York recently hosted the conference Poetic Language & French-Speaking Poetry in North America which brought together more than 50 scholars and poets from across Canada, the United States and around the world, including France, Italy and Israel. The conference explored poetic writing and the place it occupies in Franco-Canadian life, while tracing its evolution from a variety of approaches, including linguistic, literary, socio-cultural, anthropological and political.
Right: Marguerite Andersen (left) and Beverly Matherne
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“Poetry can teach us a lot about our history, our communities and ourselves,” says York French studies Professor Lélia Young, the initiator and key organizer of the conference.
The objective of the conference was to explore the diverse roles that the poetic function has played and continues to play in North American francophone cultural expressions since the 17th century. The francophone culture on the continent has been an active one for centuries. Poetry has captured the attention of scholars as well as writers, critics of literature, linguists, historians, sociologists and anthropologists, and it transmits important cultural messages. This is especially true in minority cultures, where the arts in general, and poetry in particular, can serve to preserve and enhance cultural survival. Poetry serves as witness and partner of the individual and collective memory, working at times in concert with other artistic and creative forms.
Left: Andrée Lacelle (left) and Lélia Young
The specific goal of Poetic Language and French-Speaking Poetry in North America was to have specialists share recent scholarly views of the role of poetry in the past and present North American francophone contexts. By encouraging interdisciplinary, critical and comparative analysis and synthesis on the poetic function, the conference presenters set in motion debates on issues critical to the field. The proceedings will be published by Laval University Press.
The conference took place over three days, and involved parallel sessions dealing with the major conference topics of the historical, geographical and social influences of French-speaking poetry, the evolution of French-speaking poetry, the production of poetry, women’s issues, poetry and multimedia, how to teach poetry, and otherness and identity in poetry.
Left: The guest of honour, François Paré, at Schulich during the banquet and the show
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Guest speakers included award-winning Canadian professors and authors Pierre Nepveu of the University of Montreal and François Paré of the University of Waterloo. Many award-winning Canadian writers, including Marguerite Andersen, Hédi Bouraoui, Cécile Cloutier, Andrée Lacelle and Michel Thérien, were also at the conference as was Beverly Matherne, a Cajun poet and professor at Northern Michigan University.
On the Friday night of the conference, a round-table discussion on poetry and multiculturalism took place, followed by a banquet at Schulich and an evening of poetry reading.
“The event was a success both in terms of the quality of the speakers and the detailed organization to have it run smoothly,” says Young.
The event was funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada and through several York research grants in addition to sponsors, including the Bureau du Québec and the Association des auteures et auteurs de l’Ontario français.
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