shot himself in the head. He left a suicide note claiming his death was a free and positive choice, stating, "I have lived intensely, and now it is over." A fuller understanding of Aquin's intense life can be gained from

Jacques Godbout Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (''touche-à-tout''), Godbout has become one of the most important wri ...

's biographical documentary, ''Deux épisodes dans la vie d'Hubert Aquin'' (1979) and from ''HA!: A Self-Murder Mystery'' (2003), an experiment in biography by Aquin's friend

Gordon Sheppard Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordo ...

Recognition

The

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

(UQAM) named its main

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

building in his honour because he was the first director of the Département d'Études littéraires in 1969, a professor, and also because of his important novels and radio dramas.

Bibliography

* '' Prochain épisode'' (''Next Episode'') — 1965 * ''Trou de mémoire'' (''Blackout'') — 1968 * ''L'Antiphonaire'' (''The Antiphonary'') — 1969 * ''Point de fuite'' — 1971 * ''Neige noire'' (''Hamlet's Twin'') — 1974 * ''Blocs erratiques'' — 1977 * ''L'Invention de la mort'' — written in 1959, published in 1990

Filmography

* '' À St-Henri le cinq septembre'' — 1962

References

External links

* * Watc
''Two Episodes from the Life of Hubert Aquin''
(English-language version of ''Deux épisodes dans la vie d'Hubert Aquin'') at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquin, Hubert 1929 births 1977 suicides Canadian male novelists French Quebecers Writers from Montreal Suicides by firearm in Quebec Université de Montréal alumni Prix Athanase-David winners Quebec sovereigntists Film directors from Montreal 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian novelists in French Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people National Film Board of Canada people 20th-century Canadian male writers Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers 1977 deaths

Recognition

See also

Bibliography

Filmography

Further reading

References

External links