The most recent issue of the literary magazine LQ, devoted to the trial in Quebec, arrived at the right time. I am just in the process of reading essays, after months of reading fiction, as is always the case after the start of the literary school year.
Directed by Annabelle Moreau and Mélikah Abdelmoumen, who has just succeeded Mme Moreau at the head of the review, the issue asks this huge question: are we writing to change the world? Changing our outlook is a bit of a change in the world, ultimately. We do not find a strict definition of the genre, but texts very different from each other, where we try to talk about the essay, in a way, and which above all make us aware that a new generation essayists grew up in Quebec. In addition to established authors, Yvon Rivard, France Théoret, Pascale Navarro, Martine Delvaux and Serge Bouchard, there are now Dalie Giroux, Mathieu Bélisle, Rosa Pires, Frédérique Bernier, Étienne Beaulieu and Maïka Sondarjee.
No need to look for a definition, I like the word “essay”, which in my opinion already says it all.
I particularly appreciate those who want to go somewhere, who admit doubts and take the time to dissect the complexity of certain issues on which we tweet and comment without taking a step back, but who also enjoy writing.
There isn’t much point in reading a boring essay, even if it would be very relevant (the reader of fiction here is trying hard). I also like to see the demonstration of a thought in movement, which is not fixed, which does not make in the navelist or ideological self-promotion. Fiction and essay have in common that they make us see the world differently, and it is reassuring to see the witness passing between generations to think about our past, our present and our future.
The slap I received while reading The master’s eye, by Dalie Giroux, still warms my cheek, and Firefighters and arsonists, by Martine Delvaux, did not dampen my enthusiasm, since I want more. If you’re looking for gifts or reads for the holiday season, here I lead you to a few headlines that I think will support your thoughts, like a good fat gin helps us get through New Years (or Fifth Wave). ).
The habit of ruins
Marie-Helene Voyer
Lux
208 pages
It starts with The habit of ruins – The coronation of oblivion and ugliness in Quebec, by Marie-Hélène Voyer. It looks like a psychoanalysis of the destruction of our heritage, which is not the only fault of the powers that be. Because why do we struggle to destroy meaning like madmen back home? Regarding these neo-mansions which abound in the territory, the author notes this: “We raze ancestral agricultural landscapes, we demolish authentic heritage houses, precious and irreplaceable traces of our history, all this to build something new that mimics the old; we demolish our architectural heritage, symbol of our origins, but above all testimony to the inventiveness of our ancestors in terms of adapting to the rigors of the territory, to build something new that mimics elsewhere. These neo-mansions are not simple houses, they are identity crises. It is obviously necessary to be inhabited by a form of self-shame and dread of the past to come to inhabit such pastiches in their case of false stones. ”
It’s furiously well written and stuffed with literary references that underscore the point. Marie-Hélène Voyer puts words on architectural horrors, aberrant decisions and an almost suicidal collective amnesia. I laughed in several places, when it really is crying.
Diesel in the veins – The saga of the northern truckers
Serge Bouchard and Mark Fortier
Lux
213 pages
Voyer’s essay is published by the Lux publishing house, which has just been awarded the Prix du Gouverneur Général and Pierre-Vadeboncœur for Diesel in the veins – The saga of the northern truckers, final book by the very late Serge Bouchard, which is in fact his doctoral thesis revised by the publisher Mark Fortier. I admit that I didn’t rush for this title when it came out, because the big tanks and I (I don’t know how to drive), that’s two. However, it is a whole fauna and a culture that we discover here in the curious and brilliant gaze of the anthropologist, who went to meet men and women transformed in this book into colorful characters. It is also a privilege to observe how the “Bouchard manner” was born. I left with great respect for those people who roamed our roads in the 1970s.
Pop feminism
Sandrine Galand
Editions of the commotion
321 pages
If you are sometimes confused by feminist representations that do not fit in with your idea of feminism, I strongly recommend that you read Pop feminism, by Sandrine Galand (The editions of the stir). It is that first, Sandrine Galand takes responsibility and has fun: she loves pop culture. You are not some that Beyoncé helps the cause when she poses in front of the word feminist in letters of fire? Wondering if the fight is being exploited by the entertainment company just to sell t-shirts? Then this book is for you, because Galand does not put borders between the recovery, the promotion and the obvious impact of the positions of the stars, among other things because she draws on her own experience as a teenager, fan or teacher.
Corsair Girls – Writings About Love, Social Struggles, and Karaoke
Camille Toffoli
Freedom and bustle
112 pages
On the other end of the spectrum, but not the opposite, there is the fascinating Corsair Girls – Writings About Love, Social Struggles, and Karaoke, by Camille Toffoli, co-founder of the feminist bookshop L’Euguélionne. In this collection of texts, we are rather on solid ground, in reflections which question the power relations in the ordinary world, from the western festival of Saint-Tite to the breakfast restaurants through what are called the “p ‘tites madames’. Camille Toffoli confronts university theories and puts them to the test of reality; this is what makes all its strength. Here is precisely a feminist thought in movement (and Toffoli walks a lot) which seeks to free itself from executives, and which carries within it a concern for social classes. “The posture I adopt here is uncomfortable, based on subtle nuances, but the privileged place we occupy – me, my colleagues and friends, the majority of academics – demands that we explore this area of discomfort; that which consists of looking out the window, to try to understand what is happening on the other side, but also to see our reflection on the glass and become aware of our contradictions. In short, I loved it.
Racists have never seen the sea
Rodney Saint-Éloi and Yara El-Ghadban
Inkwell memory
293 pages
At Mémoire Encrier, I was marked by Shushei in the land of the Innu, by José Mailhot, who passed away last May. This sober and humble book, prefaced by her colleague Serge Bouchard, in which she tells about her life as an anthropologist with the Innu, makes us understand many things, including how the Aboriginal subject did not fascinate many people in her time, which makes her all the more formidable in her commitment – José Mailhot designed the first French-Innu dictionary and contributed to the bringing into the world of the essential I am a damned savage, An Antane Kapesh. Finally, the editors of Mémoire Encrier Rodney Saint-Éloi and Yara El-Ghadban put their guts on the table by publishing a correspondence, Racists have never seen the sea, in which nobody can feel attacked so much the subject of racism is approached from a human point of view, sensitive and personal, but which remains nonetheless frontal when they speak about it. It’s overwhelming, like a huge gift they gave us there, and I think I will give it to everyone around me during the holidays.
No matter how tired or discouraged you are at the moment, you can at least console yourself with one thing: thought is doing well in Quebec, no matter what you say.