French-Canadian Poets
Published: March 2011
"If poetry alters the way in which the reader views the world,
then it has had its desired effect."
- John Barton
Poetry has helped shape Canada into what it is today. By pushing
boundaries and voicing opinions concerning values and morals, poets
have challenged Canadian to change and evolve and to better
understand new generations and new point of views. Poetry is
nationally significant as it forces us to think about the world we
live in when reading works, and offers us an understanding of our
past through timeless verses.
In Québec, poems
are a popular form used to express French-Canadian identity. In
springtime, Québec holds an annual poetry festival entitled Le
printemps des poètes that seeks to promote this style of
creative writing. As a result of Québec's great support for poetry,
many historic sites in the province commemorate this important
cultural aspect through their association with famous poets. Here
are a few examples of famous poets whose dwellings were deemed of
historical importance:
Louis Fréchette was born in 1839 at Maison Natale Louis-Fréchette in Lévis,
Québec. Celebrated as being the most
important poet of his generation during the second half of the
nineteenth century, this law student wrote with a sense of
patriotism in a romantic fashion that would remind some of Victor
Hugo's work. Highly involved in politics, Fréchette 
intended to get his bold ideas to the public through
a series of poems. He was truly a patriotic poet who tried to bring
to the forefront French-Canadian ideals often shrouded by
English-Canadian and French culture. Some of his most famous works
include Mes loisirs, Pêle-mêle and Fleurs boréales. Fréchette was
also recognized overseas for his exceptional style as he was the
first Canadian poet to be honoured by the prestigious French
Academy in 1880. In 1892, Fréchette and his wife moved into La maison Louis-Fréchette in Montréal where he
would stay until 1907. Fréchette would die the following year in
1908. By paving the way for future poets, Fréchette is accordingly
a person who has had incredible impact on the heritage of
Québec.
One of Fréchette's successors in French-Canadian poetry during
the early twentieth century was Charles-Nérée Beauchemin, who was
born in 1850. Originally a country doctor, Beauchemin was one of
the first writers to reflect on his homeland, the Terroir, and
would grow to be considered one of the most influential poets of
his generation. Beauchemin can be remembered for his two
collections of poems concentrating on rural life: Les floraisons
matutinales and Patrie intime. Like Fréchette, Beauchemin dealt
with the ever-present theme of patriotism, but is also credited
with a delicate integration of nature and the incorporation of a
more intimate style of writing in his work. Beauchemin's dwelling
in Yamachiche, La maison Nérée-Beauchemin, in which he lived
for over fifty years, was declared of provincial importance to
celebrate his poetry. Beauchemin died in 1931.
Claude Gauvreau made waves in the mid- twentieth century with
his poems 
through the revolutionary art of
surrealism. He was born in 1925 and was part of a generation who
dismissed patriotic themes and focused on the negation of
institutions and the absence of control through surrealism. His
style was prominent in Québec in the 1960s as great social changes
were gripping the province during the Quiet Revolution. Gauvreau's
most famous work can be found in the Refus Global manifesto from
1948 where three of his surrealist poems were featured and to which
he was a signatory. When Refus Global was published, Gauvreau was
renting the western wing of the Maison Mackenzie-Brydges in Montréal with his
brother, Pierre. Claude Gauvreau prematurely died in 1971 after an
unfortunate incident.
Whether you are an aspiring poet or simply enjoy reading poetry,
be sure to visit these and other historic sites associated with
famous poets during your next trip.
