Réjean Ducharme
Réjean Ducharme was a significant figure in Canadian literature, born on August 12, 1941, in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, Quebec. He gained widespread recognition with his first novel, "L'Avalée des avalés" (1966), which presents the interior monologue of a rebellious adolescent girl resisting the encroachments of adulthood. This groundbreaking work, notable for its linguistic creativity, earned accolades including Canada's Governor General's Award and a nomination for France's Prix Goncourt. Ducharme's literary output included subsequent novels and plays that often focused on the themes of childhood and maturation, although his later works received less critical acclaim. Apart from writing, he explored visual arts and was involved in music as a lyricist, occasionally using the pseudonym Roch Plante. His 1990 novel "Devade" marked a resurgence in public interest, showcasing a group of counterculture hippies in the 1970s. Ducharme's impact on Quebec's literary landscape is profound, as he encouraged experimentation and expressed a deep empathy for the struggles of youth. He passed away in 2017 in Montreal, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate in Canadian culture.
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Réjean Ducharme
- Born: August 12, 1941
- Birthplace: Saint-Felix-de-Valois, Quebec, Canada
- Died: August 21, 2017
- Place of death: Montreal, Canada
Biography
Réjean Ducharme was born on August 12, 1941, in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, Quebec, a small town north of Montreal. A precocious child whose father was a taxi driver, he attended the prestigious Juvénat des Clercs de Saint-Viateur and then matriculated at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. He left after one year and for the next several years pursued odd jobs, including selling encyclopedias, working as a theater usher, and even mining in the Yukon Territory.
Little on his résumé prepared the Canadian literary community for Ducharme’s first published work, L’Avalée des avalés (1966; The Swallower Swallowed, 1968). With the audacity that usually marks a far more seasoned writer (he was only twenty-five), Ducharme presented the interior monologue of a hostile, headstrong adolescent girl stubbornly set to resist the intrusion of adulthood, which she sees as inevitably corrupt. She rejects her family, her religion, her education, even her own sexuality to protect her autonomy. Ultimately, the girl invents a private language, which Ducharme recreates with linguistic virtuosity. The book, published originally in France but quickly brought to Canada, was hailed as a landmark, shortlisted for the France’s Prix Goncourt, and awarded Canada's Governor General's Award. Its fame was helped, ironically, by Ducharme’s determined resistance to publicity and commitment to his own privacy; he never granted interviews or attended awards ceremonies.
Over the next two years, Ducharme released two other novels (apparently submitted for publication before L’Avalée des avalés) that also examined the pivotal figure of a precocious, lonely child engaged in the process of maturation. La Fille de Christopher Colomb, published in 1969, introduced a radical new approach to the theme. A mock-epic in rhymed quatrains, the novel recounts the fictitious adventures of Columbus’s daughter after she poisons her father and sets out to see the world. Eventually she comes to live peacefully among animals, an Edenic state that moves inevitably to a bloody showdown with the encroaching reach of civilization. But the work received little critical attention; indeed, Ducharme’s increasingly pessimistic work during the late 1970s found a diminished audience. He turned to the visual arts and in 1985, under the name Roch Plante, he mounted an exhibit of found art (discarded junk he came across during walks about Montreal), which created a stir when Ducharme was revealed as its creator. In addition, he worked on experimental plays, several screenplays, and was the uncredited lyricist for a number of French Canadian singers. His 1990 novel Devade, however, returned Ducharme to the public spotlight. A runaway best-seller, it told of a misfit collection of counterculture hippies in the 1970s.
Although Ducharme continued to write until the end of the twentieth century, winning two more Governor General's Awards (in 1973 for his novel L'hiver de force and in 1982 for his play Ha ha!), his main achievement rests with his first novel. At a time when the Quebec literary establishment was preoccupied with gritty novels of urban realism or novels that argued the politics of the province’s push for secession, Ducharme’s dense novel thematically introduced a profound compassion for the anguish of children caught up in the process of maturation. Structurally, the novel challenged a new generation of French-Canadian novelists to boldly engage in technical and linguistic experimentation. In 2000 Ducharme was made an officer of the National Order of Quebec. He died in 2017 in Montreal at the age of seventy-six; his life partner, Claire Richard, had died the year before.
Bibliography
Boyd, Colin. "Réjean Ducharme." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 22 Aug. 2017, thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rejean-ducharme/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.
Everett-Green, Robert. "Drawings by Réjean Ducharme, Quebec's Phantom Author, on Display in Quebec." The Globe and Mail, 26 Feb. 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/drawings-by-rejean-ducharme-quebecs-phantom-author-on-display-inquebec/article38123272/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.
Nugent, Benjamin. "Swallowed Whole: Réjean Ducharme's Mysterious 1966 Novel." Tablet Magazine, 18 Feb. 2009, www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/1040/swallowed-whole. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.
"Quebec Mourns Famed Author Réjean Ducharme." Montreal Gazette, 22 Aug. 2017, montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/famed-quebec-author-rejean-ducharme-dead-at-76. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.