Narrating the life of Gérald Godin (1938-1994) is not just one, but several existences, despite his early death, at only 55 years old. Godin the politician, Godin the poet, Godin the professor at UQAM or Godin the journalist, the man was all of these at the same time and much more if we are to believe the first biography devoted to the Trifluvien and signed by the historian Jonathan Livernois.
The professor of literary and intellectual history at Laval University, who benefited from free access to the family archives, paints here the portrait of a surprising and resolutely modern character. It is no coincidence that MP Ruba Ghazal signs the preface; both represented the voters of Mercier in the Plateau Mont-Royal. The latter also recalls Godin’s proximity to cultural communities, his way of entering into contact with them, even if it was not an electorate won over to the sovereignist cause.
But the book is also full of lesser known details about Godin’s life, such as his passion for painting which he practiced at a younger age with a certain talent, since at 19 he won the first prize in painting at the Séminaire.
Beyond the anecdotes, the historian returns to Godin’s great political sense, far from the image of the “lost poet” that was stuck on his forehead very early on and of which he himself maintained the myth. The fact remains that the “provincial up in town” — known for his promotion of contemporary, uninhibited and humanist Quebec nationalism — is entering the political arena through the front door. During the 1976 electoral campaign, Godin succeeded against all odds in dislodging the irremovable Robert Bourassa, then outgoing Prime Minister and MP for the Mercier riding since 1966.
His powers of persuasion, playing the card of proximity and down to earth, are inspired by the methods of Maurice Duplessis, the former Prime Minister of Quebec, also from Trois-Rivières. “Godin knew him closely. He lived his youth 64 meters from his house. The two men therefore share a place of origin, but also a style, a form of childishness,” writes Jonathan Livernois. The author mentions that Godin always remained attached to his part of the country. He never broke with his past and his Trois-Rivières identity, going so far as to demonstrate, as the author describes it, a “left-wing Duplessism”.
Reading this very detailed work, we understand that the immense career of Gérald Godin, poet and member of the Parti Québécois from 1976 to 1994, is unique in the annals of our history, but it also represents the fruit of an era. Proud nationalist and lover of letters, Godin plunged headfirst into the ferment of the Quiet Revolution. As publisher of Parti pris, he decided in 1968 to publish White Negroes of America. During the October crisis of 1970, he was arrested with his long-time partner, the singer Pauline Julien. The poet becomes a prisoner, a revolt that will never leave him again.