Émile Martel (August 10, 1941 – November 22, 2023) was a Canadian diplomat and writer who won the Governor General's Award for French-language poetry in 1995 for his poetry collection ''Pour orchestre et poète seul''.

Life and career

Martel was born in

Amos, Quebec Amos is a town (Quebec), town in northwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Harricana River. It is the seat of Abitibi Regional County Municipality. Amos is the main town on the Harricana River, and the smallest of the three primary towns — after Rou ...

on August 10, 1941. Educated at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, he taught French and Spanish literature in Canada and the United States before joining Canada's Department of External Affairs as a diplomat. He published both poetry and short stories. Martel died on November 22, 2023, at the age of 82. He was the father of Canadian novelist

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spe ...

and the brother of .

Works

*''Les enfances brisées'' (1969) *''L'ombre du silence'' (1974) *''Les gants jetés'' (1977) *''Dictionnaire de cristal'' *''Pour orchestre et poète seul'' (1995) **English translation by D. G. Jones, ''For Orchestra and Solo Poet'' (1996) * Translation of ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

'' into French: ''Histoire de Pi'' (2003), with Nicole Perron

References

1941 births 2023 deaths Canadian short story writers in French 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets Diplomats for Canada People from Amos, Quebec Canadian poets in French Poets from Quebec University of Ottawa alumni Université Laval alumni University of Salamanca alumni Canadian male short story writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers Officers of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian male writers {{Canada-poet-stub