Nelly Arcan

Nelly Arcan
Born Isabelle Fortier
March 5, 1973
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
Died September 24, 2009 (aged 36)
Montreal, Quebec
Occupation Writer
Nationality Canadian

Nelly Arcan (March 5, 1973 – September 24, 2009) was a Canadian novelist. Arcan was born Isabelle Fortier at Lac-Mégantic[1] in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Biography

Arcan's first novel Putain (2001; English: Whore (2004)), caused a sensation and enjoyed immediate critical and media success.[2] It was a finalist for both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina,[3] two of France's most prestigious literary awards.[4] It contains similarities between the prostitute Cynthia in the novel and Arcan's own experience as a professional escort sex worker.[4]

Putain was followed with three more novels that established her as a literary star in Quebec and France.[2] Her second novel Folle (2004), like her first, is semi-autobiographical and scandalous,[2] and was also nominated for the Prix Femina.[4] A third novel A ciel ouvert appeared in 2007. L’enfant dans le miroir (2007) is a coffee-table illustrated book on beauty. Arcan had recently completed her fourth novel Paradis clef en main (2009; English: Exit (2011)) when she committed suicide. She also wrote several short stories, opinion pieces and columns for various Quebec newspapers and literary magazines.

Arcan was thin, busty and beautiful, as Linda Leith said, "Nelly Arcan’s physical presence was too eye-catching to ignore. She would have turned heads on a movie set. The literary set had never seen the like. Picture Marilyn Monroe at the age of 28 getting short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Dublin IMPAC prize for her first novel. And then writing a second novel that gets nominated for the Dublin IMPAC prize again." [4]

Death

Arcan was found dead in her Montreal apartment on September 24, 2009.[3] She had hanged herself.[4] She had just finished writing her last book, Paradis, Clef en main, whose narrator is left handicapped after a failed suicide attempt.[1] 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 "Prends-moi, ou t’es mort" ("Take Me, or You're Dead"), detailing an experience with a stalker.[5]

She is buried in Québec's Eastern Townships. 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.[6][7][8]

Director Anne Émond's 2016 film Nelly is based on Arcan's life.[9]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Nelly Arcan est morte" (in French). Canoe.com. September 25, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 2010 Britannica Book of the Year, pp. 114–115, "Arcan, Nelly"
  3. 1 2 "Quebec writer Nelly Arcan dies at 35". CBC News. September 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Remembering Nelly Arcan", Linda Leith, The Globe and Mail, October 13, 2009
  5. ↑ "Prends-moi, ou t'es mort" (in French). Canoe.ca. September 3, 2009.
  6. ↑ "La Médiathèque municipale Nelly-Arcan prête pour l'automne" (in French). Écho de Frontenac, hebdo de la région de Lac-Mégantic. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  7. ↑ Ronald Martel (2013-08-12). "Place à la Médiathèque Nelly-Arcan" (in French). La Tribune (Sherbrooke). Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  8. ↑ Médiathèque Nelly Arcan, announcement of May 5, 2014 grand opening (en français)
  9. ↑ "Anne Émond et les fantômes de Nelly Arcan". Huffington Post, September 29, 2015.
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