Jacques Poulin

Jacques Poulin (French pronunciation: [ʒak pulɛ̃]; 23 September 1937 – 21 August 2025) was a Canadian novelist.

Life and career

Poulin was born in Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, Quebec, on 23 September 1937. He studied psychology and literature at the Université Laval in Quebec City; he started his career as government translator and a college career counselor. Only after the success of his second novel, Jimmy (1969), was he able to pursue writing full-time. Poulin wrote fourteen novels, many of which have been translated into English by Sheila Fischman and published by Cormorant Books.

He lived in Paris for ten years, but later moved to Quebec City and then Île d'Orléans.

Poulin's Volkswagen Blues was selected as a candidate in the 2005 edition of CBC's Canada Reads, where it was championed by Roch Carrier, author and former National Librarian of Canada.

Poulin died on 21 August 2025, at the age of 87.

Awards and nominations

Year Nominated work Award Category Result Ref.
1978 Les grandes marées Governor General's Award French-language fiction Won
1984 Volkswagen Blues Nominated
1989 Le Vieux Chagrin Prix Quebec-Paris — Won [citation needed]
Governor General's Award French-language fiction Nominated
1990 — Molson Prize — [citation needed]
1991 Le Vieux Chagrin Prix Quebec-Paris
1995 — Prix Athanase-David Won
2000 Molson Prize
2003 Les Yeux bleus de Mistassini Prix littéraire des collégiens Prix des cégépiens
2007 La traduction est une histoire d'amour Nominated
2008 — Prix Gilles-Corbeil — Won

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Vigneault, Alexandre; Maalouf, Laila; Tardif, Dominic (21 August 2025). "Auteur de Volkswagen Blues: L'écrivain Jacques Poulin n'est plus". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Rochon, François; Pelletier, Catherine (23 July 2008). "Jacques Poulin". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "Jacques Poulin". Canadian Writers. Athabasca University. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  4. ↑ "Jacques Poulin". Cormorant/DCB. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  5. ↑ "Volkswagen Blues". CBC Books. 21 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "22 March 1979". The Regina Leader-Post. p. 43.
  7. 1 2 "Past GGBooks winners and finalists". Governor General's Literary Awards. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Jacques Poulin". Prix du Québec (in French). Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "Molson Prizes". Canada Council for the Arts. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Jacques Poulin gagne le coeur des cégépiens". Le Devoir. 12 April 2003.
  11. ↑ Porter, Isabelle (14 April 2007). "Salon international du livre de Québec - Les collégiens ont été touchés par une histoire d'amour interculturelle". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Prix Gilles-Corbeil | Jacques Poulin". Fondation Nelligan (in Canadian French). Retrieved 7 October 2026.