André Langevin, OC (July 11, 1927 – February 21, 2009) was a Canadian writer and journalist.^[1] He is best known for his Prix du Cercle du livre de France-winning novels Évadé de la nuit (1951) and Poussière sur la ville (1953);^[1] Poussière sur la ville was also published in English as Dust Over the City (1955),^[2] and adapted by Arthur Lamothe as the theatrical film Dust from Underground in 1968.^[3]

Biography

Langevin was born in Montreal, but lost both parents in childhood and spent seven years living in an orphanage.^[1] He was educated at the Collège de Montréal, and joined Le Devoir as a journalist in 1945.^[1] He also wrote for Le Temps, La Liberté, Le Nouveau Journal and Le Magazin Maclean, and won the Prix Liberté for his journalism in 1967.^[1] He was also a news editor for Radio Canada until 1985.

His other novels included Le Temps des hommes (1956), followed by a long period of silence, broken by L'Élan d'Amérique (1972)^[4] and Une Chaîne dans le parc (1974).^[5] Une Chaîne dans le parc, later translated into English as Orphan Street, was the first Canadian novel ever to be nominated for the Prix Goncourt.^[6] He also wrote short stories and dramatic plays for both stage and radio, including Une Nuit d'amour (1954) and L'Oeil du peuple (1957).^[1]

He wrote or, at least, published nothing after 1974.

He was awarded the Prix Athanase-David in 1998 for his body of work.^[7] A new edition of his works was published in 2013 by Éditions du Boréal [fr].

References