Jean-Guy Pilon

Pilon, Jean-Guy

Jean-Guy Pilon, writer (b at Saint-Polycarpe, Qué 12 Nov 1930). He studied at the Valleyfield (now Salaberry-de-Valleyfield) seminary (1943-48) and the College Bourget in Rigaud (BA 1951); he received his LLL (1954) from Université de Montréal. At first a producer for Radio-Canada talk shows, he was named (1970) head of cultural programming, a position he occupied until 1985 when he returned to production. Cofounder of the magazine Liberté (1959), he has published a narrative and 8 poetry collections, for which he has received the Prix David (poetry, 1956), the Prix Louise-Labé and the Prix France-Canada (1969), the Governor General's Award (1970) for his retrospective Comme eau retenu, plus the Prix Athanse-David (1984) for his work as a whole. From his early poems, in La Fiancée du matin (1953) to "Dix phrases pour Jérusalem," which was published in Estuaire (1977), he has evolved from poetry of largely romantic inspiration to a much simpler and more concise writing style combining a strong sentiment of love with an awareness of nature. He was elected fellow of the RSC in 1967 and was made Officer of the Order of Canada in 1987.