Marie-Claire Blais
Encyclopedia
Marie-Claire Blais, is a Canadian
author and playwright.
, she was educated at a convent school and at Université Laval
. It was at Laval that she met Jeanne Lapointe and Father Georges Lévesque, who encouraged her to write and, in 1959, to publish her first novel, La Belle Bête
(trans. Mad Shadows) in 1959 when she turned 20. She has since written over 20 novels, several plays
, collections of poetry
and fiction, as well newspaper articles. Her works have been translated into numerous languages, including English
and Chinese
. With the support of the eminent American critic Edmund Wilson
, Blais won two Guggenheim Fellowship
s.
In 1963, Blais moved to the United States
, initially living in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
. There she met her partner, American artist Mary Meigs
, and she later relocated to Wellfleet
on Cape Cod
. In 1975, after two years living in Brittany, she moved back to Quebec with her partner. For about twenty years she divided her time between Montreal, the Eastern Townships
of Quebec and Key West
, Florida
.
.
Her works Le Sourd dans la ville (1979
), Une Saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel (1965
) and La Belle Bête (1959
), have been adapted for the cinema, the latter by Canadian film director Karim Hussain in 2006.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author and playwright.
Life
Born in Quebec City, QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, she was educated at a convent school and at Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
. It was at Laval that she met Jeanne Lapointe and Father Georges Lévesque, who encouraged her to write and, in 1959, to publish her first novel, La Belle Bête
La Belle Bête
La Belle Bête is a French Canadian novel by Marie-Claire Blais, published in 1959. The novel exploded upon the Quebec literary scene when Marie-Claire Blais was only twenty years old...
(trans. Mad Shadows) in 1959 when she turned 20. She has since written over 20 novels, several plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, collections of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and fiction, as well newspaper articles. Her works have been translated into numerous languages, including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
. With the support of the eminent American critic Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson was an American writer and literary and social critic and noted man of letters.-Early life:Wilson was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father, Edmund Wilson, Sr., was a lawyer and served as New Jersey Attorney General. Wilson attended The Hill School, a college preparatory...
, Blais won two Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
s.
In 1963, Blais moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, initially living in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. There she met her partner, American artist Mary Meigs
Mary Meigs
Mary Meigs was an American-born painter and writer.-Early life:Meigs was born in Philadelphia and raised in Washington, DC. She studied at Bryn Mawr College, and subsequently taught English literature and creative writing at that school...
, and she later relocated to Wellfleet
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Wellfleet is a New England town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Located halfway between the "tip" and "elbow" of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the town had a population of 2,749 at the 2000 census, which swells nearly sixfold during the summer...
on Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
. In 1975, after two years living in Brittany, she moved back to Quebec with her partner. For about twenty years she divided her time between Montreal, the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
of Quebec and Key West
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Writings
Much of Blais' writing has been in the form of social commentary, with intermixed elements of good and evil in settings part real, and part fantasy. Her works lean toward the tragic, within a hostile society of vice and violence. The strength of Blais' writing ability is rewarding to the reader in spite of the darker aspects of her themes.Impact
In 1972 she became a Companion of the Order of CanadaOrder of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Her works Le Sourd dans la ville (1979
1979 in literature
The year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*V.C...
), Une Saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel (1965
1965 in literature
The year 1965 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron*J. G. Ballard - The Drought*Ray Bradbury - The Vintage Bradbury*John Brunner...
) and La Belle Bête (1959
1959 in literature
The year 1959 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April 30 - Theatrical première of Bertolt Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards, originally performed on radio in 1932....
), have been adapted for the cinema, the latter by Canadian film director Karim Hussain in 2006.
Works
- La Belle BêteLa Belle BêteLa Belle Bête is a French Canadian novel by Marie-Claire Blais, published in 1959. The novel exploded upon the Quebec literary scene when Marie-Claire Blais was only twenty years old...
(Mad Shadows) - 1959 - Tête Blanche (Tête Blanche) - 1960
- Le Jour est noir - ("The Day is Dark" in The Day is Dark and Three Travellers) 1962
- Pays voilés ("Veiled Countries" in Veiled Countries/Lives) - 1963
- Une Saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel (A Season in the Life of Emmanuel) - 1965
- L'insoumise (The Fugitive) - 1966
- Existences ("Lives" in Veiled Countries/Lives) - 1967
- Les Manuscrits de Pauline Archange (The Manuscripts of Pauline Archange) - 1968
- L'exécution (The Execution) - 1968
- Les Voyageurs sacrés ("Three Travellers" in The Day is Dark and Three Travellers) - 1969
- Vivre! Vivre! (The Manuscripts of Pauline Archange) - 1969
- Le Loup (The Wolf) - 1970
- Un Joualonais, sa Joualonie (St. Lawrence Blues) - 1973
- Fièvre et autres textes dramatiques - 1974
- Une Liaison parisienne (A Literary Affair) - 1975
- Les Apparences (Dürer's Angel) - 1976
- Océan suivi de murmures - 1977
- Les Nuits de l'underground (Nights in the Underground) - 1978
- Le Sourd dans la ville (Deaf to the City) - 1979
- Visions d'Anna ou Le vertige (Anna's World) - 1982
- Sommeil d'hiver (Wintersleep) - 1984
- Pierre, la guerre du printemps (Pierre) - 1984
- L'Île (The Island) - 1989]
- L'Ange de la solitude (The Angel of Solitude) - 1989
- Parcours d'un écrivain: Notes américaines (American Notebooks: A Writer's Journey) - 1993
- Soifs (These Festive Nights) - 1995
- (The Exile and the Sacred Travellers) - 2000
- Dans la foudre et la lumière (Thunder and Light) - 2001
- The Collected Radio Drama of Marie-Claire Blais - 2007
- Mai au bal des prédateurs - 2010
Awards
- Prix France-Canada - 1965
- Prix Médicis - 1966
- Prix Athanase-David - 1982
- Prix Ludger-Duvernay - 1988
- Governor General's Literary Award - 1996
- Prix d'Italie - 1999
- W. O. Mitchell Literary Prize - 2000
- Prix Prince Pierre de Monaco - 2002
- Matt Cohen PrizeMatt Cohen PrizeThe Matt Cohen Prize is an award given annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a Canadian writer, in honour of a distinguished lifetime contribution to Canadian literature...
- 2006