Marie-Christine Lévesque
Lévesque at the 2017 Salon du livre de Montréal
Born1958 (1958)
Died16 July 2020(2020-07-16) (aged 61–62)
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Writer and editor
Notable work
  • —Elles ont fait l’Amérique : De remarquables oubliés, tome 1,
  • —Le peuple rieur. Hommage à mes amis innus
SpouseSerge Bouchard
Awards

Marie-Christine Lévesque (1958 – 16 July 2020) was a Canadian art director,[1] author and editor.[3][4][5] As an art director she won the 2005 Applied Arts Award for the cover design of 9 Vues.[1] Her partner was Serge Bouchard[6] and she co-authored books with him including Elles ont fait l’Amérique : De remarquables oubliés, tome 1 and Le peuple rieur. Hommage à mes amis innus, the latter of which won the 2018 Le Prix Victor-Barbeau award.[2] Her writings explored the lives of North American people from the 16th century to the 19th century[7] and the Innu people.[6]

Early life

Lévesque is the daughter of Gérard D. Levesque and Denyse Lefort.[3] She grew up beside an indigenous reserve but was raised to be scared of this group of people.[5]

Professional career

Lévesque started her career as an advertising designer[4] and worked as an art director for book jackets.[1] She received the 2005 Applied Arts Award for the cover design of 9 Vues, a book presenting the engravings of Louise Masson that accompanied the poetry of Daniel Danis.[1] She also received a 2005 Applied Arts Award as the art director for Peau/Parfum/Noire.[8]

Lévesque worked as an editor before committing to writing full-time.[4] In 2011 Lévesque co-wrote Elles ont fait l’Amérique : De remarquables oubliés, tome 1 with her husband Serge Bouchard. The book is a compilation of 15 biographies of women in North America who are not popularly known about[9] and inspired by an Ici Radio-Canada Première radio show called De remarquables oubliés.[10] In 2012, Lévesque's husband Serge Bouchard was invited by the Essipit Band Council to write the history of the Innu people and Lévesque accompanied her husband to co-write and edit the work. While with the Innu people she was inspired by her husband to appreciate the Indigenous community and the nature around them.[5] The writings were released as an essay in 2017 called Le peuple rieur. Hommage à mes amis innus[6] and received the Le Prix Victor-Barbeau award.[2][11] It was also the 27th bestselling book in Quebec independent bookstores in 2018.[12]

Personal life and death

Lévesque adopted a child from China with her partner Serge Bouchard in 2003.[13] She had a daughter named Lou.[4] Lévesque died on 16 July 2020 of brain cancer.[4] At the time of her death she was preparing to publish a poetry collection.[5]

Writing style

In describing her writing style, Lévesque said, "I am literary, minimalist."[lower-alpha 1][5] When describing Elles ont fait l'Amérique, Laurence Clerfeuille said the writing was, "Dense, meticulous, sometimes moving, the stories skillfully combine romantic and socio-historical elements."[lower-alpha 2] However, "A reader not accustomed to the historical context may perhaps get lost at times in certain incidental information."[lower-alpha 3][7] Michel Lapierre of Le Devoir, when describing Ils ont couru l’Amérique, said that Lévesque and Serge Bouchard, "share an admirable talent for storytelling."[lower-alpha 4][9]

Influence

In 2020 Alexandre Castonguay, Patrice Dubois and Soleil Launière created a theatrical show called Courir l'Amérique based on Lévesque's books Elles ont fait l’Amérique and Ils ont couru l’Amérique. The artists toured their production across Canada.[14][15]

List of works

Co-written with Serge Bouchard

  • Elles ont fait l’Amérique : De remarquables oubliés, tome 1 (They Made America: The Remarkable Forgotten, Volume 1) Montreal: Lux Éditeur, 2011.[7]
  • Les images que nous sommes : 60 ans de cinéma québécois (The Images that we are: 60 Years of Quebec Cinema) Montreal: Éditions de l'Homme, 2013.[13]
  • Ils ont couru l’Amérique : De remarquables oubliés, tome 2 (They Ran America: The Remarkable Forgotten, Volume 2) Montreal: Lux Éditeur, 2014[13]
  • Le peuple rieur. Hommage à mes amis innus (The Laughing People. Tribute to my Innu Friends) Montreal: Lux Éditeur, 2017.[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Original quote, in French: "Je suis littéraire, minimaliste."
  2. ↑ Original quote, in French: "Denses, minutieux, émouvants parfois, les récits allient habilement éléments romanesques et socio-historiques."
  3. ↑ Original quote, in French: "Un lecteur non accoutumé au contexte historique pourra peut-être s'égarer parfois dans certaines informations accessoires"
  4. ↑ Original quote, in French: "partageant un admirable talent de conteur"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "9 VUES Book Cover/Jacket Design - Single 2005". 9 Vues - 2005 Awards Winner. Applied Arts Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Guy, Chantal (October 24, 2018). "Académie des lettres du Québec: les lauréats sont..." La Presse. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 Montréal, Journal de. "LÉVESQUE, Marie-Christine". Le Journal de Montréal.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Beaulieu, Isabelle (July 21, 2020). "Décès de l'auteure Marie-Christine Lévesque, complice de Serge Bouchard". Revue Les libraires.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Montpetit, Caroline (July 18, 2020). "Elle a écrit l'Amérique". Le Devoir. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Collard, Nathalie (November 30, 2017). "Lettre d'amour aux Innus". La Presse. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 Clerfeuille, Laurence (March 2013). "Reviewed Work: Elles ont fait l'Amérique: de remarquables oubliés, tome 1 by Serge Bouchard, Marie-Christine Lévesque". The French Review. 86 (4). doi:10.1353/tfr.2013.0283. JSTOR 23511245.
  8. ↑ "Peau/Farum/Noire - 2005 Awards Winner - Applied Arts". Applied Arts Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  9. 1 2 Lapierre, Michel (2014-05-03). "Coureurs des bois, des rivières, du Far West". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  10. ↑ Saint-Pierre, Christian (2020-03-09). "Courir l'Amérique»: jouer dans la terre". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  11. ↑ "L'Académie des lettres remet ses prix". Le Devoir (in French). 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  12. ↑ Lupien, Sévryna (2018-12-17). "Les 50 meilleurs vendeurs 2018 au Québec". Revue Les libraires (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "ICI Radio-Canada Première | Balados, livres audio". Radio-Canada.
  14. ↑ Bourbonnais, Louise (2019-12-28). "Prévisions 2020: les 10 pièces à ne pas manquer". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  15. ↑ Bourbonnais, Louise (2019-05-11). "Théâtre de Quat'Sous: poser un regard différent". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
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