Nelly Arcan (March 5, 1973 – September 24, 2009) was a Canadian novelist. Arcan was born Isabelle Fortier at Lac-Mégantic in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Biography

Arcan's first novel ''Putain'' (2001; English: ''Whore'' (2004)) received immediate critical and media attention.''2010 Britannica Book of the Year'', pp. 114–115, "Arcan, Nelly" It was a finalist for both the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .

and the

Prix Fémina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or verse by male or female writers, and is announced on ...

, two of France's most prestigious literary awards. It contains similarities between the escort Cynthia in the novel and Arcan's own experience as a professional escort sex worker. ''Putain'' was followed with three more novels that established her as a literary star in Quebec and France. Her second novel ''

Folle Fuella is a red wine grape that is grown primarily in the Bellet region near Nice. It is considered one of the oldest vines in southeastern France and produces wines that are deep colored and reflective of their ''terroir''. It is often made int ...

'' (2004), like her first, is a semi-autobiographical and provocative work, and was also nominated for the Prix Femina. Her third novel, ''À ciel ouvert'', was published in 2007. ''L'enfant dans le miroir'' (2007) is a coffee-table illustrated book about beauty. Arcan had recently completed her fourth novel '' Paradis clef en main'' (2009; English: ''Exit'' (2011)) when she died by suicide. She also wrote several short stories, opinion pieces and columns for various Quebec newspapers and literary magazines.

Death

Arcan was found dead in her

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

apartment on September 24, 2009. She hanged herself."Remembering Nelly Arcan"
Linda Leith, ''The Globe and Mail'', October 13, 2009 She had just finished writing her last book, ', whose narrator is left disabled after a suicide attempt. 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 "'" ("Take Me, or You're Dead"), detailing an experience with a

stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring t ...

. She is buried in Québec's

. Lac-Mégantic's municipal library, assembled from many of the over a hundred thousand books donated after fire destroyed the original library during 2013's Lac-Mégantic derailment, is named « La Médiathèque municipale Nelly-Arcan » in her honour. Director

Anne Émond Anne Émond (born 1982) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Early life and education Born in 1982, Anne Émond has lived and worked in Montreal since 2001. In 2005, she completed her undergraduate p ...

's 2016 film ''

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

'' is based on Arcan's life."Anne Émond et les fantômes de Nelly Arcan"
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'', September 29, 2015.

Bibliography

* ''Putain'' (2001; English: ''Whore'', translated by Bruce Benderson, 2004). * ''Folle'' (2004; English: ''Hysteric'', translated by David Homel & Jacob Homel, 2014). * ''L'enfant dans le miroir'' (2007). * ''À ciel ouvert'' (2007; English: ''Breakneck'', translated by Jacob Homel, Anvil Press, 2015). * ''Paradis, clef en main'' (2009; English: ''Exit'', translated by David Scott Hamilton, 2011). * ''Burqa de chair'' (2011; English: ''Burqa of Skin'', translated by Melissa Bull, Anvil Press, 2014).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcan, Nelly 1973 births 2009 suicides 2009 deaths Canadian women novelists People from Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Suicides by hanging in Canada Suicides in Quebec Canadian female prostitutes Université du Québec à Montréal alumni 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian novelists in French 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers Escorts Novelists from Quebec