Quebec novelist and poet Marie-Claire Blais, who received the Medici Prize in 1966 for
A Season in the Life of Emmanuel
, died Tuesday at the age of 82, the Goodwin Agency announced on Facebook.
"It is with deep sadness that we learned of the death of Marie-Claire Blais today, November 30, in Key West
(in Florida, editor's note)
, where she had taken up residence for many years,"
said the agency, which represented it.
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Born in Quebec in 1939, the novelist was one of the emblematic figures of contemporary Quebec literature. With a long career spanning more than sixty years, she
"not only left a deep mark on Quebec and Canadian literatures, but she also rose to the forefront of French-speaking writers of her generation"
, underlined the editions of Le Boréal, the house. from Quebec who has published all of her work.
The Canadian has written novels, essays, plays as well as collections of poetry,
paying "particular attention to marginal, downgraded, rejected beings"
, according to the same source.
She has won numerous literary awards, including the Prix de la langue française for her first novel,
La Belle Bête
, which she published at the age of 20.
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In 1983, this woman of letters received the price of the French Academy for
Visions of Anna
and obtained, in 2002, the price of the literary foundation Prince Pierre of Monaco for the whole of her work.
“My condolences to all those close to this great author.
A season in the life of Emmanuel,
one of the first novels that I read, “
reacted on Twitter the Premier of Quebec François Legault, shortly after the announcement.