Robert Charbonneau
Robert Charbonneau | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 3, 1911 Montreal, Quebec |
| Died | June 26, 1967 (aged 56) Saint-Jovite, Quebec |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Period | 20th century |
| Genre | Fiction, essays |
Robert Charbonneau (February 3, 1911 – June 26, 1967) was a French-Canadian journalist, writer, and literary critic.
Biography
Charbonneau was born in Montreal. He began his studies at Ecole Saint-Stanislas in 1919 and continued his classical studies at Collège Sainte-Marie in 1925 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1933. As studied for a year the Université de Montréal and he graduated as a journalist one year later in 1934.[1]
In 1934, he and Paul Beaulieu created La Relève, a student newspaper, which became La Nouvelle Relève in 1941 and which he directed until 1948.[2] In 1940, he and Claude Hurtubise founded Éditions de l'Arbre, which republished works that were prohibited in Occupied France. They also published works by young Franch-Canadian writers such as Roger Lemelin and Yves Thériault.[1]
In 1949, he returned to his former profession as a journalist and became assistant to the director of information at La Presse. He also worked for other French Jouranls as well as Radio Canada.[3]
Charbonneau wrote five novels and one book of poetry in his lifetime. He was well known for promoting the autonomy of Quebec literature. In his essay, Connaissance du personnage, he put forth his position that the role of a novel is not to reflect an era or a society but to emphasize man's spiritual quest, his search for identity. Charbonneau is credited with transforming French-Canadian literature from its agrarian roots to a more modern urban outlook.[1]
In 1967 he published his last novel, Chronique de l'âge amer, a semi-autobiographical memoir set in the 1930s. That same year he was made president of the Société des écrivains but could not continue as he suffered a fatal heart attack shortly thereafter.[1]
Charbonneau's archival fonds are kept at the Montreal archives centre of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.[4].
Works
Novels
- Ils posséderont la terre, Éditions de l'Arbre, Le Serpent d'airain (1941)
- Fontile, Éditions de l'Arbre (1945)
- Les Désirs et les Jours, Éditions de l'Arbre (1948)
- Aucune créature, Éditions Beauchemin (1961)
- Chronique de l'âge amer, Éditions du Sablier (1967)
Other publications
- Connaissance du personnage, Éditions de l'Arbre (1944)
- Petits poèmes retrouvés, Éditions de l'Arbre (1945)
- La France et nous, Éditions de l'Arbre (1947)
- Robert Charbonneau et la création romanesque, les Éditions du Lévrier (1948)
- Aucun chemin n'est sûr..., XYZ éditeur (1990)
Source: [3]
References
- ^ a b c d Toye, William; Benson, Eugene, eds. (1997). Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature (2 ed.). Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 186–7.
- ^ "Robert Charbonneau: Canadian Writer". Encyclopedia Britannica. January 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "Robert Charbonneau" (in French). l'Académie des lettres du Québec. 2005. Archived from the original on February 28, 2012.
- ^ "Fonds Robert Charbonneau (MSS66)" (in French). Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. 2006.
