Jacques Poulin

Jacques Poulin (French pronunciation: [ʒak pulɛ̃]; born 23 September 1937 in Saint-Gédéon, Quebec) is a Canadian novelist with a quiet and intimate style of writing. Poulin studied psychology and arts at the Université Laval in Quebec City; he started his career as commercial translator and later became a college guidance counselor. Only after the success of his second novel, Jimmy (1969), was he able to devote himself completely to his writing. Poulin has written fourteen novels, many of which have been translated into English by Sheila Fischman, and published by Cormorant Books.

Poulin lived in Paris for 15 years, but now lives in Quebec City.

Poulin's Volkswagen Blues was selected as a candidate in the CBC's 2005 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by Roch Carrier, author and former National Librarian of Canada.

Awards and recognition

• Winner of the Governor General's Award in 1978 for Les grandes marées.
• Nominated for the Governor General's Award in 1984 for Volkswagen Blues.
• Nominated for the Governor General's Award in 1989, winner of the Prix Québec-Paris in 1989, the Prix Molson from the Académie des lettres du Québec in 1990 and the Prix France-Québec in 1991 for Le Vieux Chagrin.
• Winner of the Quebec government's Prix Athanase-David in 1995
• Winner of the Molson Prize from the Canada Council in 2000
• Winner of the Gilles-Corbeil Prize (Le Nobel québécois) in 2008

Bibliography

• The "Jimmy" Trilogy:
  • Mon cheval pour un royaume — 1967 (Translated as My Horse for a Kingdom)
  • Jimmy — 1969 (Translated as Jimmy)
  • Le cœur de la baleine bleue — 1970 (Translated as The Heart of the Blue Whale)
• Faites de beaux rêves — 1974 (Not yet translated)
• Les grandes marées — 1978 (Spring Tides, translated by Sheila Fischman, (Archipelago Books), 2007)
• Volkswagen Blues — 1984 (Translated as Volkswagen Blues)
• Le Vieux Chagrin — 1989 (Translated as Mr. Blue)
• La tournée d'automne — 1993 (Autumn Rounds by Sheila Fischman, (Archipelago Books), 2021)
• Chat sauvage — 1998 (Translated as Wild Cat)
• Les yeux bleus de Mistassini — 2002 (Translated as My Sister's Blue Eyes)
• La traduction est une histoire d'amour — 2006 (Translation is a Love Affair, translated by Sheila Fischman (Archipelago Books), 2009)
• L'anglais n'est pas une langue magique — 2009 ("English is Not a Magic Language", translated by Sheila Fischman (Esplanade Books, the fiction series at Véhicule Press), 2016)
• L'homme de la Saskatchewan — 2011 (Not yet translated)
• Un jukebox dans la tête — 2015 (Not yet translated)

See also

• List of French-Canadian writers

External links

• Prix Athanase-David 1995 announcement (in French)
• Author page on Canada Reads 2005
• Critical bibliography (Auteurs.contemporain.info) (in French)
• Jacques Poulin entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
• Archives of Jacques Poulin (Fonds Jacques Poulin, R11789) are held at Library and Archives Canada (in French)