Antonine Maillet tribute set for Moncton's annual Frye Festival

CBC

15-03-2025

The event will be held on May 4 at the Université de Moncton
Moncton's annual literary will honour late Acadian novelist and playwright Antonine Maillet with a special literary show, showcasing the depth of her writing.
Ariane Savoie, executive director of the Frye Festival, told CBC Radio's Shift that Antonine Maillet, who died in February, helped inspire the idea to create the festival back in 1999.
At the time, Maillet was co-organizing a bilingual conference in Moncton with author John Ralston Saul, Savoie said.
"That idea of the Frye Festival kind of generated from that event specifically," she said. "Having a bilingual literary conference here in Moncton brought up the fact that Moncton needed these activities."
Still today there is the Maillet-Frye Lecture as part of the festival, which began in 2006 and has become significant event.
"The critical aspect of literature was brought up specifically through these lectures," said Savoie.
The literary tribute, Le grand Peut-Être, will be staged May 4 at the Université de Moncton and was written by Georgette LeBlanc, the festival's artistic director.
It will involve a blend of lectures, with excerpts from Maillet's books and plays, performed by actress Mélanie LeBlanc, said Savoie.
LeBlanc took inspiration from two of Maillet's more personal books, Clin d'œil au Temps qui passe and Mon testament, to create a character that represents Maillet to tell the story of her life.
"[LeBlanc] basically went through those two books and took out pieces and fragments of her thoughts, of her writing, that were very personal to Antonine Maillet and created a character that goes through her life on a really intimate level," said Savoie.
Before her death, Maillet was heavily involved in the conception of the tribute show and took part in an hour-long interview as part of that.
"We're going to reuse that in the show as well, to bring her back to the public," Savoie said.
The title of the show, Le grand Peut-Être, is from a quote in Maillet's book, Mon Testament, and translates to "The big maybe." It speaks to Maillet's consistent message that there are infinite possibilities in life, she said.
Maillet died on Feb.17 and the age of 95. Her funeral will be held at Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Cathedral in Moncton on April 12 at 11 a.m.