Carole Corbeil (1952 – 2000) was a Canadian arts critic and novelist.John Levesque, "Voice-Over a smash success". '' Hamilton Spectator'', May 9, 1992. Born in Montreal to Québécois parents, her writing was often informed by the cultural displacement, and the subsequent sense of dual belonging, that she experienced when her parents divorced and her mother remarried to an anglophone man.

Biography

Corbeil was raised and educated exclusively in French in childhood, and later transferred to a private English school,

Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School (ECS) is an independent school for girls that is located in Westmount, Quebec. It is situated near other schools, including Selwyn House School and The Study. The school teaches students from Kindergarten ...

, after her mother's remarriage. She spent some time as a teenager studying in Wales under the International Baccalaureate program, before undertaking university studies at York University in Toronto. First known as an arts reporter for ''

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 ...

'' in the 1980s, she published her debut novel ''Voice-Over'' in 1992. The novel centred on a documentary filmmaker from Quebec from her childhood through to her adult relationship with an English Canadian poet; although it included passages in both English and French, critics praised its code switching as "done in such a clever way that the French is understandable to a person with only the basic vocabulary.""Journalist scored a hit with first novel: Voice-over a best-seller". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...

'', October 16, 2000. ''Voice-Over'' was a shortlisted nominee for the Books in Canada First Novel Award and the

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award (french: Prix littéraire Trillium or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is ov ...

, and was a co-winner with

David Donnell David Donnell (born 13 October 1939, died 2020) was a Canadian poet and writer. Born in St. Marys, Ontario, Donnell moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1958 before publishing his first book. Poems (1961), During this period Donnell frequented the Bohem ...

's ''China Blues'' of the

Toronto Book Award The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city ...

, in 1993. In the 1990s, she wrote a weekly arts column for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''."Columnist, novelist Carole Corbeil dies of cancer". ''

Cornwall Standard-Freeholder The ''Cornwall Standard-Freeholder'' is a daily newspaper based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. It has been in circulation for many years, and continues to be the newspaper with the largest circulation inside the Montreal - Ottawa - Kingston tria ...

'', October 9, 2000. She was also a contributor to ''

This Magazine ''This Magazine'' is an independent alternative Canadian political magazine. History and profile The magazine was launched "by a gang of school activists" in April 1966 as ''This Magazine Is About Schools'', a journal covering political issues ...

'', '' Canadian Art'' and ''

Saturday Night Saturday Night may refer to: Film, television and theatre Film * ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille * ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman * ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...

'', and won two National Magazine Awards for her writing. She published her second novel, ''In the Wings'', in 1997. The novel centred on the relationship between Allan O'Brien and Alice Riverton, actors playing Hamlet and Gertrude in a stage production of '' Hamlet''. A stage adaptation of ''In the Wings'' by Nicky Guadagni was staged by Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille in 2002.Robert Cushman, "Actors are people too". ''

'', November 13, 2002. Corbeil was married to actor

Layne Coleman Layne Coleman is a Canadian actor, playwright and theatre director, most noted as a former artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille. Originally from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, he first became prominent as a cofounder and artistic director ...

."A very personal family drama"
''

'', October 4, 2008. Their daughter,

Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and actress. Her 2008 play, ''Scratch'', was nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2009, was a prizewinner in the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competitio ...

, would later become an actor and playwright. Corbeil died in Toronto in 2000 of cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbeil, Carole 1952 births 2000 deaths Canadian art critics 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian women novelists Journalists from Montreal Writers from Montreal French Quebecers Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian literary critics Women literary critics Canadian theatre critics People educated at Atlantic College Canadian women non-fiction writers York University alumni