"Conversations," a collection of poetry that won the 1999
Governor General's Award (French Language), is a sequence of 999
numbered fragments that record the essence of verbal interactions
between two people. Over a period of a year, Hermenegilde Chiasson
captured snatches of conversations overheard, conversations he had
with other people, even reported conversations. Then he distilled
what was said and his observations into a series of single
sentences, each attributed to a strangely impersonal He or She.
Chiasson has likened his concept to the visual experience of
driving: a succession of flashes zooming by, the connections only
intuited. The blank spot for entry number 1000 underlines a
Zen-like philosophy that suggests that nothing is ever fully
completed. In subject matter and technique, "Conversations" fuses
tradition and modernity. Chiasson continues his exploration of the
often uncomfortable zone where the mechanical or artificial meets
human emotion and spirit. The format participates in the strong and
lively Acadian oral tradition, yet the sentences themselves are
polished literary jewels, almost epigrammatic in their
compactness.
"Conversations" is at the same time as public as a news
broadcast and as private as a lover's unspoken thoughts. With ten
personal collections of poetry, Hermenegilde Chiasson's body of
work is among the most prolific in Acadian poetry. "Mourir a
Scoudouc" was published in 1974 to critical acclaim in Acadie and
Quebec. In 1976, he made a radical departure in style with his
collection of anti-poetry "Rapport sur l'etat de mes illusions."
Busy with filmmaking, the visual arts, and playwrighting, it was a
decade before Chiasson published "Propheties" in 1986. The 1990s
were a prolific time for Chiasson's poetry. His 1991 collections
"Vous" and "Existences," broke new ground in the field of
experimental poetry and Vous was nominated for a Governor General's
Award. "Vermeer" and "Miniatures" continued Chiasson's quest to
blend the visual with the oral in a unique poetic style. In 1996,
Chiasson produced "Climats." It was hailed as one of modern
Acadie's strongest poetic works and was the first of his books to
be translated into English. "Climates" brought Chiasson his second
Governor General's Award nomination. In 1999, Chiasson won the
Governor General's Award for his landmark poetic work
"Conversations," now available in English from Goose Lane
Editions.
General
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