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Professor and Chairman of from the University of Toronto. Dr. Hesse Has Dr. M.G. Hesse, Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Madem Languages, holds a Ph.D. (French) from the University of Toronto. Dr. Hesse has edited two books and has contributed several articles in English and French to professional journals. ( ( French-Canadian Literature in Translation "The final maturity of a man or nation comes, it seems, only when his own concept of himself is at least to some extent accepted by others," Hugh MacLennan asserts in one of his essays’. If "acceptance by others" is indeed a measure of maturity, it appears that Canadian literature — both English and French — is well on the road to "final maturity". Canadian literature has been enjoying increasing popularity and critical acclaim for the past thirty years and especially since the early sixties. Canadian publishers are now well represented at the various international book fairs. The award of the coveted Prix Femina and Prix Medici to Gabrielle Ray and Marie-Claire Blais in 1947 and 1965 respectively give some indication of the high esteem in which these authors are held in France. Foreign journals, magazines and newspapers regularly devote special issues to Canadian literature. Several countries now also include Canadian literature in their university programs. Our Centennial and this year's Olympics have contributed in no small measure to a broadening interest in Canada. A more permanent, although less dramatic, source of interest and influence is the emigration from Europe to Canada. Those left behind in the "old countries" frequently look to writings on and from Canada to learn about their fellow countrymen's new homeland. Among the best known Canadian writers in Europe, we note Hugh MacLennan, Gabrielle Roy, Margaret Laurence, Yves Theriault, ?4arie-Claire Blais, Leonard Cohen and Mordecai Richler. As may be expected, these authors are not equally well known in any given European country, largely because many of their works 2 must of course be translated. It is interesting that, especially for those countries that are neither French nor English speaking, translations tend to emphasize the concept of Canadian literature in terms of one culture rather than in terms of two. The acceptance of Canadian literature abroad confirms also Hugh MacLennan's belief that "if we truly talk about ourselves, we will be talking not only for ourselves but others". Since Canadian literature is proving itself more and more an effective cultural ambassador overseas and provides valuable insights into the Canadian psyche, it may well be worth-while for all Canadians to look to the literature of the other group as an "aperture" that can help to overcome the predicament of our "two solitudes". In doing so, we will discover that though we do have separate identities and may be intent on maintaining them, the factors that unite us are fortunately more significant than those that "divide" us. Where differences do occur, they are frequently explained and consequently understandable and more readily acceptable. English-Canadians have a far greater choice of works in translation than their French-speaking counterparts. Since the early sixties about two hundred and fifty - or about twice as many - works in literature, the arts and humanities have been translated from French to English than vice versa. Canada Council supoort has been of enormous benefit in this respect, and the recent establishment of an award for literary translations in addition to the regular Governor General's Awards will undoubtedly ensure increasing interest in and acceptance of translations of high quality. Generally speaking, our students at the University of Lethbridge, who have approached French-Canadian literature in translation have discovered that translation C ( 3 does more than "open the door of one civilization to another", as Naim Kattan terms it. They have also had the pleasantly surprising, and perhaps more significant, experience that French-Canadian literature is truly a part of "our" literature. Foremost among the writers who have won our students' most enthusiastic response are Ringuet and Gabrielle Roy. For the Western reader, in particular, 30 Acres may suggest little ground for ccmparison between his world and that of Ringuet's characters. Yet this is not the case, for 30 Acres reveals that the fortunes of the Moisan family parallelled by the seasons, the generation conflict and the struggle for progress are as dramatic in Quebec as here in Alberta. Those who are familiar with Gabrielle Roy's works can well appreciate her readers' admiration and love for this internationally acclaimed writer, to whom the Degree of Laws, Honoris Causa, was conferred at our last convocation. The diversity of her work becomes apparent when we turn to The Street of Riches and *«*■ The Road Past Altamont, based on her childhood remembrances in her native Manitoba; Where Nests the Water Hen, the humourous account of a teacher's experiences in an isolated Manitoban community; The Tin Flute, the tragic portrayal of the daily life of an imooverished Montreal family; or The Hidden Mountain, dealing with an artist's search for the ideal. And her readers will readily concur with the degree citation honouring Gabrielle Roy "a woman of immense and uncompromising creativity, a woman dedicated to and even consumed by the basic essence of a precious and unique humanity, an educator, and artist, who has drawn on the elements of everyday events in many parts of Canada to illuminate and dignify the human spirit of human life". This fall's translations in Canadian literature include novels by Gabrielle Roy, Marie-Claire Blais, Andre Langevin and Naim Kattan. These works effectively illustrate the dynamism and diversity of French-Canadian literature..
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