Canada Post celebrates five French-Canadian authors

Dec 9, 2024, 1 PM

By David Hartwig

Canada Post issued a set of five stamps Nov. 27 to celebrate five French-Canadian authors: Marie-Claire Blais, Jean Marc Dalpe, Dany Laferriere, Antonine Maillet and Marguerite-A. Primeau.

“Through their work, they offer unique observations of humanity’s flaws and aspirations, interpreting the world around them with honesty and compassion,” Canada Post said. “Recognized throughout la Francophonie for their talents and accomplishments, and recipients of national and international accolades, these distinguished writers have brought French-Canadian literature to the world stage.”

Each author’s face is illustrated on each of the five stamps. The nondenominated stamps pay the basic domestic letter rate (currently 99¢) and were issued in a booklet of 10.

Blais (1939–2021) was a groundbreaking Quebec author whose first novel, La belle bete (1959), established her as a literary force with its raw language. Her international acclaim rose with 1965’s Une saison dans la vie d’Emmanuel, which won France’s Prix Medicis.

“Blais’ novels, plays, scripts and poems, known for their lyricism and complexity, depict a harsh world that can also be full of tenderness and compassion,” Canada Post said in its Perspectives magazine for collectors.

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1957, Dalpe is a Franco-Ontarian playwright, actor and novelist who explores minority alienation and working-class histories. Dalpe’s notable works, including 1982’s Hawkesbury Blues, delve into Franco-Ontarian cultural identity. His literary contributions have been recognized with three Governor General’s Literary Awards.

Laferriere was born in Haiti in 1953, and in 1976 he fled to Montreal, where he gained international fame with his 1985 novel Comment faire l’amour avec un negre sans se fatigue.

Known for an autobiographical and poetic style compared to that of Charles Bukowski and Henry Miller, Laferriere explores the human condition and cultural identity in his works. In 2013, he became the first Haitian and Canadian member of the Academie Francaise, the 40-member French council that acts as the official authority of the French language.

Maillet was born in 1929 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, an area previously part of the French colony Acadia. A champion of Acadian heritage, Maillet rose to prominence with 1971’s La Sagouine, a celebration of Acadian oral traditions. Her 1979 novel Pelagie-la-Charrette won the Prix Goncourt award.

A pioneer of western Canadian French literature, Marguerite-A. Primeau (1914–2011) explored francophone life in Alberta. Her debut 1960 novel Dans le muskeg and subsequent works capture the struggles of preserving language and culture amid societal change.

The French-Canadian Authors stamps were designed by Stephane Huot Design and illustrated by Martin Cote, using photographs from the following: Jean-Yves Letourneau for Blais, Andre Pichette for Dalpe, Joel Saget for Laferriere, Paul Labelle for Maillet and the University of British Columbia Archives for Primeau.

Lowe-Martin printed the stamps by six-color lithography in a quantity of 100,000 booklets of 10. The stamps measure 32 millimeters by 40mm each. The Canada Post ordering number for the booklet of 10 is 414274111.

Canada Post also produced five official first-day covers in quantities of 5,000 each. The ordering numbers for the set of five FDCs are 414278131 for Blais canceled in Quebec City, Quebec; 414276131 for Dalpe canceled in Ottawa, Ontario; 414274131 for Laferriere canceled in Montreal, Quebec; 414279131 for Maillet canceled in Bouctouche, New Brunswick; and 414277131 for Primeau canceled in St. Paul, Alberta.

The new French-Canadian Authors stamps and FDCs are available from Canada Post’s website.

At the time of publication, some features on the Canada Post website are not available due to a national strike of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

The stamps are also available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

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