Linda Gaboriau
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Linda Gaboriau ( Johnson)"Decoding the message a translator's challenge". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', January 26, 1991.
is a Canadian
dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...
and
literary translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
who has translated some 125 plays and novels by
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
writers, including many of the Quebec plays best known to English-speaking audiences."Just one ad lib can spoil translator's careful work". ''
Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'', February 9, 1991.


Background

A native of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, she moved to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
in 1963 to pursue her studies at
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
where she obtained a B.A. and M.A. in French language and literature. While a student, she was briefly married to a man whose surname was Gaboriau; although the marriage was short-lived, she kept his surname as her professional pen name. She has worked as a freelance journalist for the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
(CBC),
Radio Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government ...
and the ''
Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'', pursued a career in
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and Quebec theatre and, in the 2000s, served as the founding director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre.


Work

Her translations have garnered many awards, including three Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Awards for
Michel Marc Bouchard Michel Marc Bouchard, (born February 2, 1958) is a Canadian playwright. He has received the Prix Journal de Montreal, Prix du Cercle des critiques de l'Outaouais, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadi ...
's ''
Lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
(Les Feluettes)'' in 1992, Normand Chaurette's ''The Queens (Les Reines)'' in 1993 and Bouchard's ''The Orphan Muses (Les Muses orphelines)'' in 1999; the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 1991 for ''Lilies'' and in 2000 for
Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wit ...
's ''For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (Encore une fois si vous permettez)''; three Governor General's Awards for French to English translation in 1996 for
Daniel Danis Daniel Danis (born 1962 in Hawkesbury, Ontario) is a Canadian playwright. New, W. H., ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''. University of Toronto Press, 2002. . p. 275. He is a three-time winner of the Governor General's Award for French-lang ...
's ''Stone and Ashes (Cendres de cailloux)'', in 2010 for Wajdi Mouawad's ''Forests (Forêts)'' and in 2019 for Mouawad's ''Birds of a Kind (Tous des oiseaux)''; and the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Drama for Bouchard's ''Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme)''. She was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015.


Personal life

Gaboriau was previously married to Montreal city councillor
Nick Auf der Maur Nick Erik Auf der Maur (April 10, 1942 – April 7, 1998)Downey, Donn. ''Montreal columnist chronicled cancer fight'', A1. '' The Globe and Mail'', April 9, 1998. was a Canadian journalist, politician and "man about town" boulevardier in Montre ...
, and is the mother of rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur."The woman who would be Ozzy". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', June 29, 2002.
She and her late partner of 35 years, author and professor Hervé de Fontenay, have one son, architect Yves de Fontenay.


Works translated

A selected list of Gaboriau's translations includes: * 1983 — ''Saga of the Wet Hens'' ( Jovette Marchessault, ''La Saga des poules mouillées'') * 1987 — ''
Being at Home with Claude ''Being at Home with Claude'' is a 1992 Canadian drama film directed by Jean Beaudin and based on the play by René-Daniel Dubois. The film stars Roy Dupuis as Yves, a gay man who has just murdered his lover Claude (Jean-François Pichette), and i ...
'' (
René-Daniel Dubois René-Daniel Dubois, OC (born July 20, 1955, in Montreal) is a Québécois playwright and actor. Biography Movie career He is best known for his 1985 play ''Being at Home with Claude'', which was adapted into an award-winning film in 1992 and th ...
, ''Being at Home with Claude'') * 1989 — ''Warriors'' (Michel Garneau, ''Les guerriers'') * 1991 — ''
Lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
'' (
Michel Marc Bouchard Michel Marc Bouchard, (born February 2, 1958) is a Canadian playwright. He has received the Prix Journal de Montreal, Prix du Cercle des critiques de l'Outaouais, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadi ...
, ''Les feluettes'') * 1992 — ''The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr'' (Jovette Marchessault, ''Le voyage magnifique d'Emily Carr'') * 1993 — ''The Eye Is an Eagle'' ( Pierre Morency, ''L'Œil américain'') * 1993 — ''The Orphan Muses'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Les muses orphelines'') * 1996 — ''American Notebooks'' (
Marie-Claire Blais Marie-Claire Blais (5 October 1939 – 30 November 2021) was a Canadian writer, novelist, poet, and playwright from the province of Québec. In a career spanning seventy years, she wrote novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, newsp ...
, ''Notes américaines/Parcours d'un écrivain'') * 1996 — ''Stone and Ashes'' (
Daniel Danis Daniel Danis (born 1962 in Hawkesbury, Ontario) is a Canadian playwright. New, W. H., ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''. University of Toronto Press, 2002. . p. 275. He is a three-time winner of the Governor General's Award for French-lang ...
, ''Cendres de cailloux'') * 1998 — ''That Woman'' (Daniel Danis, ''Celle-là'') * 1998 — ''The Tale of Teeka'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''L'histoire de l'oie'') * 1998 — ''Fragments of a Farewell Letter Read by Geologists'' ( Normand Chaurette, ''Fragments d'une lettre d'adieu lus par des géologues'') * 1998 — ''The Queens'' (Normand Chaurette, ''Les Reines'') * 1998 — ''For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again'' (
Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wit ...
, ''Encore une fois, si vous le permettez'') * 1999 — ''The Coronation Voyage'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Le voyage du Couronnement'') * 1999 — ''Song of the Say-Sayer'' (Daniel Danis, ''La chant du Dire-Dire'') * 2000 — ''Down Dangerous Passes Road'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Le chemin des Passes-dangereuses'') * 2000 — ''All the Verdis of Venice'' (Normand Chaurette, ''Je vous écris du Caire'') * 2002 — ''Impromptu on Nuns' Island'' (Michel Tremblay, ''L'État des lieux'') * 2003 — ''Scattered in a Rising Wind'' (
Jean-Marc Dalpé Jean-Marc Dalpé (born February 21, 1957) is a Canadian playwright and poet. He is one of the most important figures in Franco-Ontarian literature. Dalpé studied theatre at the University of Ottawa, graduating in 1973. In 1979, he obtained gra ...
, ''Un vent se lève qui éparpille'') * 2004 — ''Written on Water'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Les manuscrits du déluge'') * 2004 — ''Past Perfect'' (Michel Tremblay, ''Le passé antérieur'') * 2006 — ''Assorted Candies'' (Michel Tremblay, ''Bonbons assortis'') * 2009 — '' Albertine in Five Times'' (Michel Tremblay, ''Albertine, en cinq temps'') * 2010 — ''Forests'' ( Wajdi Mouawad, ''Forêts'') * 2011 — '' Scorched'' (Wajdi Mouawad, ''Incendies'') * 2014 — ''Christina, The Girl King'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Christine, la reine-garçon'') * 2015 — ''Tom at the Farm'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''Tom à la ferme'') * 2015 — ''The Divine, A Play for Sarah Bernhardt'' (Michel Marc Bouchard, ''La Divine illusion'') * 2015 — ''Yours Forever, Marie-Lou'' (Michel Tremblay, ''À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou'')


References


External links


Linda Gaboriau fonds (13930)
at Library and Archives Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaboriau, Linda Living people Writers from Boston Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Writers from Quebec Year of birth missing (living people) Anglophone Quebec people Governor General's Award-winning translators French–English translators McGill University alumni 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian translators 21st-century Canadian translators Members of the Order of Canada Literary translators American emigrants to Canada Canadian women non-fiction writers Auf der Maur family