What works here is the restraint. You stay with what’s knowable, name what isn’t, and don’t use polish to escape either. That discipline is doing real work.
This is a great story, Ann. And what a gift to visit an ancestral place that welcomes you with open arms. I know you and your funny brother had a wonderful visit and brought joy to those you encountered. What was the play about? Why was it in English?
La Sagouine is a play by Antoinine Mallet about an Acadian cleaning lady who lives in rural New Brunswick. She sits in her rocker and tells stories, her observations on human behavior.
This is what it says on Le Pays de la Sagouine website:
"La Sagouine, one of the great characters created by Antonine Maillet, became the spokesperson of a whole people. This woman, of modest origin, has an implacable logic and a pure and direct look on the world.
Through old, rare and poetic words, it brings us back to a primordial thing: human dignity.
Since the creation of La Sagouine's character in 1971, this text has quickly become a larger-than-life phenomenon. The play was performed in French and English in Canada as well as in French-speaking Europe. With the words of Antonine Maillet, , which focus on the identity of a people, and with the voice and presence of extraordinary actress Viola Léger, La Sagouine has crossed borders and cultures. Viola Léger retired from public life in 2017, and passed away in February 2023. The character of La Sagouine is not currently cast in Le Pays' programming."
I think that Leger had a wish to broaden access to her character, and doing an English version would open that up beyond French-speaking Canadians. All I can really remember is that it was a big deal. And my little voice compelled me -- one of those that says this choice is going to be a bigger deal than you realize.
I also think I remember -- but I could be making this up -- that Maillet and Leger met each other in a convent, but decided that the life of a nun was not for them.
That is my dream...that our Acadian ancestors can live in our minds and hearts and stories as felt memories even when the facts might be off or unknown. The idea that we die twice -- once when the body passes, and once when we are forgotten -- haunts me.
Glenn and I joked that we were digging in grandma's basement. For all I know, that could be true. And one of our co-diggers, who I now know was an author-teacher, told each of us which Acadian branch name we looked like. It was Gallant for one of us. I can't remember the other.
If ever I can get back my mobility, I'm going back, too. From the moment I set foot on Nova Scotia in the 1980s (?), I said if I didn't live in Massachusetts I'd live there. This was years before I really "got it" about the Acadian story.
What works here is the restraint. You stay with what’s knowable, name what isn’t, and don’t use polish to escape either. That discipline is doing real work.
Thanks, Nate! Appreciate those insights.
This is a great story, Ann. And what a gift to visit an ancestral place that welcomes you with open arms. I know you and your funny brother had a wonderful visit and brought joy to those you encountered. What was the play about? Why was it in English?
La Sagouine is a play by Antoinine Mallet about an Acadian cleaning lady who lives in rural New Brunswick. She sits in her rocker and tells stories, her observations on human behavior.
This is what it says on Le Pays de la Sagouine website:
"La Sagouine, one of the great characters created by Antonine Maillet, became the spokesperson of a whole people. This woman, of modest origin, has an implacable logic and a pure and direct look on the world.
Through old, rare and poetic words, it brings us back to a primordial thing: human dignity.
Since the creation of La Sagouine's character in 1971, this text has quickly become a larger-than-life phenomenon. The play was performed in French and English in Canada as well as in French-speaking Europe. With the words of Antonine Maillet, , which focus on the identity of a people, and with the voice and presence of extraordinary actress Viola Léger, La Sagouine has crossed borders and cultures. Viola Léger retired from public life in 2017, and passed away in February 2023. The character of La Sagouine is not currently cast in Le Pays' programming."
I think that Leger had a wish to broaden access to her character, and doing an English version would open that up beyond French-speaking Canadians. All I can really remember is that it was a big deal. And my little voice compelled me -- one of those that says this choice is going to be a bigger deal than you realize.
I also think I remember -- but I could be making this up -- that Maillet and Leger met each other in a convent, but decided that the life of a nun was not for them.
Wow! Perfect. Your little voice is filled with wisdom, my friend!
You are like a breath of fresh air to the Acadians Project. You bring to life my Acadian ancestors.
Thanks, Ralph!
That is my dream...that our Acadian ancestors can live in our minds and hearts and stories as felt memories even when the facts might be off or unknown. The idea that we die twice -- once when the body passes, and once when we are forgotten -- haunts me.
Wondering whether you have been to Beaubassin? I am thinking of going back to Acadia and doing some more exploring this year.
Yes! We were on the Parks Canada dig https://acadiann.substack.com/p/digging-in-the-their-basement in 2010. At the time, I had a little knowledge, but no awareness that my direct line people had such a connection there.
Glenn and I joked that we were digging in grandma's basement. For all I know, that could be true. And one of our co-diggers, who I now know was an author-teacher, told each of us which Acadian branch name we looked like. It was Gallant for one of us. I can't remember the other.
If ever I can get back my mobility, I'm going back, too. From the moment I set foot on Nova Scotia in the 1980s (?), I said if I didn't live in Massachusetts I'd live there. This was years before I really "got it" about the Acadian story.
What are you wanting to explore?
Wow I missed this post. How cool was that! I went to NS about 15 years ago and saw port Royal but we didn’t go to Beaubassin.