Herménégilde Chiasson

The volatility of Muslim and Middle Eastern politics has made these topics an overriding preoccupation of world and especially U.S. politics. Perhaps no region of the world has ever so dominated the American public discourse as the Middle East does today. Sources of trouble include militant Islam, Muslims in the West, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iraq situation, relations with Saudi Arabia, the price of oil and gas, and U.S. policy toward all these issues. This collection, by one of the foremost experts in the field, presents original insights, accessibly written.--From publisher description.

"In this poetic theatrical piece, Solange, Thomas, Gabrielle, and Paul represent four different ways of life and four different elements of existence which play out over fourteen tableaux. As they move among the spaces of dreams and of the real world of hospital rooms, bars, galleries and classrooms, Hermenegilde Chiasson's characters confront an overwhelming range of questions, from sex to death, from money to marriage, from the Acadian Expulsion to the Book of Psalms. The human body and soul, heart and mind interact without ever fully managing to reach each other."--Jacket.

"First published in 1974, Mourir à Scoudouc emerged out of a period of cultural awakening. Chiasson's poems denounced the narrow limitations of the past and traced the lines of a fresh collective vision. The poems were lyrical, referentially modern, and steeped in the rhythms and forms that had emerged from the Americas, Europe, and India. Now, more than 40 years later, Herménégidle Chiasson is considered to be the father of Acadian modernism, and Mourir à Scoudouc is widely regarded as one of the foundational works of modern Acadian literature. Several of the poems, including the oft-anthologized "Eugénie Melanson," have achieved iconic status, appearing frequently in books, magazines, and films-in French and in English. To Live and Die in Scoudouc is the first English edition of this seminal collection. It replicates Chiasson's design of the 2017 edition and features his own photographs as well as his new introductory essay. Although several of the poems have been previously translated, To Live and Die in Scoudouc features fresh renditions by Jo-Anne Elder, who worked closely with Chiasson on the translations."--