The poet Denise Desautels, “essential figure of Quebec literature”, received the Prix Apollinaire in Paris on Monday for her latest collection, Vanish. She is the first Quebec woman to win this prestigious award.
The Apollinaire Prize, “crowned each year ‘outside of any school or technical dogmatism a collection characterized by its originality and modernity'”, wrote the café Les Deux Magots on Facebook, where the ceremony has been held since 2016. delivery.
This shop in Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés was a meeting place for great names in French literature, such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud.
The attribution of this distinction to a Quebec writer is rare. Along with Mme Desautels, only two local poets have received the Prix Apollinaire since its creation in 1941. The first was Gaston Miron, awarded in 1981 for his collection The raped man.
At the start of the year, the poet was already following in the footsteps of her predecessor by entering the prestigious Poésie collection of Gallimard editions, more than twenty years after Mr. Miron.
His latest book, awarded on Monday evening, was published in 2021 by Noroît in Quebec, and by L’herbe qui tremble in France. Ms. Desautels matches poetry and visual arts, drawing inspiration from eleven works by interdisciplinary artist Sylvie Cotton.
“An essential figure in Quebec literature, Denise Desautels has published more than 40 collections of poems, stories and artist’s books, which have earned her many distinctions, including the Athanase-David Prize in 2009 and the Jean Arp Francophone Literature Prize. in 2010 for all of his work”, underlined the Éditions du Noroît in a press release.
Frenchman Quentin Dallorme won the Prix Apollinaire Découverte for his collection Directly south. Created in 2017, it distinguishes “a particularly remarkable young author in the eyes of the members of the jury”, wrote Les Deux Magots.
Since its establishment in 1941, the Apollinaire has notably been awarded to Pierre Seghers, Léopold Sédar Senghor, or even Jean-Pierre Siméon, who chairs the prize.