Nicole Brossard
Encyclopedia
Nicole Brossard, O.C. (born November 27, 1943 in Montreal) is a leading French Canadian
formalist
poet and novelist.
She lives in Outremont, a former city in Montreal, Quebec. She wrote her first collection in 1965, Aube à la maison. The collection L'Echo bouge beau marks a break in the evolution of her poetry. She participates in numerous cultural events (such as poetry recitals). In 1975 she participated in a meeting of writers on women. From there she has been involved in the feminist struggle, her poetry becomes more personal. She founded a feminist newspaper, Les têtes de pioches, and writing a play Le nef des sorcières. In 1982, she founded a publishing house: L'Intégrale éditrice.
English translations
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
formalist
Formalism (literature)
Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text.In literary theory, formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. These features include not only grammar...
poet and novelist.
She lives in Outremont, a former city in Montreal, Quebec. She wrote her first collection in 1965, Aube à la maison. The collection L'Echo bouge beau marks a break in the evolution of her poetry. She participates in numerous cultural events (such as poetry recitals). In 1975 she participated in a meeting of writers on women. From there she has been involved in the feminist struggle, her poetry becomes more personal. She founded a feminist newspaper, Les têtes de pioches, and writing a play Le nef des sorcières. In 1982, she founded a publishing house: L'Intégrale éditrice.
Selected bibliography
- Mordre en sa chair - 1966
- L'echo bouge beau - 1968
- Suite logique - 1970
- Un livre - 1970 (translated in English as A Book)
- Le centre blanc - 1970
- Méchanique jongleuse - 1974 (translated in English as Day-Dream Mechanics; winner of the 1974 Governor General's Award for Poetry1974 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1974 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-English Language:*Fiction: Margaret Laurence, The Diviners....
) - La partie pour le tout - 1975
- Sold-Out, étreinte - 1977
- French kiss, étrainte / exploration - 1979
- Les sens apparent - 1980 (translated in English as Surfaces of Sense)
- Amantes - 1980 (translated in English as Lovhers; nominated for a Governor General's Award1980 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1980 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:*George Bowering, Burning WaterOther Finalists:...
) - Journal intime - 1984
- Double impression - 1984 (winner of the 1984 Governor General's Award for Poetry1984 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1984 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:*Josef Skvorecky, The Engineer of Human SoulsOther Finalists:...
) - Domaine d'écriture - 1985
- La lettre aérienne - 1985 (translated in English as The Aerial Letter)
- Le désert mauve - 1987 (translated in English as Mauve Desert)
- L'amer - 1988
- Installations: avec sans pronoms - 1989
- A tout regard - 1989
- La nuit verte du parc labyrinthe - 1992
- Langues obscures - 1992
- Baroque d'aube - 1995 (translated in English as Baroque at Dawn)
- Vertige de l'avant-scène - 1997 (nominated for a Governor General's Award1997 Governor General's AwardsThe winners of the 1997 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced on November 18 by Donna Scott, Chairman of the Canada Council for the Arts...
) - Au présent des veins - 1999
- Musée de l'os et de l'eau - 1999 (translated into English as Museum of Bone and Water; nominated for a Governor General's Award1999 Governor General's AwardsThe winners of the 1999 Canadian Governor General's Literary Awards were announced by Jean-Louis Roux, Chairman, and Shirley L. Thomson, Director of the Canada Council for the Arts, at a press conference held on November 16 at the National Library of Canada...
;) - Hier - 2001 (translated in English as Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon)
- Cahier de roses & de civilisation - 2003 (nominated for a Governor General's Award2003 Governor General's AwardsThe 2003 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on November 12. Each winner received a cheque for $15,000.-Fiction:*Douglas Glover, Elle*Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake*Elizabeth Hay, Garbo Laughs...
)
English translations
- Baroque at Dawn - 1997
- Museum of Bone and Water - 2005
- Fluid Arguments - 2005
- Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon - 2006
- Picture Theory - 2006
- Mauve Desert - 2006
- Notebook of Roses and Civilization - 2007; translation by Robert MajzelsRobert MajzelsRobert Majzels is a Canadian novelist, poet, playwright and translator.- Life :Majzels was born in Montreal. In 1986, he graduated with a Master's degree in English Literature from Concordia University in Montreal, where he would later teach creative writing for thirteen years. Between 2000 and...
and Erin MoureErin MouréErin Mouré is a Canadian poet and translator of poetry from languages which include, French, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish to English. Her mother Mary Irene was born 1924 in Galicia, Poland and moved to Canada in 1929. Erin’s father is William Moure born in Ottawa Canada in 1925...
, shortlisted for the 2008 Canadian Griffin Poetry PrizeGriffin Poetry PrizeThe Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
) - Fences in Breathing - 2009
- Nicole Brossard: Selections - 2010; edited by Jennifer MoxleyJennifer MoxleyJennifer Moxley is an American poet, editor, and translator who was born in San Diego, California. She currently teaches poetry and poetics at the University of Maine and resides in Maine with her partner, Steve Evans.- Poetry :...
for the series: Poets for the Millennium from University of California Press
External links
- Griffin Poetry Prize biography, including audio and video clips
- EPC and PennSound link
- The Literary Encyclopedia
- Nicole Brossard's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Nicole Brossard Bio
- Fine Feminist Workings Susan Rudy's review of Nicole Brossard: Essays on Her Works, by Louise H. Forsyth; published by Guernica Editions in 2005