It was Magalie Lefebvre Jean who won the - Caroline-Dawson Prize for her essay Neither Like My Mother, Nor Like My Father: Chronicles of a Fierce Biracial Woman.
Posted at 3:17 p.m.
The winner was announced Friday afternoon by host Émilie Perreault as part of a special edition – live from the Montreal Book Fair – ofThere will always be culture.
Published in November 2023 by Hurlantes Éditrices, the book offers a reflection on systemic racism and sexism experienced by the author as a biracial woman, as well as through the testimonies of the people she interviewed.
Born to a Haitian father and a Quebec mother, Magalie Lefebvre Jean teaches sociology at CEGEP. Neither like my mother nor my father is his first book. She clarified when receiving the prize that her essay certainly arouses discomfort, but that in her opinion “it is the best way to grow”.
“It’s a book that was a page turner for us, and no one expected that when reading an essay,” underlined the writer Kev Lambert, who was part of the jury with the author Jennifer Bélanger, doctor in literary studies with a concentration in feminist studies from UQAM , as well as Gabriella Kinté Garbeau, author and founder of the Racines bookstore.
“I was struck by the author’s ability to highlight the often invisible experiences of biracial people,” added Gabriella Kinte Garbeau.
The other finalist titles were The rhythms of dust by Léa Murat-Ingles (Remue-Ménage), They looked at me by Anya Nousri (Triptych), The heir by Michael Gouveia (Bush Poets) and Rebellious emergence de Cyndy Wylde (Hannenorak).
The prize was created last May in tribute to the sociologist and author of Where I hideCaroline Dawson, and aims to reward a novel or essay published in French by an emerging Canadian author from diverse backgrounds. It is endowed with a scholarship of $2000.
Magalie Lefebvre Jean participates in the round table on Saturday Living between two cultures: stories of multiple identities with authors Anita Anand and Maïka Sondarjee, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Espace littéraire.
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