René Dionne

René Dionne, professor, bibliographer, historian of Québec literature (born 29 January 1929 in Saint-Philippe-de-Néri, Quebec; died 29 December 2009 in Ottawa, Ontario). After classical studies at Sainte-Anne-de-La-Pocatière, Dionne received his MA and L ès L at Université de Montréal, a LPh at Immaculée-Conception and a D ès L at Université de Sherbrooke. He taught at various Quebec colleges and universities before he became professor at the University of Ottawa (1970). Dionne was chairman of the department of French letters 1975–78 and titular professor (1981–1994). He became professor emeritus in 1994.

Author of several hundred articles, bibliographies and accounts of Quebec and Franco-Ontarian letters, Dionne also published a biography of Antoine Gérin-Lajoie and an annotated edition of the latter's novel, Jean Rivard. He also helped compile the Anthologie de la littérature québécoise (1978–80) of Gilles Marcotte and founded the Revue d'histoire littéraire du Québec et du Canada français (1979). In collaboration with Pierre Cantin, he published an exhaustive bibliography of studies of literature in French each year.

The son of Féréol Dionne and Marie Anne Massé, Dionne married author Gabrielle Poulin on 8 October 1970.