The Montreal Poetry Festival awarded the International Francophone Prize to Annie Lafleur on Thursday evening for her collection Puberty. This is the first time that this award has been given to a Quebec poet.
“My heart is exploding!” I am literally in shock. I had to close my eyes when I heard the news, as if the light was too strong, too dazzling! This award is the greatest honor of my life,” declared Annie Lafleur.
The collection, which dates back to his adolescence, was published last fall in Quartanier. Its publisher stressed that it represents “a major milestone in Annie’s work: the end of a cycle, begun with Rosebud and continued with harelip Then Hemlockbut above all his most ambitious and accomplished book, where his goldsmith’s language unfolds with more significance, refinement and power than ever.
Also among the finalists were Tarek Essaker for The walkers (The Word Tree, Tunisia), Huppert Malanda for The most precious version of the sun (Alliance Kongo, Republic of Congo) and Laurence Vielle for Tickets from where (Le Castor Astral, Belgium).
Read our review of Puberty