Hélène Monette
Thérèse pour joie et orchestre
Poetry French-Language
Photo : Martine Doyon
Hélène Monette, Montreal,
Thérèse pour joie et orchestre.
(Les Éditions du Boréal;
distributed by Diffusion Dimédia)
(ISBN 978-2-7646-0625-4)
Biography
Artist, poet and novelist, Hélène Monette is a major presence in the literary community. She has participated in numerous literary events and festivals in Quebec and abroad, tribute evenings for celebrated poets and symposia. She has contributed to poetry projects through records, videos, films and radio programs, and toured across Quebec with the poets and musicians of Band de poètes. Co-founder of Ciel variable (CV Photo) magazine, her work has appeared in several literary journals. She worked with architect and stage designer Anick La Bissonnière, to create an exhibition combining text and installation shown at Monopoli, a Montreal gallery. Critics have described her work as being both sensitive and caustic. Twice a finalist, she now takes home her first GG. Born in Quebec's Montérégie region, Hélène Monette lives in Montréal.
Jury's comment
In Thérèse pour joie et orchestre, the poet transforms the sister she lost to illness into a happy spirit floating over people and places. This elegy orchestrated by Hélène Monette is astonishing in its ability to touch the reader. A magnificent ode in a voice that is generous and powerful.