Laurent Poliquin

Laurent Poliquin (born June 12, 1975) is a Franco-Manitoban poet, visual artist, scholar, educator and a community activist. He is a member of the Green Party of Canada . He is the recipient of several literary awards, including the Prix de l’Alliance française , the international Castello di Duino Prize (2006), the Rue-Deschambault Prize (2015) , and the Senghor International Prize for Poetry . He is best known for his scholarly work on Francophone minority literatures and their connections with world literatures; through his essays and critical studies, he has helped to renew Francophone studies by focusing on lesser-heard voices, marginalized spaces, and writings of exiguity .

Biography He studied philosophy at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières and completed a MA in French studies at the University of British Columbia. In 1999, he moved to Winnipeg and completed a Bachelor of Education at Université de Saint-Boniface, for which he was awarded the prestigious Government of France Award. He works as a journalist and radio host before becoming a teacher. In 2008, he began a doctorate in French studies at the University of Manitoba (Canada) after holding editorial functions at Éditions des Plaines (2003–2009). In 2009 he was introduce as a member of the research center Young People's Text and Culture of the University of Winnipeg (CRYTC) and works as an editor for the international journal Youth: Young People, Texts, Cultures. He is also an honorary member of the International Scientific Council of the magazine Otago French Notes of New Zealand. He is the author of eighteen books.

Winner of the Alliance Française Award in Molsheim (Alsace) in 2002, Poliquin participated in the Toronto International Book Fair (2003), the Salon du livre de Paris (2007), the Trois-Rivières International Poetry Festival (2001, 2003, 2005, 2025) and the Winnipeg International Writers Festival (2001 to 2010). His poems have been published in Quebec (Le Sabord, Moebius and Ellipse), in Canada (Contemporary Verse 2, Canadian Literature) in France (Poésie sur Seine, Casse-Pieds, Le Temps des Cerises) and Italy (Ibiskos Editrice Risolo).

Artistic career

In the visual arts, Poliquin develops a practice at the intersection of language and image, where poetry converses with color and form. His work explores the porous boundary between literature and painting, creating an innovative dialogue that bridges the sensibilities of both worlds.

Poliquin's academic formation combines artistic rigor with interdisciplinary breadth. He holds a certificate in Postwar Abstract Painting from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, expertise in Contemporary Art Practice from Cornell University, and a foundation in Arts Management from HEC Montréal. With a PhD in Literary Studies from the University of Manitoba, he fuses scholarly reflection with a vivid commitment to creative expression.

His paintings have been shown in prominent galleries across the world. In October 2023, his works were exhibited at Artpal in San Francisco, followed by Gallea in Montreal. The Maison des artistes visuels francophones in Saint-Boniface hosted his presentation on November 30, 2023. In December 2023, he received the Artistic Excellence Award from the Circle Quarterly Art Review Magazine Contest for his painting La petite princesse jaune.

Poliquin's artistic reach also extends to major international venues, including Moonshadows at Galerie Monat in Madrid (November 20 – December 3, 2023) and The Body Language at the Venice International Art Fair (January–February 2024).

Works

Poetry Toute entière lumière, with Arabic translation by Naziha Abakar Moussa, L'Harmattan, 2026 Tout est effluve, L'Harmattan, 2024 L'acharnement des ruines, Les Impliqués, 2023 Le petit bruit du poème, Éditions du Blé, 2022 L'ivresse fragile de l'aube, L'Harmattan, 2021 Voyageur des interstices, L'Harmattan, 2018 De l'amuïssement des certitudes, Jacques André Éditeur, 2014 Le maniement des larmes, Plaines, 2013 Marchand d'intensité, L'Harmattan, 2012 Orpailleur de bisous, L'Interligne, 2010 La Métisse filante, L'Harmattan, 2008 Le vertigo du tremble, Plaines, 2005 L'ondoiement du désir, Plaines, 2003 Volute velours, Plaines, 2001

Essay La quête du séducteur ou le messianisme diabolique, Primo Mobile éditeur, 2012 De l'impuissance à l'autonomie. Évolution culturelle et enjeux identitaires des minorités canadiennes-françaises, Prise de Parole, 2017. Les foudres du silence : l'estomac fragile de la littérature francophone au Canada, L'Harmattan, 2019.

Short stories

Le courage des oiseaux lents, Éditions du blé, 2026 Litterarum virus, Primo Mobile éditeur, 2016

Collective works L'Autre en mémoire, directed by Dominique Laporte, Presses de l'Université Laval, 2006. La Joie, an anthology prepared by Danielle Shelton, Paris / Montreal, cherries Time / Sayings 2006. Aria Acqua Terre Fuoco anthology established by Gabriella Valera Gruber, Florence, Ibiskos Editrice Risolo 2006. Plaisir du texte, texte de plaisir : l'oeuvre de J.R. Léveillé, directed by Lise Gaboury-Diallo, Presses Universitaires de Saint-Boniface, 2007. Saint-Boniface 1908–2008 : reflets d'une ville, directed by André Fauchon and Carol J. Harvey, Presses Universitaires de Saint-Boniface, 2008 Sillons : hommage à Gabrielle Roy directed by Lise Gaboury-Diallo, Éditions du Blé 2009. Transplanter le Canada : Semailles / Transplanting Canada: Seedlings, directed by Marie Carrière and Jerry White, Edmonton, Canadian Literature Centre, 2009 Littératures francophones minoritaires (Canada, 1999–2010) : Entretiens et textes , directed by Catherine Parayre, Vienna, Praesens Verlag, 2011. Nous, la multitude, anthology established by Françoise Coulmin, Paris: Le Temps des cerises, 2011. Against innocence: Aesthetics of children's literature in commitment, directed by Britta Benert and P. Clermont, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag, 2011 Paroles francophones de l'Ouest et du Nord canadiens, directed by Carol Harvey, Presses Universitaires de Saint-Boniface, 2012. Étoiles et planètes, anthology established by André Desforges, Bordeaux, Les dossiers d'Aquitaine, 2012. La francophonie de la Colombie-Britannique : mémoire et fiction, directed by Guy Poirier, Ottawa: Éditions David, 2012. Les institutions littéraires en question dans la franco-amérique , edited by B. Doyon-Gosselin, D. Bélanger and C. Bérard, Laval University Press, 2014. Cancer, le poète ne meurt jamais, anthology established by Regroupement des poètes francophones engagés pour la paix et la liberté, Rotterdam, Les Engagés Editions, 2017. Bref! 150 nouvelles pancanadiennes, directed by Charles Leblanc, Editions du Blé, 20

Interview

Une entrevue avec Laurent Poliquin, interview with Nina Berkhout CV2, vol. 30, no 1, summer 2007, p. 58-62. Une poétique assumée: rencontre avec Laurent Poliquin, interview with Perrine Foucault, L'Harmattan, May 2018. Entretien avec Laurent Poliquin par Bianca Deshaies, Milwaukee Review, vol. 92, July 2021, p. 42-49.

Awards and distinctions 2023: Artistic Excellence Award from the Circle Quarterly Art Review Magazine Contest for his piece entitled "La petite princesse jaune" 2018: Léopold Sédar Senghor International Poetry Prize 2018: Canada Prize for De l'impuissance à l'autonomie , finalist 2016: Humanities Federation Scholarly Publishing Award for De l'impuissance à l'autonomie 2015: Rue-Deschambault Literary Award for De l'amuïssement des certitudes 2015: Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry De l'amuïssement des certitudes, shortlisted 2013: Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry Marchand d'intensité, shortlisted 2009–2012: Doctoral Scholarship Joseph-Armand Bombardier SSHRC 2011: Margaret R. Pope Scholarship, University of Manitoba 2011: Writing Fellowship from the Winnipeg Arts Council 2010: Dr. Anita K. Ross Scholarship, University of Manitoba 2009: Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry La Métisse filante, shortlisted 2008: Marcel Richard Award, University of Manitoba 2006: Duino Castle International Poetry Prize (Italy) to La Metisse filante, shortlisted 2001: Alliance française Award (Molsheim, France) 2001: Government of France Award

Electoral record