'It's a very sad day': N.B. mourns loss of novelist, playwright Antonine Maillet

A member of New Brunswick's arts sector says the death of novelist, playwright and proud Acadian Antonine Maillet brings about a responsibility to keep her legacy alive.

The internationally renowned Acadian died Monday in her Montreal home. She was 95.

"It's a very sad day, but we are so grateful for everything that she has done," said Monique Poirier, executive and artistic director of Le Pays de la Sagouine, the theatrical village in Bouctouche, N.B., where Maillet was born in 1929.

Le Pays de la Sagouine brings to life the characters Maillet created, including her famous La Sagouine. That play was first staged in 1971 with Viola Leger in the title role. 

La Sagouine is just one of 20 novels and 12 plays Maillet wrote.

Poirier said it is because of Maillet's vision and her courage to write that hundreds of artists in New Brunswick are able to work in their home province doing what they love.

New Brunswick Tourism Minister Isabelle Thériault described Maillet as "the greatest voice of Acadia." 

Having grown up in Caraquet, Thériault said Maillet felt like part of her life and an icon of her culture. She remembers reading La Sagouine and watching Le Pays de la Sagouine be created.

"She spent her whole life promoting Acadian culture and identity through her literature," said Thériault. "It's actually kind of hard to think that she's passed away because, for us, she's like immortal.

"She's always been there and I think she still will always be there." 

La Sagouine, the character Maillet created, is a simple, humble and wise Acadian woman. And through that character Maillet brought themes of poverty, culture and tradition to the forefront. 

"La Sagouine became a symbol of the Acadian voice, but Antonine herself was very well known, everybody knew Antonine," said Thériault. 

Thériault said in her 20s she worked directly with Maillet at Le Pays de la Sagouine, and described her as brilliant, intelligent and generous to those working with her. 

"In everything — in her books, in her plays, in the music — she wanted Acadie to shine and that's actually what she accomplished … she allowed Acadie to shine throughout Canada and the world," said Thériault. 

She said Maillet paved the way for Acadians, especially women, to thrive in the arts and that gift will not be forgotten. 

"[She] used to say … 'the possibilities are endless' to help us believe in ourselves and believe in our ideas and our projects … so with that we know her legacy will live on through all of the possibilities she has awakened in us."

Before Maillet became famous, she taught at the Université de Moncton from 1964 to 1967. According to a statement from the university, her former students remember her as an outstanding speaker.

"The death of Ms. Antonine Maillet is a moment of great sadness for Acadia, New Brunswick and the entire Francophonie," Université de Moncton rector and vice-chancellor Denis Prud'homme said in a statement to CBC News.

"Madame Maillet was an unconditional friend, a generous benefactor and a great ambassador of the Université de Moncton. Her unwavering commitment to the largest Acadian institution was very important and leaves a lasting legacy."

She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 1972 and the order of merit by alumni.

Maillet was later named chancellor of the Université de Moncton in 1989, becoming the first woman to hold that title.

Flags at the university's three campuses will fly at half-mast in Maillet's honour for 10 days, starting Monday.