Guy Delahaye
Guy Delahaye, born Fran¸ois-Guillaume Lahaise in 1888 in Quebec, Canada, was a notable figure who uniquely combined his professions as a poet and a physician. He came from a privileged background as the son of a general store owner and initially pursued philosophy at College Sainte-Marie. However, he shifted his focus and earned a medical degree from the University of Montreal in 1910. Delahaye's literary contributions started with his collection "Les Phases: Tryptiques," which showcased his avant-garde style and experimentation with the theme of the Trinity, though it was met with criticism from the conservative circles of Quebec. His subsequent work, "Les Phases and mignonne, allons voir si la rose... Portrait," served as a satirical response to this criticism, demonstrating his linguistic dexterity. After leaving Canada in 1912 to train as a psychiatrist, Delahaye spent twelve years working in the U.S. and Cuba before returning to Montreal in 1924. He continued his career as a psychiatrist at Hôpital Saint-Jean de Dieu until his retirement in 1959, passing away in 1969. Despite a brief literary career, Delahaye's poetry and satirical works have garnered respect among literary scholars.
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Guy Delahaye
Poet
- Born: March 18, 1888
- Birthplace: Saint-Hilaire-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
- Died: October 2, 1969
Biography
Poet-cum-physician Guy Delahaye was born Fran¸ois-Guillaume Lahaise in Saint-Hilaire-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, in 1888. Delahaye’s father, Pierre-Adelard Lahaise, owned the town’s general store. Delahaye enjoyed a certain amount of privilege as the son of a store owner. The well-educated Delahaye entered College Sainte-Marie intent on studying philosophy, but he ultimately took a degree in medicine from the University of Montreal in 1910.
His early philosophical pursuits and the bombastic inclinations that accompanied his somewhat rebellious personality are evident in his Les Phases: Tryptiques (1910). The title of the collection alludes to the significance of the Trinity, a theme Delahaye played with and improvised with throughout Les Phases: Tryptiques. Delahaye divided the collection into three parts; poems were composed of lines with multiples of three. Conservative reaction to Les Phases: Tryptiques was dominated by the overarching Catholic conformity that prevailed in Quebec at the time. Rather than being lauded for his experimentation, Delahaye was roundly criticized for his avant-garde sensibilities.
Delahaye may have enjoyed the last laugh in his 1912 publication, Les Phases and mignonne, allons voir si la rose. . . Portrait, a satirical, if not sarcastic, rejoinder to critics of Les Phases: Tryptiques. As if he intended to demonstrate both his facility with language and his facility with ideas, Delahaye used extensive wordplay in the book, and its bibliography included a French dictionary. Literary scholars lamented the brevity of Delahaye’s career, though the poetry and satire he did produce is widely respected.
Delahaye left Canada in 1912 to train as a psychiatrist. During the next twelve years he worked in the United States and Cuba, and he returned to Montreal in 1924. In 1927, Delahaye married a nurse he had met while recovering from a kidney ailment. Delahaye was a psychiatrist at HÙpital Saint-Jean de Dieu until he retired in 1959. He died in 1969.