Antonine Maillet tells -

During multiple interviews given to - radio and television, Antonine Maillet revealed several aspects of her journey and her convictions.

How and why do you become a writer?

Well yes, I became a writer.

Antonine Maillet’s numerous books and plays have made her one of the essential figures in Canadian literature in recent decades.

But how did what would become a mission emerge for this Acadian woman born in 1929?

In the late 1970s, Antonine Maillet was the subject of four episodes in the series Words and confidences.

In these, the author detailed, among other things, her conception of what Acadia was, its small and large history and also literature.

In the episode of Words and confidences from January 9, 1979 directed by Jean Faucher, Antonine Maillet remembers the beginnings of her literary vocation which she places when she was a very young child.

The rest, we know it.

This is the publication of Pointe-aux-Coques in 1958.

Then, a succession of around forty novels, plays and monologues which were rewarded with around fifteen national and international prizes including the prestigious Prix Goncourt.

This considerable literary work has carved out a special place for Acadia, its history and its people, in the collective imagination.

This result is not due to chance.

As a writer, Antonine Maillet has developed a very precise conception of her role.

1:38

She explains this concept in an interview she gave to journalist Camille Bourdeau on the quay of Bouctouche, her native village, on 1^is August 2017.

The civic engagement of Antonine Maillet

Antonine Maillet spoke a lot and defended the rights of the Acadian people.

But his commitment is not limited to the borders of Acadia.

Did you know, for example, that she was the honorary co-president of the Quebec organization Artists for Peace from 1988 to 1990?

As such, she has often denounced the scourge of nuclear war or in Afghanistan, among others.

His commitment was not limited to pacifist demands.

On October 24, 1988, Antonine Maillet was the moderator during the leaders’ debate in French which took place during the Canadian federal election campaign.

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During the broadcast Impact broadcast on December 3, 1988, she tells host Robert Guy Scully how her experience went.

At the same time, she explains why she agreed to play this role, which she associates with a desire for civic engagement for her community, but also for Canada as a whole.

Robert Guy Scully reminds her that as an author, Antonine Maillet always seemed resistant to commitment.

I am not involved in a partisan way, she confirms. I have never had a political party membership card.

If Antonine Maillet refuses partisan engagement, she is not against civic engagement.

However, to get involved in a cause — particularly in a democratic country like Canada, she explains — she must be absolutely certain of the correctness of her position.

This is all the more true since, as a writer, she has an influence that can be considerable.

Antonine Maillet and God

God has no limits for me. If I had to give only one definition of God, it is mystery.

Did you know that Antonine Maillet was a nun?

5:05

In an interview given to journalist Carole Vallières from the show Second regard of December 6, 1992, Antonine Maillet explains why she left her religious community to become secular again.

Antonine Maillet confirms that she did not reject God or that she lost her faith.

Her decision was based on the fact that in the late 1960s, she felt she could better serve Acadian society outside of a religious community.

It also becomes clear when listening to this excerpt that Antonine Maillet has faith and that she still believes in God.

But his concept of God is not very orthodox.

So much so that Carole Vallières describes it as a revolutionary design.

Which Antonine Maillet does not deny.

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