Marguerite Andersen (October 15, 1924 – October 1, 2022) was a German-born Canadian

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

writer and educator

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, who was based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, where she was a teacher at the Toronto Linden School.

Life and career

Andersen was born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and received the

Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, physical therapists, teachers, research librarians, archivists, pharmacists, food chemists, psyc ...

at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

and studied at

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

's Sorbonne. She came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1958 after living in various countries such as

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Her Ph.D. in French Studies is from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

. Andersen also taught at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, Mount St. Vincent University and the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

. In 1996, Andersen produced a play at Factory Theatre in Toronto called ''Stations in a Painter's Life'' about German-born Canadian artist Christiane Pflug, based on the life of the artist until her suicide in 1972. From 1998, she was editor for the quarterly French literary journal ''Virages'' . Andersen won the 2009 French-language Trillium Award, category "Prix de poésie Trillium" for her book ''Le figuier sur le toit'' and 2014 in the category "Prix du livre d'enfant Trillium" for ''La mauvaise mère''. In December 2016, Andersen was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Andersen died on October 1, 2022, at the age of 97.

Selected works

* 1965: ''

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

et l'Allemagne'' (Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa) * 1972: ''Mother was not a person'' (Content Publishing/Blank Rose Books) * 1975: ''Paroles Rebelles'' (reissued 1992; with Christine Klein-Lataud; Éditions du Remue-ménage) * 1982: ''De mémoire de femme'' (Quinze) * 1984: ''L'Autrement pareille'' (

Prise de Parole Prise de parole ("Speaking Out") is a Canadian book publishing company. Located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, the company publishes French language literature, primarily but not exclusively by Franco-Ontarian authors. History The company wa ...

) * 1991: ''Courts Métrages et Instantanés'' (

) * 1992: ''L'Homme-papier'' (Editions du Remue-ménage) * 1993: ''La chambre noire du bonheur'' (Hurtubuise HMH) * 1994: ''Conversations dans l'Interzone'' (

) * 1995: ''La Soupe'' , (won 1996 Grand Prix du Salon du livre de Toronto; Triptyque) * 1997: ''La Bicyclette'' , (Centre FORA) * 1998: ''Le Crus de l'Esplanade'' (

) * 2000: ''Bleu sur Blanc'' (

) * 2003: ''Dreaming our Space'' (Guernica) * 2004: ''Parallèles'' (

) * 2006: ''Doucement le bonheur'' (''Gently happiness'') (

); about the events surrounding the 1929-30 trials of MP Louis-Mathias Auger for rape, and a fictionalized account of the protagonists later lives * 2009: ''Le figuier sur le toit'' (Les Éditions l'Interligne) * 2011: ''La vie devant elles'' (

) * 2013: ''La mauvaise mère'' (

)

Theatre

* 1996: ''Christiane : Stations in a Painter's Life*,'' Festival The Gathering, Factory Theatre, Toronto, 1996. * 1996–97: ''La Fête'', Prix O'Neill-Karsh, mises en lecture Théâtre La Catapulte, Ottawa, 1997 et Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, Sudbury, 1996.

References

External links

* *
L'Île: Marguerite Andersen biography

* Archives of Marguerite Anderse
(Marguerite Andersen fonds, R12515)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Marguerite 1924 births 2022 deaths University of Paris alumni Canadian educators Canadian women educators 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets Franco-Ontarian people Poets from Toronto German emigrants to Canada Canadian poets in French Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Université de Montréal alumni Academic staff of Concordia University 20th-century German women writers 20th-century German writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Members of the Order of Canada German expatriates in France German expatriates in the United Kingdom German expatriates in Tunisia German expatriates in Ethiopia German expatriates in the United States

Life and career

Selected works

Theatre

See also

References

External links