Melvin Gallant

Melvin Gallant (May 24, 1932 – October 20, 2023) was a Canadian teacher, literary critic, editor and writer.

Born in Prince Edward Island, Gallant began his academic journey at Collège Saint-Joseph in Memramcook. From 1957 to 1960, he taught economics and accounting from 1957 to 1960 at Collège Sacré-Cœur in Bathurst. He left to study in Europe, earning a degree in political science from the University of Paris in 1960 and a Master of Arts from the Institut catholique de Paris in 1964. That same year, he began teaching French and Acadian literature at the Université de Moncton. His doctoral thesis, presented in 1970 at the University of Neuchâtel, Le Thème de la mort chez Roger Martin du Gard, was widely acclaimed.

Gallant co-founded Éditions d'Acadie in 1972. At the time, it was the largest French-language publishing house in North America outside Quebec. He was president until 1975, then chairman of the board and president of the executive committee from 1977 to 1984. In 1978, he also founded the Association des écrivains acadiens, which gave birth to Éditions Perce-Neige in 1980. The same year, he founded the political analysis magazine Égalité.

He published several novels, including some fifteen for children. Renowned for his Ti-Jean series, he stands out as the most celebrated Acadian children's author. Ti-Jean, inspired by a character from Acadian folklore, versions of which are also found in different cultures. In 1999, he created a female version of the character, Tite-Jeanne. Éditions d'Acadie closed its doors in 2000, and Gallant decided to publish new versions of Ti-Jean, this time with Bouton d'or Acadie. His other works include the documentary La Cuisine traditionnelle en Acadie, co-written in 1975 with Marielle Boudreau, the poetry collection L'Été insulaire (1982) and the historical novel Le Métis de Beaubassin (2009). The latter is the first book published by Éditions de la Francophonie. Melvin Gallant also publishes reviews, manuals and articles.

Biography

Youth and education Roger Martin du Gard, whose work is the subject of Melvin Gallant's doctoral thesis, defended in 1970. Melvin Gallant was born on May 24, 1932 - other sources mention 1933 - in Urbainville, in the Evangeline region of western Prince Edward Island, Canada. One of his ancestors is Michel Haché dit Gallant, the main character in his novel Le Métis de Beaubassin, published in 2009. The origin of the Gallant surname, originally an Acadian nickname for the ancestor, is not known, but Melvin invents one in his novel. Melvin was nicknamed the "Métis of Urbainville" because his ancestor was a Métis born of an Acadian father and an Aboriginal mother.

After completing high school in Prince Edward Island, He then went to France, where he obtained a degree in political science from the University of Paris in 1960 and a Master of Arts from the Institut Catholique de Paris in 1964. His thesis was published the following year by Klincksieck, Paris. He was also chairman of the organizing committee for the Colloque international sur le thème de la mer in 1991. After retirement, he lived six months a year in Grand-Barachois, Beaubassin-Est, New Brunswick, and six months in the Dominican Republic. He was honorary president of the Salon du livre de Dieppe in 2001 and a member of the Board of Directors until 2005.

Writing According to David Lonergan, Gallant's work is inseparable from the emergence of Acadian literature.

His works are often the fruit of a desire for renewal in Acadian literature.

Ti-Jean: contes acadiens

In 1973, Gallant published Ti-Jean: contes acadiens with Éditions d'Acadie. While inspired by Acadian folklore, this collection of tales has a universal appeal. Aimed at ten- to fourteen-year-olds, it was the first in a series of publications centered on the eponymous character, In Acadian folklore, several tales feature a character usually called Ti-Jean, hired by a king to perform various tasks, making him a standard tale AT 1000 to 1029 in the Aarne-Thompson classification. He doesn't lapse into the picturesque like many other storytellers, and uses simple language and neutral writing, a little "gray" according to Alain Masson, contrasting with the mischievous character of the main character. He does, however, use superlatives. In fact, Acadian tales are similar to European tales in structure, but differ in detail. Daniel Long even compares Ti-Jean's tales to the Odyssey. and the most comprehensive to date. According to Jean Royer, the book is "not faked", and Natania Étienne believes it "goes beyond the picturesque". Set in Greece, its theme is the imprint of a wounded mad love. This is the first dictionary of Acadian authors

In 1985, the Société historique acadienne published a new edition of Dière de Dièreville's account of his travels in Acadia from 1699 to 1670, with an introduction and annotations by Melvin Gallant. This text, while not very original, is, according to John A. Dickinson, a "very perceptive" account of Acadia at the turn of the eighteenth century. The author wanted to explore the traditional tale with a female character.

In 2011, he wrote the tale Cendrillouse, Cendrillon acadienne, in the volume Cendrillon de quatre continents.

New version of Ti-Jean Éditions d'Acadie closed its doors in 2000, creating a shortage of the two Ti-Jean collections.

Le Métis de Beaubassin and À la conquête de l'île Saint-Jean 1755 map of Beaubassin, the setting for the novel Le Métis de Beaubassin (2009). In 2009, Gallant published Le Métis de Beaubassin, which he considers his best work. 1985, Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes académiques 2006, Hackmatack Young People's Choice Award finalist, for Tite-Jeanne et la pomme d'or 2007, Prix Hackmatack - le choix des jeunes, for Ti-Jean-le-brave 2013, Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Excellence in French-language Literary Arts

Works

Tales

Melvin Gallant, "Bonnet Rouge", Écrits du Canada français, no. 38, 1974, pp. 124–134 Melvin Gallant and Bernard Leblanc (illustrations), Ti-Jean, contes acadiens, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie(repr. 1984, 1991) (1st ed. 1973), 248 p. (ISBN 978-2-7600-0183-1 and 2-7600-0183-0) Melvin Gallant, Caprice à la campagne, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1982, 15 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0081-8) Melvin Gallant, Caprice en hiver, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1984, 16 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0109-1) Melvin Gallant, Ti-Jean-le-fort: contes acadiens, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1991, 248 p.(ISBN 978-2-7600-0183-1) Melvin Gallant and Denise Paquette (illustrations), Tite-Jeanne et le prince triste, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 1999, 41 p. (ISBN 2-922203-23-9) Melvin Gallant and Denise Paquette (illustrations), Tite-Jeanne et la pomme d'or, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2000, 78 p. (ISBN 2-922203-30-1) Melvin Gallant, Patrick l'Internaute, Montréal, Chenelière Éducation, 2003, 55 p. (ISBN 2-89461-776-3) Melvin Gallant and Denise Paquette (illustrations), Tite-Jeanne et le prince Igor, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2004, 71 p. (ISBN 2-922203-56-5) Melvin Gallant and Michel Duguay (illustrations), Ti-Jean-le-Brave, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2005, 187 p.(ISBN 2-922203-91-3) Melvin Gallant and Michel Duguay (illustrations), Ti-Jean-le-Rusé, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2006, 217 p.(ISBN 2-923518-06-3) Melvin Gallant and Michel Duguay (illustrations), Ti-Jean-l'Intrépide, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2007, 237 p.(ISBN 978-2-923518-22-0) Melvin Gallant, Ti-Jean-Tête-D'Or, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2010, 198 p. (ISBN 978-2-923518-65-7) Melvin Gallant, "Cendrillouse, Cendrillon acadienne", in collective, Cendrillon de quatre continents, Moncton, Bouton d'or Acadie, 2011 (ISBN 978-2-923518-82-4)

Poems

Melvin Gallant, L'Été insulaire: chant littéraire, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1982, 39 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0075-3) Melvin Gallant, "Variation saisonnières du pays, poèmes", Intervention à haute voix, no. 9, 1983, p. 24-32

Novels

Melvin Gallant, Le Chant des grenouilles: roman, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1982, 157 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0083-4) Melvin Gallant, Le Complexe d'Évangéline: roman, Lévis, Éditions de la Francophonie, 2001, 241 p.(ISBN 2-9807136-0-0) Melvin Gallant, Le Métis de Beaubassin: roman historique, Lévis, Éditions de la Francophonie, 2009, 328 p.(ISBN 978-2-89627-192-4) Melvin Gallant, À la conquête de l'île Saint-Jean, Tracadie, La Grande marée, 2016, 213 p.(ISBN 978-2-349-72349-9)

News

Melvin Gallant, "Le trou blanc", Éloizes, no. 1, Spring 1980 (ISSN 0228-0124)

Documentaries, manuals and theses

Melvin Gallant, Initiation à la dissertation, Moncton, Librairie acadienne, Université de Moncton, 1966, 49 p. Melvin Gallant, Le Thème de la mort chez Roger Martin Du Gard, Paris, Klincksieck, 1971, 299 p. Marielle Cormier Boudreau and Melvin Gallant, La Cuisine traditionnelle en Acadie: historique des traditions et coutumes culinaires chez les Acadiens du Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Nouvelle-Écosse, de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard et des Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie (repr. 1980, 1987) (1st ed. 1975), 181 p. Melvin Gallant, Le Pays d'Acadie, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1980, 206 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0051-6) Melvin Gallant and Ginette Gould, Portraits d'écrivains: dictionnaire des écrivains acadiens, Moncton, Éditions Perce-Neige, 1982, 180 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0071-0) Melvin Gallant (dir.) et al., Les Maritimes: trois provinces à découvrir, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1987, 420 p.(ISBN 2-7600-0148-2) Melvin Gallant (ed.), Mer et littérature: actes du Colloque international sur "La mer dans les littératures d'expression française du XXe siècle", Moncton, August 22–23–24, 1991, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1992, 352 p. (ISBN 2-7600-0217-9) Marielle Cormier Boudreau and Melvin Gallant, La Cuisine traditionnelle en Acadie: historique des traditions et coutumes culinaires chez les Acadiens du Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Nouvelle-Écosse, de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard et des Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Lévis, Éditions de la Francophonie, 2002, 181 p. (ISBN 2-923016-04-1)

Articles and chapters

Melvin Gallant, "Gides et notre temps", La Revue neuchâtelloise, 1969, p. 18-21 Melvin Gallant, "Le Nouveau Roman, position et perspectives", La Revue de l'Université de Moncton, vol. 6, no. 2, May 1973, pp. 8–18 Melvin Gallant, "La Sagouine et la société acadienne", Revue de l'Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française Québec, vol. 2, no. 1, January 1973, p. 21-24 Melvin Gallant, "L'enseignement de la littérature peut-il être scientifique", Propos littéraires, no. 7, 1973, p. 41-50 Melvin Gallant, "Le discours obsessionnel dans " La Conversation entre hommes " d'Huguette Légaré", La Revue de l'Université de Moncton, May 1974, p. 203-208 Melvin Gallant, Marielle Boudreau and Marguerite Maillet, "L'Acadie", in Guide culturel, civilisations et littératures, vol. 4, Paris, Hachette, 1977, p. 286-297 Melvin Gallant, "Saint-Denys Garneau et l'éblouissement de la nuit", in Le Lieu et la formule, Neuchâtel, La Baconnière, 1978, pp. 203–215 Melvin Gallant, "Adieu P'tit Chippagan", réminiscences poétiques de l'Ancienne Acadie", Si Que, no. 4, June 1979, p. 193-200 Melvin Gallant, "À l'abordage", Égalité, no. 1, fall 1980 Melvin Gallant, "Introduction à la littérature acadienne", Bibliographie acadienne, March 1981, p. 7-12 Melvin Gallant, "Notre droit à la différence", Bulletin de la Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, November 1981 Melvin Gallant, "Les romanciers acadiens et le retour aux sources", La Revue d'Histoire littéraire du Québec, no. 3, winter-spring 1982, pp. 106–112 Melvin Gallant, "Pour un plan d'urbanisation acadien", Égalité, Spring 1982, pp. 123–130 Melvin Gallant and Samuel Arsenault (contributor), "Pour une refonte des cartes électorales fédérales et provinciales du N.-B.", Égalité, Winter 1983, p. 15-32 Melvin Gallant, "Du mythe à la réalité: évolution du roman acadien", Incidences, Fall 1984, p. 24-32 Melvin Gallant, "L'Acadie colonisatrice et colonisée", Les Publications de l'Université de Toulouse, Fall 1984 Melvin Gallant, "Épopée, fantaisie et symbole dans Don l'Orignal", in Québec Studies, vol. 4, 1986, p. 286-297 Melvin Gallant, "Évolution de la littérature acadienne", Vie française, 1987