André Brochu | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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André Brochu

André Brochu, author, literary critic (Saint-Eustache, Qc 1942). André Brochu, a Professor of French literature at the Université de Montréal since 1963, discovered his literary vocation very early on.

Brochu, André

André Brochu, author, literary critic (Saint-Eustache, Qc 1942). André Brochu, a Professor of French literature at the Université de Montréal since 1963, discovered his literary vocation very early on. He was one of the first to teach Québécois literature, and he founded the political and cultural magazine Parti Pris (1963), then the Mouvement pour l'unilinguisme français au Québec (1968). Retired as of 1997, he devotes himself exclusively to writing and is in charge of the poetry section at Éditions Hexagone. He is also a columnist for the literary magazine Lettres Québécoises and the review Voix et Images.

André Brochu is a poet (Étranges Domaines, 1957; Privilèges de l'ombre, 1961; Particulièrement la vie change, 1990; L'inconcevable, 1998); a novelist (Adéodat 1, 1973; Adèle intime, 1996; Les épervières, 1996; Le maître rêveur, 1997); a short story writer (La croix du Nord, 1991; L'esprit ailleurs, 1992; Fièvres blanches, 1994); biographer (Saint-Denys Garneau, le poète en sursis, 1999); and an essayist (Hugo: Amour, crime, révolution, 1974; L'évasion tragique, 1985; Le singulier pluriel, 1992; Tableau du poème-La poésie québécoise des années 80, 1994; Roman et énumération: de Flaubert à Pérec, 1996; and Une étude de Bonheur d'occasion de Gabrielle Roy, 1998). He is known particularly for his work on literary criticism in which he renewed, indeed revolutionized, the study of texts, no longer basing his analysis on authors' lives or their social context, but on the relationships that subjects establish between themselves (La littérature par elle-même, 1962; L'instance critique, 1961-1973, 1974; La littérature et le reste, 1980; La visée critique, 1988). This private, deeply sensitive and reserved man, a pioneer in the teaching of Québécois literature, is considered one of the most important representatives of the country's new criticism and literary conscience. In 1990, André Brochu earned the second prize in the CBC news competition with L'Esprit ailleurs. He received Governor General's Literary Awards in 1991 (La Croix du Nord) and in 2004 (Les Jours à vif). In 1995, he won the Grand prize at the International Poetry Festival with Delà. He was inducted to the Académie des lettres du Québec in 1996.

Jane Rule,  April 1991
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Jane Rule