Robert Elie
Robert Elie was a notable figure in the Canadian literary and cultural landscape, born on April 5, 1915, in Montreal, Quebec. He began his academic journey at Sainte-Maria College, where he earned a B.A. in 1935, and developed strong ties with influential poet Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau. Together, they co-founded the literary journal La Releve, and Elie played a significant role in editing Garneau's poetry. Throughout the late 1930s and into the 1940s, he became involved with prominent cultural figures, including abstract-expressionist artist Paul-Emile Borduas, and published a study on Borduas's aesthetic.
Elie's career in media was extensive; he worked as a translator, literary critic, and journalist for various outlets, including Le Canada and La Presse, eventually joining the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a journalist and later becoming the director of press and information. His literary contributions include the award-winning novel *Farewell, My Dreams*, which showcased a psychological depth reflecting a distinct French-Canadian perspective. In addition to his writing, Elie dedicated much of his later life to promoting French-Canadian culture, serving in various influential roles in educational and cultural institutions until his passing on January 19, 1973.
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Robert Elie
Author
- Born: April 5, 1915
- Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Died: January 19, 1973
Biography
Robert Elie was born in Montreal, Quebec, on April 5, 1915, to Emile Elie and Maria Dubois Elie. Both of his parents came from Montreal’s working-class neighborhoods. Elie attended Sainte-Maria College, where he obtained his B.A. in 1935. During this time, Elie became a close confidante of the poet Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau. Elie’s professional relationship with Garneau flourished, and the two helped found the literary journal La Releve. Moreover, Elie helped edit three volumes of Garneau’s poetry. Elie continued his education at the University of Montreal and McGill University, but he never received any formal degrees from those institutions. In addition to his productive relationship with Garneau, in the late 1930’s Elie became acquainted with Paul-Emile Borduas, the radical abstract-expressionist painter and sculptor of French Canada. He subsequently used this acquaintance to help him publish Borduas, a study of the painter’s aesthetic and social ideas, in 1943.
During the 1940’s and 1950’s, Elie was heavily involved in Montreal’s media centers. In 1940, he became a translator and a literary and music critic for Le Canada. From 1941 to 1943, he worked as a reporter and art critic for La Presse. Finally, in 1943, he was employed as a journalist by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), a post he kept until his promotion to the director of press and information in 1947. Moreover, during the same year of his promotion, Elie founded Revue d’architecture. One of his early novels, Farewell, My Dreams won a Prix David award. He remained at the CBC until 1958, and during his tenure there he married Marie Marthe Huot (in April of 1944). Their marriage produced four children. In addition to his Prix David award, Elie was a recipient of a Canada Council grant in 1960. Although Elie’s major literary achievements are most evident in his dark, psychological novelFarewell, My Dreams, his other novels, short stories, dramas, poetry and art criticism demonstrate a unique French-Canadian perspective.
Elie’s later years were spent as an advocate of French-Canadian culture. From 1958 to 1996, he was the director of Montreal’s Ecole des Beaux-Arts. During this time, he was nominated as the president of the Conference Canadienne des Arts (in 1959) and was appointed as the cultural adviser to Paris, France, for the provincial government of Quebec in 1962. In 1966, he became the assistant director for the Canadian government’s Special Secretariat on Bilingualism. Finally, in 1970, Elie was appointed as an associate director for Canada Council; he held this post until his death on January 19, 1973.