Québec, Acadian and French-Canadian writers are of interest to all those who love reading great novels, stories, poetry and theatre. I have had the privilege to interview many authors from French-speaking North America: L’Écrivain devant son oeuvre (Voices of Deliverance) will introduce you to fourteen fascinating authors. I have also published studies on Gérard Bessette, Jacques Godbout, Gilbert La Rocque and Gilles Vigneault. Québec and Acadian French are also among my areas of interest. When I first started teaching Québec and Acadian literature at Carleton University (Ottawa), it quickly became apparent to me that my students were not adequately acquainted with the French language as it is spoken and written in North America. In Canada, a “bleuet” is not a flower as it is in France, it is a blueberry, “poudrerie” is not a gunpowder factory but blowing snow, and the list goes on and on. So Professor Sinclair Robinson, a specialist of French Linguistics, and myself starting collecting words and expressions. When the count reached 5,000, the time had come to publish the DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN FRENCH. It is available in bookstores in Canada (Stoddart, Toronto), the United States and Great Britain (National Textbook Company). My most recent book (BEYOND TWO SOLITUDES) deals with the relationship between Québec, English Canada and the First Nations.
Click on the books below to see the back cover and critical acclaim:
