New Brunswick Author Portal

Berthe  Cyr-Coulombe  Lévesque
Categories: Female Authors - Francophone Authors - Poets - Authors of Non-Fiction - North

Source: Acadie Nouvelle

Biography

Born in 1910 to Anna Dionne and François Lévesque, Berthe Cyr-Coulombe Lévesque was an author, dramatist, teacher, and active community member throughout her life.

Lévesque married Wilfred Cyr in 1937, and had six children. In 1980 she married Andreas Coulombe. A teacher by profession, she was an active member of the Daughters of Isabella, the Francophone Women’s Institute of New Brunswick, the Heritage Society, and the Dames d’Acadie. Co-founder of the Golden Age club and Foyer Mgr-Morneau, she was also vice-president of the Highlands Cultural Society, Board Member for the Regional and Public Library of Saint-Quentin and a member of the Association des écrivains acadiens.

Lévesque wrote two books on the origins and founding of Saint-Quentin, En remuant des souvenirs in 1960, and Saint-Quentin, déjà trois quarts de siècle. She wrote a book of poems called Souffle de l’Atlantique, as well as other poems that were published occasionally in Éloizes. In 1967, her prize-winning play Nous sommes le Canada was performed at Saint-Basile.

Lévesque was recognized for her community involvement, receiving the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967, the Silver Medal for New Brunswick’s Bicentennial Celebration in 1984, and being named Citizen of the Year by Saint-Quentin in 1995. In her later years she lived with her daughter in Rivière-du-Loup, QC, where she died on 2 July 2009, just two months shy of her 99th birthday.

What do you consider to be the highlight of your career so far?

« J’écris, dit-elle, pour répondre à un besoin intérieur et pour transmettre un message de fraternité, de tolérance, de compréhension et de communication. Je n’envie personne, car la vie m’a assez comblée. À chaque jour, je compare ma vie avec celle des milliers de femmes des pays sous-développés et je remercie le Seigneur d’être parmi les privilégiées. »

Gallant, Melvin & Ginette Gould. Portraits d’Écrivains : dictionnaire des écrivains acadiens. Moncton : Éditions Perce-Neige/Éditions d’Acadie, 1982.

Literary Prizes
Citizen of the Year, Saint-Quentin - 1995
Silver Medal, New Brunswick Bicentennial Celebration - 1984
Canadian Centennial Medal - 1967

Featured Publication

Souffle de l'Atlantique (1980)

Excerpt: Les sables du Cap Hopewell Tel un grand artiste aux doigts magiques, La mer a façonne des vases géants… Le temps, immortel, les a ciselés Longtemps, incessamment, inlassablement; De fleurs et de branches les a parés… Les eaux ont rongé ce cap antique, Car tout s’effrite sous l’étreinte des ans. Les sables qui se sont amoncelés Sont comme la fine poussière des temps. Sables des jours ou sables nautiques, C’est par vos grains que le mont devient géant, Scellant la fraîcheur au torrent gorgé! Vos grains forment aussi le rocher culminant, Qui engendrera le marbre et l’acier, Pour la mosquée ou la basilique! Toute pierre de chemin porte un aimant, Qui mène à un destin illimité Celui qui veut y mettre patience et temps!

Find this author in the New Brunswick public libraries catalogue.

Source(s):

• Caron, Gisèle. “Les Nôtres…Berthe Cyr Coulombe,” Utanaute 9.1 (2002) Online Jan. 6, 2011
• Gallant, Melvin and Ginette Gould. Portraits d’écrivains: dictionnaire des écrivains acadiens. Moncton: Éditions Perce-Neige/Éditions d’Acadie, 1982.
• “Nécrologie Berthe Lévesque (1910-2009)” L'Acadie Nouvelle [Caraquet] 8 July 2009. Online