- Nelly Arcan
-
Nelly Arcan 
Born Isabelle Fortier
March 5, 1973
Lac-Mégantic, QuebecDied September 24, 2009 (aged 36)
Montreal, QuebecOccupation writer Nationality Canadian Children none Nelly Arcan (March 5, 1973 – September 24, 2009) was a Canadian novelist. Arcan was born Isabelle Fortier at Lac-Mégantic[1] in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
Contents
Biography
Arcan's first novel Putain (2001; English: Whore (2004)), caused a sensation and enjoyed immediate critical and media success.[2] It was a finalist for both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina,[3] two of France's most prestigious literary awards.[4] It contains similarities between the prostitute Cynthia in the novel and Arcan’s own experience as a professional escort sex worker.[4]
This was followed with three more novels that established her as a literary star in Quebec and France.[2] Her second novel Folle (2004), like her first, is semi-autobiographical and scandalous,[2] and was also nominated for the Prix Femina.[4] A third novel A ciel ouvert appeared in 2007. L’enfant dans le miroir (2007) is a coffee-table illustrated book on beauty. Arcan had recently completed her fourth novel Paradis clef en main (2009; English: Exit (2011)) when she committed suicide. She also wrote several short stories, opinion pieces and columns for various Quebec newspapers and literary magazines.
Arcan was thin, busty and beautiful, as Linda Leith said, "Nelly Arcan’s physical presence was too eye-catching to ignore. She would have turned heads on a movie set. The literary set had never seen the like. Picture Marilyn Monroe at the age of 28 getting short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Dublin IMPAC prize for her first novel. And then writing a second novel that gets nominated for the Dublin IMPAC prize again." [4]
Death
Arcan was found dead in her Montreal apartment on September 24, 2009.[3] She had hanged herself.[4] She had just finished writing her last book, Paradis, Clef en main.[1] She had attempted suicide previously. On September 3, 2009, three weeks before her death, Arcan published a story in her weekly column in the Quebec French-language weekly Ici magazine entitled "Prends-moi, ou t’es mort" ("Take Me, or You're Dead"), detailing an experience with a stalker.[5]
Bibliography
- Putain (2001; English: Whore, translated by Bruce Benderson, 2004).
- Folle (2004)
- L'enfant dans le miroir (2007)
- A Ciel Ouvert (2007)
- Paradis, Clef en main (2009; English: Exit, translated by David Scott Hamilton, 2011)
References
- ^ a b "Nelly Arcan est morte". Canoe.com. September 25, 2009. http://www.canoe.com/divertissement/celebrites/nouvelles/2009/09/25/11110181-qmi.html. (French)
- ^ a b c 2010 Britannica Book of the Year, pgs.114-115, "Arcan, Nelly"
- ^ a b "Quebec writer Nelly Arcan dies at 35". CBC News. September 25, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/09/25/arcan-dead.html. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Remembering Nelly Arcan", Linda Leith , The Globe and Mail, October 13, 2009
- ^ "Prends-moi, ou t’es mort". Canoe.ca. September 3, 2009. http://www.24hmontreal.canoe.ca/24hmontreal/icichroniques/nellyarcan/archives/2009/09/20090903-112947.html. (French)
External links
- Handfield, Catherine (2009-09-26). "Le suicide a toujours été son obsession" (in French). http://www.cyberpresse.ca/dossiers/deces-de-nelly-arcan/200909/26/01-905774-le-suicide-a-toujours-ete-son-obsession.php. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- "Acclaimed Quebec writer found dead in Montreal". The Canadian Press. Sep. 25 2009. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090925/ENT_nelly_arcan_dead_090925/20090925?hub=Entertainment.
Categories:- 1973 births
- 2009 deaths
- Writers from Quebec
- Canadian novelists
- Canadian writers in French
- Canadian women writers
- Writers who committed suicide
- People from Estrie
- Suicides in Quebec
- Canadian escorts
- Université du Québec à Montréal alumni
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