|
|
 |
||||
     
|
||||
      
|
Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
The poet and essayist Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau was born in Montréal in 1912. He spent his early years at his family's manor in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, Quebec, and then moved to Montréal with his parents in 1923. Beginning in that year, he pursued classical studies at various Montréal institutions (Collège Sainte-Marie, Loyola College and Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf) while taking painting courses at the Collège des beaux-arts; however, health problems forced him to abandon his studies in 1934. Saint-Denys Garneau's talent as a poet was recognized very early, as is evidenced by the literary awards that he received in 1926 (from Maison Henry Morgan), 1928 (from the Association des auteurs canadiens) and 1929 (from the Canadian Authors Association). Around this time, Saint-Denys Garneau began publishing poems and critical articles in various periodicals. Later, he founded the monthly journal La relève with some friends (Paul Beaulieu, Robert Charbonneau and Robert Élie). During this time, Saint-Denys Garneau also kept a journal, from which his friends published large excerpts, after his death. For a period of three years beginning in 1934, Saint-Denys Garneau published many articles, essays and poems in La relève and other literary journals in Quebec. In 1937, he published his collection of poems titled Regards et jeux dans l'espace. That summer, he spent three weeks in France. When he returned home, he spent more and more time at the manor in Sainte-Catherine and seemed to withdraw from family and friends. He died suddenly on October 24, 1943, of heart problems. |
|||
