Yolande Villemaire

Villemaire, Yolande

Yolande Villemaire, teacher, writer (b at St-Augustin-des-Deux-Montagnes, Qué 28 Aug 1949). After studying dramatic arts at UQAM, where she received her BA (1970) and MA (1974), she taught creative literature at the Rosemont CEGEP. Her work (poems, literary criticism, radio dramas, novels) moves from its experimental days, in such reviews as Hobo/Québec and Cul-Q, to the development of a neorealism acclaimed by the critics with the appearance of La Vie en prose (Prix des Jeunes Écrivains of the Journal de Montréal, 1980) and La Constellation du cygne (Grand Prix of the Journal de Montréal, 1985). This book, on the boundary between political commitment and esotericism, contributes to the creation of a North American mythology. Founder of the Rose Sélavy writers' helix and the Ombre jaune international telepathy network, she has moved into the dramatic arts with her performances in Montréal and New York, where she occupied the Québec studio in 1985.