Albert Laberge
Albert Laberge was a prominent Canadian writer born in 1871 in Beauharnois, Quebec, known for his representation of rural life through a naturalistic lens. His work starkly contrasted with the romanticized, pastoral writing favored by the Catholic Church during his time. Coming from a farming background, Laberge’s parents sought to shield him from the hardships of rural poverty by enrolling him in the College Saint Marie. However, his exposure to literature deemed unsuitable led to his expulsion, prompting him to pursue writing instead. Despite facing challenges in publishing due to his unconventional style, Laberge produced notable works, including the novel "La Scouine" and the lengthy "Bitter Bread," which he labored over for twenty-two years. His writings often focused on the struggles and realities of life, diverging from the more idealized narratives prevalent in his era. Laberge also contributed extensively to the Montreal newspaper La Presse, engaging with various literary forms over his thirty-year career. He passed away in Montreal in 1960, leaving behind a legacy that would eventually gain recognition in the context of Canadian literature.
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Subject Terms
Albert Laberge
Author
- Born: February 18, 1871
- Birthplace: Beauharnois, Quebec, Canada
- Died: April 4, 1960
- Place of death: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Biography
Albert Laberge represented rural life in the French Canadian naturalistic style, with all its struggle and grime, in contrast to the Catholic-approved, romanticized, pastoral style of writing that was popular in his lifetime. Laberge was born in Beauharnois, Quebec, Canada, in 1871, the son of Pierre, a farmer, and Josephine (Boursier) Laberge. His parents did not want Laberge to live a life of rural poverty, so they enrolled him at the College Saint Marie when he was seventeen years old. Laberge was expelled from the college before completing his last year because the Jesuit fathers determined he was exposed to dangerous literature, including the works of Honore de Balzac, Emile Zola, and Guy de Maupassant.
Shortly after his expulson, Laberge began publishing short stories in Montreal periodicals, but he continually had difficulty publishing his works because their style was contrary to the conventions of the time. In the nineteenth century, he began writing La Scouine (1918); Bitter Bread, 1977), a novel he worked on for twenty-two years and is considered his best fiction work. The book was not published in an English translation until 1977, when works discouraged from publication by the Catholic Church received a revived interest. Laberge had sixty copies of the fourteen-volume novel published at his own expense in 1918.
Laberge wrote essays, biographies, sketches, sports articles, and art critiques for La Presse, a Montreal-based review, and contributed to this newspaper for more than thirty years. He joined the a writer’s group called Ecole, left the group, but returned later when its focus turned more towards his areas of interest. He died in his Montreal home in 1960.