Jemima Osunde

Iconic Canadian Novelist Antonine Maillet Passes away

On Tuesday, Canadian iconic novelist Antonine Maillet passed away at the age of 95, leaving behind a rich literary legacy that extended beyond Canada’s borders. Maillet was the first non-European author to win the prestigious French literary award, the Prix Goncourt, in 1979 for her renowned novel Pélagie-la-Charrette. Born in 1929 in New Brunswick, eastern Canada, Maillet dedicated her works to introducing the world to the history and culture of the Acadians—French-speaking people in North America who faced persecution and deportation by British forces nearly 270 years ago. One of Maillet’s most significant contributions within Canada was the creation of the character La Sagouine, a floor washer who speaks in Chiac, a dialect blending Old French and English.