Gerald Leblanc

1945-2005

Acadian poet Gérald Leblanc was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick on 25 September 1945, and died in May 2005, in Moncton, where he had lived and written since 1971. Prolific poet, novelist, anthologist, Leblanc was also a writer for theater and radio, a critic and translator. He was also a songwriter, among others for the folk-rock group 1755 and for the singer Marie-Jo Thério. Leblanc participated in the founding of the Association of Acadian Writers, the magazine Éloizes and finally, Éditions Perce-Neige which, in 1980, gave themselves the mission of making known the current voices of Acadian literature and of which he was the literary director from 1991 to March 2005. From 1981 Leblanc published more than ten collections of poetry including Comme un otage au quotidien (1981), Géographie de la nuit rouge (1984), Je n'en connais pas la fin (1999), Le plus clair du temps (2001), et Géomancie (2005). His first novel, Moncton mantra (1997), was published in English translation by Guernica in 2001. In 1988 he published with Claude Beausoleil, the Anthology of Acadian poetry from 1948 to 1988. His books have won him several awards including the Prix Terrasses Saint-Sulpice de la revue Estuaire (1993) for Complaintes du continent; le Prix littéraire Pascal Poirier from the Government of New Brunswick (1993) for his works, and the Prix littéraire from the City of Moncton for L'Extrême frontière (1989).

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Bouctouche, Moncton

Archival Material

• Fonds Gérald Leblanc
  ⌄
  Location

  Library and Archives Canada

  Retrieval Number

  R11764-0-3-F, LMS-0254

  Date Range of Material

  1967-2005

  Extent

  5.77 m of textual records.
  244 photographs: b&w, col.
  1 poster.
  1 diskette of text documents

  Scope and Content Note

  Fonds documents Gérald Leblanc's entire literary production, but also to the role he played in Acadie. He provides unpublished information on different events that have marked the cultural and social history of Acadia, events he has commented on or in which he participated. The fonds informs us about the personalities of the artistic and literary world that Gérald Leblanc rubbed shoulders with and about the specific status of Acadian literature. While reporting on the evolution of Acadian culture in an urban setting during the second half of the 20th century, the collection bears particular witness to the literary current that emerged in the 1970s in Acadia.  Fonds includes correspondence, notebooks and diaries, poetry, novels, essays, articles, material related to theater, television and cinema, and photographs.