Antonine Maillet

Denis Joseph Bourque (Université de Moncton)
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Antonine Maillet was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, on May 10, 1929. Early on in her life, she experienced a profound sense of her own particular destiny as a writer and spokesperson for her people, the Acadians, a small French-speaking community that re-established in Canada’s Maritime Provinces in the mid to late 1760s after its expulsion from Nova Scotia to the American colonies by the British during the Seven Years War (1755-1763). Maillet’s writing is deeply based in Acadian oral tradition and history. In 1979, she received the prestigious Prix Goncourt in Paris for her novel

Pélagie-la-Charrette

. She remains the only Canadian author to have been thus honoured.

Two unpublished plays, written for her students, mark the beginning of her illustrious career: Poire-Acre, which won

3132 words

Citation: Bourque, Denis Joseph. "Antonine Maillet". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5250, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5250 Antonine Maillet 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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