At the top of the mound of Ignace-Bourget Park, in the Ville-Émard district, a place which offers a breathtaking view of the west of the city, Mariève Desjardins tells us about the day she discovered the poetry of Marie Uguay. “It was about ten years ago, in a library. It was a real encounter. Something very intimate. To tell the truth, I was completely shocked by his way of naming romantic desire. I was in the beginning of a relationship at the time. I felt troubled. I had the impression that Marie Uguay’s poetry put into words what I was experiencing. That day, I promised myself that I would find a way to carry his voice. »
This love letter to a poet who died too soon, died of bone cancer on October 26, 1981, Desjardins chose to give it the form of a sound journey, a creation that is both poetic and documentary. To design and script Walk with herthe French teacher at CEGEP Saint-Jérôme read and reread the poems and the diary published by Boréal, researched the era and traveled the neighborhood, but also watched the invaluable film Marie Uguay, by Jean-Claude Labrecque (NFB, 1982). Throughout the process, she also nourished a rich dialogue with Stéphan Kovacs, who was the poet’s spouse until the very end and who now sees to the influence of her work.
Produced by Sound Portrait, which has been creating “dynamic and poetic journeys inspired by places” since 2013. Walk with her invites us to take a 90-minute stroll through the Ville-Émard district. Eleven audio tracks, accessible on the Sound Portrait application, will take you from 2150, rue Jolicoeur to Angrignon Park, via the library and the Marie-Uguay cultural center. “I have always loved walking in Montreal,” explains the woman who devoted a master’s thesis to wandering in the city. Discovering neighborhoods that I don’t know, being a tourist in my own city, taking a fresh look at what surrounds me, that’s a need for me. I loved seeing Ville-Émard through the eyes of Marie Uguay, superimposing the luminous words of her poems and her diary on the different places. It’s a unique experience that I wanted to share with as many people as possible. »
Enhanced by the talent of Antoine Bédard (music and sound design) and Éveline Grégoire-Rousseau (on harp), the journey through the life and work of Marie Uguay is carried by a narration that will leave no one indifferent. This voice which guides us with care, which accompanies us with warmth, is that of the actress Sylvie Léonard, whose cousin Marie Uguay was. “Their mothers were twins,” explains the designer. Marie and Sylvie were very complicit. It’s a real gift that she accepted my proposal. His narration is very inhabited, very felt. The emotion was often palpable in the studio. » To read excerpts from the work, Desjardins had the happy idea of calling on Camille Léonard, Sylvie’s daughter, but also residents of the neighborhood. Although the experience is clearly enriched by the expedition to the Ville-Émard district, know that it is entirely possible and satisfying to listen to the episodes as if it were a traditional podcast.
An undeniable legacy
In However, there is…the most celebrated of his poems, taken from The afterlife, Uguay writes: “I don’t know all the fruits by heart / nor the beneficial warmth of fruits on a white sheet / But hospitals never end / factories never end / queues in the never-ending frost / never-ending beaches turned into swamps.” “This poem,” explains Desjardins, “she could have written it today. By evoking war, the state of the planet, illness, she crystallizes a feeling of helplessness which is terribly current. This poem is often one of my students’ favorites. »
During the development of the course, Mariève Desjardins understood that Marie Uguay’s legacy was as important as it was tangible. In the last capsule, we hear from some of the people who saw their personal and artistic destiny greatly influenced by the life and work of Marie Uguay. Let us mention Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, Chloé Savoie-Bernard and Rose-Aimée Automne T. Morin. “I noticed that many people resonated with his words,” says Desjardins. There is something timeless in her love of the world, in the way she looks at it, something that will never stop inspiring others. »