Camille Roy
Camille Roy was a prominent figure in French Canadian literature, recognized for his dual roles as a professor and a Roman Catholic priest. Born into a large farming family, he pursued his education at the Séminaire de Québec and Laval University, where he earned a doctorate before being ordained. Roy furthered his studies in literary criticism at the Institut Catholique de Paris and the Sorbonne. His literary activism stemmed from a belief that French Canadian literature was lacking, leading him to establish La Société du Parler Français au Canada in 1902 and its journal, Le Bulletin du Parler Français. He advocated for a literature that reflected the rural and Catholic values of the Canadian populace, encouraging new writers while aiming to elevate the intellectual standards of readers. His works, including "Essais sur la littérature canadienne" and "Tableau de l'histoire de la littérature canadienne-française," emphasize the importance of a unique Canadian literary identity. Roy's contributions extended to editing several journals, promoting the development of universal themes in French Canadian literature. Through his efforts, he sought to reform education and enhance the appreciation of literature among Canadians.
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Subject Terms
Camille Roy
Literary Critic
- Born: October 22, 1870
- Birthplace: Bertheir-en-bas, Quebec, Canada
- Died: June 24, 1943
Biography
Camille Roy was known as a professor and a priest, but he earned his place in French Canadian literature as a critic whose vision of a national literature shaped the writing of Canadians. Roy deplored the anticlericalism and decadence of France, and worked to promote a literature in Canada that reflected the values—rural and Catholic—of the people who lived there.
The son of the farmer Benjamin Roy and his wife, Desanges Gosselin Roy, Camille Roy was a member of a large family. He first studied at the Séminaire de Québec and earned his 1894 doctorate from Laval University, after which he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. Between 1898 and 1901, he studied literary criticism at the Institut Catholique de Paris and at the Sorbonne, and he then returned to Quebec to become chair of rhetoric at the Petit Séminaire. He was a professor at Laval University in Quebec for more than two decades, first teaching French literature and then Canadian literature.
Dedicated to his position as a clergyman, Roy was also an intelligent and a dedicated literary critic, but he found French Canadian literature lacking. It was for this reason that he formed La Société du Parler Français au Canada in 1902. He founded a journal for the society, titled Le Bulletin du Parler Français, in which he established his goals for Canadian literature. Roy outlined specific plans and methods for literary critics in order to encourage Canadian writers in forming a unique literature.
He outlined these ideas in Essais sur la littérature canadienne in 1907. Critics, he maintained, should not only evaluate ideas and judge the artistic value of literature, but they should also help and encourage new writers, and improve the reading standards of the general public. This included guiding their morals. Roy became an advocate of reform in education, hoping that it would improve the intellects of readers who then would value and encourage the ideas of writers.
In 1907, he published Tableau de l’histoire de la littérature canadienne-française for use in Quebec’s colleges and seminaries. It reminded his fellow countrymen of the importance of extending their literary traditions. Roy wrote Regards sur les lettres in 1931 to promote the use of universal themes in French-Canadian literature. In addition to his many writings and the Bulletin, Roy founded and edited two other journals: La Nouvelle France and L’Enseignement secondaire au Canada.