Media Advisory: In conversation with Patrick Chamoiseau

Acclaimed Martiniquan novelist to delve into themes of identity and history at McGill lecture

Reflecting on themes that drive discussions about identity and cultural dynamics in a multicultural society, renowned author Patrick Chamoiseau will take part in “Creole Conversations” – a public exchange organized by McGill University and led by Lise Gauvin, Professor Emeritus of French Literature, Université de Montréal.

Chamoiseau will comment on some of the key elements that have animated his work over the years: the “creolization” of identities (the dynamics of cross-cultural exchange and transformation) in the history of the Caribbean and in our globalizing present, the legacies of slavery and colonialism, and the uses of memory, history and literature in addressing these issues.

Who: Patrick Chamoiseau, Martiniquan author of numerous essays, plays, short stories and children's books.

What: Free public exchange: “Creole conversations.”

When: May 1, 6 p.m.

Where: McGill University, Arts Building, Moyse Hall, 853 Sherbrooke St. W.

As an intellectual concerned with the cultural dynamics of globalization and the complexity of diasporic identities, Chamoiseau's work on creolization, the city and the legacies of colonialism have provoked searching debates in the fields of anthropology, history, literature and sociology. Considered one of the most influential authors writing in French today, he has recently published Un dimanche au cachot and has written 10 other novels, including Texaco, which won Le Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary prize.

This event is presented by McGill University’s History Department and the McGill-based French Atlantic History Group, with support from the Beatty Memorial Lectures Fund. The Beatty Memorial Lectures were established in 1952 to bring outstanding international scholars to McGill and to Montreal, to give public lectures and spend time with faculty and students. Chamoiseau’s presentation opens an interdisciplinary workshop (May 1 - May 3) on the history of creolization and poetics of créolité in the French Atlantic world.

On the web: http://atlantique.mcgill.ca/