Robert Dickson

Active in the arts community for more than 25 years, the late Robert Dickson (1944–2007) worked at Éditions Prise de parole publishing house and was the co-founder and frequent MC of the Cuisines de la poésie series of poetry readings, some of which were recorded on cassette in the mid-1980s. His poster-poem Au nord de notre vie became one of Quebec folk-rock group CANO’s signature songs. Robert published six poetry collections: Or(é)alité (1978), Une bonne trentaine (1978), Abris nocturnes (1986), Grand ciel bleu par ici (1997), Humains paysages en temps de paix relative (2002, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award) and Libertés provisoires (2005). He contributed to a number of films, including Le Dernier des Franco-Ontariens by Jean Marc Larivière, and translated several plays from French to English, including Jean Marc Dalpé’s Eddy (English title: In the Ring), which was included in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 1994 season. He also produced English-to-French translations of Lola Lemire Tostevin’s novel Frog Moon (French title: Kaki) in 1997 and Tomson Highway’s novel Kiss of the Fur Queen (French title: Champion et Ooneemeetoo) in 2004. During his career, Robert received several awards in recognition of his important contribution to Franco-Canadian culture. Miriam Cusson’s Parmi les éclats, workshopped at Zones Théâtrales 2017, is based on his poetry.