Daniel Poliquin

Nouvelles de La Capitale Suivi de Le Canon Des Gobelins

Black Squirrel

One fine spring morning, a float plane lands on a lake near the northern Ontario town of Sioux Junction, and three men get out: a judge, a Crown prosecutor and a defence attorney. The trial of Thomas Obomsawin, a native painter who has been accused of setting fire to his mother's house, is scheduled to begin. It soon becomes clear that it is not only the painter who is on trial but everyone in Sioux Junction - from Jo and Cécil Constant, who own the town's only hotel, to the Sauvé brothers, whose decision to close down the sawmill has spelled the death of Sioux Junction, right up to the judge and the lawyers themselves. But at the heart of this novel is the tumultuous life of Thomas Obomsawin: his life and his art, his wiles and his weaknesses, his talent and his tragedy. Filled with humour and compassion, biting satire and flashing insight, Obomsawin of Sioux Junction is the story of a town—and a country—divided and united by language and history.

Obomsawin of Sioux Junction

Wayne Grady

A Novel

The Straw Man

He was the most unlikely leader: straightforward, uninterested in personal wealth, unprepossessing. Yet his charisma affected even those who disliked his political aim to achieve independence for Quebec. René Lévesque was born into a Quebec dominated by the Catholic Church, rural values, and Anglophone control of business. He was part of the 1960s Quiet Revolution that saw the province become a secular society bent on economic success and, for some, political independence. A journalist, war reporter, and television host, Lévesque channelled his communication skills into a political career that encompassed the most tumultuous periods in Canadian history. As founder of the Parti Québecois, he held two close referenda in 1980 and 1995 that proved wrenching for Canadian unity and permanently altered the country’s political landscape. Acclaimed novelist and translator Daniel Poliquin offers a unique portrait of Lévesque the man and politician, at once affectionate, critical, and incisive.

Extraordinary Canadians Rene Levesque

Straightforward and unprepossessing, RenE LEvesque was the most unlikely leader. Yet his charisma affected even those who disliked his political aims. Born into a Quebec dominated by the Catholic Church, rural values, and anglophone control of business, he was part of the 1960s Quiet Revolution that saw the province become a secular society bent on economic success--and political independence. A journalist, war reporter, and television host, LEvesque channelled his communication skills into a political career that encompassed the most tumultuous periods in Canadian history. And in 1980, as founder of the Parti QuEbEcois, he held a referendum that permanently altered the country's political landscape. Acclaimed novelist and translator Daniel Poliquin offers a unique portrait of LEvesque the man and politician, at once affectionate, critical, and incisive.

Daniel Poliquin

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