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News/Nouvelles

Translators, Faculty and Students (This project does not have funding.)

Translations are needed of several important and historical works of fiction by a body of Franco-American authors.  These works were produced in the late 18th and early 19th century.  They are seminal works of fiction forming a body of literature of the Franco-Americans who immigrated/emigrated to the United States.  These works, written in French, are important to the tradition of literature of the Franco-Americans in the U.S. and Canada.  What is so ideal about these works of fiction, is that they are already written in French and are available for course work that is conducted in French; what is needed are translations of these works to accommodate many Franco-Americans who do not have access to the language due to the ravages of assimilation to which they were subjected.

These works contain the clue to tying the lost generations of our forbears in literature.  The National Materials Development Center preserved these works in the 1970s, and now it is this generation’s turn to do a service for the coming generations.  We need to make these works of fiction available to all Franco-Americans in both French and English.

Anyone who has the ability, desire, fortitude, and possibly in need of a scholarly project, could contact me for further discussion about doing the work of the translations.
 

Sensitivity to North American French is a must.

Preservation of the original language’s nuances and richness creates the criteria for success in transmitting the message of the author’s intent.  What follows is a partial list of the works which are available as well as others that I will be adding to the list as time goes on.  Please pass this on if you know of someone who would be highly capable in translating these works.  Thank you, merci!

Rhea Cote Robbins, Director
Franco-American Women’s Institute
 

Titles:

Canuck par/by Camille Lessard Bissonnette, done

Françaises d’Amérique par/by Corinne Rocheleau Rouleau, done

La Jeune Franco-Américaine par/by Alberte Gastonguay, done

Mirbah par/by Emma Dumas

Les Deux Testaments par/by Anna Duval-Thibault, in part, done

Jeanne la fileuse par/by Honoré Beaugrand

and many others



 

Nouvelle liste et nouveau répertoire féministes

 Je participe à la liste PAR-L depuis quelques années maintenant, et c'est avec un grand espoir que j'écris aux parleuses pour vous faire part de deux initiatives du projet NetFemmes.
 LA LISTE NETFEMMES La première, c'est la liste d'envoi NetFemmes@cam.org. NetFemmes, c'est une liste destinée aux chercheuses et militantes féministes francophones, un espace où, comme sur PAR-L, nous pourrons partager nos expériences, nos connaissances, refléchir et collaborer ensemble.
 Cette liste a été créée dans le cadre du projet Internet au féminin, projet qui vise à constituer un véritable réseau d'échanges et de communications virtuelles entre les chercheuses et les groupes de femmes francophones. Nous avons commencé le projet en offrant des formations aux groupes de femmes dans différentes villes et régions du Québec. Suite à la première tournée de formations, nous avons créé cette liste afin que les 75 nouvelles internautes puissent continuer leurs échanges. Nous invitons maintenant les internautes chevronnées que vous êtes à vous joindre à nous.
 Pour davantage d'informations, consultez la page http://www.cam.org/~iaf/liste.html. Pour vous abonner, écrivez à majordomo@cam.org le message SUBSCRIBE NETFEMMES.
 LES RÉPERTOIRES FÉMINISTES Notre équipe travaille actuellement sur le site du projet. Le site NetFemmes.org sera lancé à la mi-octobre 1998 et diffusera des informations diverses, à l'image du mouvement des femmes. Le site sera un lieu central permettant aux chercheuses et aux groupes de femmes de diffuser facilement informations, documents, communiqués et d'échanger plus facilement grâce aux répertoires féministes. Ceux-ci sont au nombre de trois: le répertoire des groupes de femmes, le répertoire des chercheuses et le répertoire des regroupements, groupes et projets de recherche féministes. L'usager ou usagère du site pourra consulter des listes de personnes et d'organismes classés par domaine et par région. En cliquant sur le nom d'un organisme ou d'une chercheuse, l'usagère arrivera sur une page individuelle consacrée à cette dernière.
 Si vous faites partie d'un groupe de base ou un groupe de recherche féministe, si vous êtes chercheuse ou militante féministe, envoyez-nous des informations afin que nous puissions créer des répertoires centralisés de ressources féministes francophones sur Internet. Les informations devraient être adressées à IAF@CAM.ORG.
 Pour un groupe : Nom du groupe Coordonnées (adresse ou C.P., téléphone, télécopieur) Courriel Page ou site Domaines d'activité Brève description du groupe Pour une chercheuse : Nom Organisme ou institution, le cas échéant Coordonnées (adresse, téléphone, télécopieur) Courriel Page ou site, le cas échéant Domaine de recherche Groupes, regroupements ou projets de recherche féministes auxquels vous participez (nous ferons des liens vers les pages de ces groupes sur le Web) Publications pertinentes
 Pour un regroupement ou groupe de recherche : Nom du regroupement ou groupe de recherche Coordonnées (adresse ou C.P., téléphone, télécopieur) Courriel Page ou site Domaines d'activité Brève description du groupe Noms des chercheur-e-s associé-e-s au regroupement ou au projet (nous ferons un lien vers les pages individuelles de ces personnes)
 Si vous connaissez d'autres chercheuses ou groupes, je vous prie de leur transmettre cette requête.
 Si vous désirez inclure un logo ou une photo pour votre page dans le répertoire, vous pouvez l'envoyer en fichier annexé (si vous l'avez sous forme de fichier informatisé (GIF ou JPEG) ou bien l'envoyer par la poste à
 Sharon Hackett CDEACF 110 Ste-Thérèse, bureau 101 Montréal (Québec) H2Y 1E6
 Sharon Hackett Coordonnatrice du projet Internet au féminin CDEACF tél: (514) 844-4178 téléc: (514) 844-1598 iaf@cam.org


Franco-American Database Project

 Dear Friends:
 I'm writing this letter (one or two of you may have already heard from me) to ask you to visit our new website at www.albany.edu/~fad and to link it to your own. In the coming weeks we will be preparing our new questionnaire for the DB, and it will be available on line to any interested parties. At the time I will be contacting you again to ask for your help to get the URL out to anyone who you know who might be willing to participate.
 One of the features of our new site, besides a general link page which all of you are already on, is a webring dedicated to Franco-American sites. I would encourage you all to consider participating in that as well since it is my hope that the Franco-American Webring will become a nexus for people looking for the unique kinds of information which our sites contain. The URL for the webring is www.albany.edu/~fad/ring.html
 Our pages are still going through some developmental stages right now, so please be patient with any typos or blunders. If you catch any glaring ones and have a minute, drop me a line and let me know what they are.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Jones
Senior Research Analyst, FAD
fad@csc.albany.edu



 Advertisements/Petites Annonces

 

 Books/Livres:

 Wednesday's Child

 By Rhea J. Côté Robbins
 1997 Maine Chapbook Award winner for creative nonfiction!



 

 moé pi toé, formerly The Initiative--Back Issues Available

Volume 1 Number 1, 22 pages, $5.00
Volume 1 Number 2, 31 pages, $5.00
Volume 1 Number 3, 28 pages, $5.00
Volume 1 Number 4, 42 pages, $5.00
Volume 2 Number 1, 42 pages, $5.00
Volume 2 Number 2/3, 83 pages, $10.00, Double issue
Volume 2 Number 4, 54 pages, $5.00
Volume 3 Number 1, 75 pages, $10.00

Plus $5.00 postage/handling for each issue ordered and for Canada, add $7.00 to total order
Send to:

Franco-American Women’s Institute
641 South Main St.
Brewer, Maine  04412-2516



 

My Grandmothers' Face

 By Marie Thérèse Martin
 Marie Thérèse Martin, Rumford, author of My Grandmothers' Face offers a glimpse into Acadian history from the point of view of her Acadian maternal ancestors. The Acadian woman was the spiritual anchor that held her family together during a very difficult historical time. Her role in Acadian history is the centrum about which the book My Grandmothers' Face revolves.
 To order a copy: Marie Thérèse Martin, 159 East Andover Road, Rumford, Maine 04276



 

 Edith Starrett Masse's Work Roles: On the Farm and at Home

 A Narrative Study of Her Diaries 1942-1945
 By Suzette Lalime Davidson, P.O. Box 2596, El Cerrito, CA 94530



 

 Old Women's Wisdom

 A wonderful book about the life experiences of women with 80 plus years of living life to the fullest. Their stories of culture: Franco-American, Acadian, Native American, Sweedish, and English language as well as isolation and economics are sure to intrigue and enlighten. The Women of this book are from Aroostook County, Maine and they give a genuine portrayal of the way life used to be for women growing up in "the County".
 Read the women from these pages and learn why there has been much support for an important project like this. A book project supported by the Maine Women's Fund and developed by the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging, Presque Isle, Maine, USA.
 $10.95 per book or audio cassette plus shipping & handling.
 Shipping & Handling: 1 book or audio $ 2.50
1-3 books or audios $ 3.25
3-6 books or audios $ 6.50
6-9 books or audios $ 9.75
9-12 books or audios $13.00
To order (Visa and Mastercard only), please phone (207) 764-3396 or Maine Toll Free 1-800-439-1789 or arooage@ainop.com.
By snail mail, please write to:
Aroostook Area Agency on Aging
ATTN: Old Women's Wisdom
33 Davis Street
Presque Isle, ME 04769
All Contents are Copyright©AAAA, 1998



 

 Nos Histoires de l'Ile livre de cuisine

 A Collection of Recipes from French Isalnd in Old Town, Maine
 The above collection of approximately 150 recipes from French Island in Old Town, Maine is now available at for $7.50 (hand delivered) or $10.00 (which covers postage and handling). This collection is a compilation of recipes used in the late 1800s and the early-to-mid 1900s.
 Many of these recipes have stories that go with them. You can find a recipe to make soap - (that's right, soap to clean), as well as soup to eat. There are recipes for boudin, corton, root beer, mincemeat, white perch chowder and rabbit pie, as well as delicious cakes, cookies, pies, and much more. All this in a spiral bound format on antique white paper with "old" pictures on the cover and section dividers.
 The proceeds from this cookbook will go towards the cost of producing another book (in process) with stories taken from oral interviews with people who resided on French Island during this same time frame, at least 200 pictures, maps and U.S. Census, as well as a history of the Island, and more.
 Nos Histoires de l'Ile is a non-profit group working to preserve the oral, living-history of these Franco-Americans.
 To order or for more information contact Amy Morin at: Tel. 207/581-4220
 You can contact Amy at her email addres or
 mailing address:
Canadian-American Center
154 College Avenue
Orono, ME 04473



 

La Femme Franco-Américine/The Franco-American Woman

Sous la direction de/Under the direction of Claire Quintal
Institut Français

 This book contains the stories of individual lives and studies of Franco-American women as a group. You will learn about les filles du roi, who left France in the 17th century to become wives and mothers in the New World of an untamed continent, and about farmers' daughters who left Canada in the 19th century to become workers in the new world of the Industrial Revolution.
 Behind each story, there is a face, that of yesteryear and that of today. Each account bears the imprint of courage and perseverance against great odds. Each face bears witness tothe endurance and abnegation which characterized these women, generation after generation.

To order: Send $14.95/US and $3 postage/handling to:
Institut Français
500 Salisbury Street
P.O.Box 15005
Worcester, Ma 01615-0005


Silhouettes in the Electric Sky: The Best Poetry from Two Years of Gravity

The first book published by Newton's Baby is Silhouettes in the Electric Sky: The Best Poetry from Two Years of Gravity. Featuring poets from the on-line zine, including Ruth Daigon, Dancing Bear, Perry Thompson, Caron Andregg, Jennifer Ley, Michael McNeilley, Karen Wurl and Joy Yourcenar.  Also includes photography by Eric Boutilier-Brown.  Silhouettes is a perfect bound, 128 pp paperback.  It retails for $12.

Send enquiry to Joy Yourcenar, John Carle or Contact Gravity


ECHOES has published the journal of Maj. Mattie A. Pinette of Fort Kent, Maine

ECHOES has published the journal of Maj. Mattie A. Pinette formerly of Fort Kent, Maine in the Nos. 42,  43, & 44 issues.
"A Normandy Journal:  Day by day with Eisenhower’s Secretary" by Mattie Pinette, ECHOES, No. 42;  "A Normandy Journal Part II:  Day by day with Eisenhower’s Secretary" by Mattie Pinette, ECHOES,No.43; and with a third segment, "The Sinking: Surviving a torpedo attack" in No. 44 of ECHOES.
Back issues, $5.
To order this important text of Franco-American women’s witings:
ECHOES
PO Box 626
Caribou, Maine  04736
or call 207-498-8564



 

Le Québécois: The Virgin Forest

by Doris Provencher-Faucher

The Weekly Interview | Doris Provencher Faucher

By Randy Seaver Courier Editor, Biddeford, Maine

 What started out as a matter of curiosity slowly evolved into an eight-year labor of love for Doris Provencher Faucher of Biddeford, and the result is something that has provided area Franco-Americans with a sense of history and pride.
 After retiring from a 17-year teaching career at Biddeford High School in 1988, Faucher found herself with plenty of spare time on her hands. Her four children were all grown, and she finally had an opportunity to begin a project that she had been thinking about for several years.
 With plenty of encouragement from her husband and friends, Doris sat down at her computer and began weaving the story of Sébastien and Marguerite Provencher, a young peasant couple who ventured from their village to begin a new life in Canada.
 Parts of the story have been fictionalized but many of the characters and events are real.  In fact, Doris has traced her own genealogical roots back more than 10 generations, discovering that she is a direct descendant of Sébastien Provencher.  After eight years of meticulous research, Doris has discovered much about her heritage and she wanted to share what she had learned with others who share her ethnic background.
 The result?
 A novel entitled Le Québécois: The Virgin Forest. The 255-page story, set in the mid 1600s, details the struggles and dreams of French peasants who risked everything in order to make a new life for themselves in a wilderness that was untamed and full of hope.
 Faced with the prospects of living in a country dominated by a feudal system, newlyweds Sébastian and Marguerite choose instead to make the long and treacherous journey across the North Atlantic into the unknown regions of Canada. The story of the Provencher family is similar to the stories shared by thousands of others who were lured to the new continent with promises of indentured servitude and the prospects of owning their own land; a dream that would never be realized in Louis XIV’s France.
 From its opening pages, Faucher’s novel explores the trials and tribulations of the early settlers in the St. Lawrence River valley area with an amazing historical accuracy and a penchant for stunning details. The story is compelling in its themes, winding its way through 15 years as Faucher slowly reveals the determination and fortitude of her ancestors.
 For her part, Doris says she is happy that the book is finally finished, but she is planning to begin work soon on a series of sequels that will continue to trace the history of Franco Americans who emigrated into Maine from Canada.
Where can people find the book? It’s now available at the Bookport in Kennebunkport and at Nonesuch Books (formerly Bookland) in Saco and South Portland."
Also, contact the author at:
Doris Provencher-Faucher


Flea Market/Marché aux puces:


Tatting--Maine's Perservation of an Old Art

 By Janice Sargent, Paper Treasures, Presque Isle
 ...known as frivolite to the French is often described as needlework, lacemaking, or "air surrounded by thread in a pleasing manner." According to many, it seems to have originated in Europe in the eighteenth century; however, there are numerous stories about tatting's origins and techniques.
 After the First World War, Victorian lacemaking was classified as "stuffy." As a result, many of hte fine needlework arts were abandoned. Since then, tatting has surfaced on occasion--edgings for doilies and snowflakes for Christmas ornaments are but a few delicate pieces.
 The tatting on the greeting cards are done with a small antique shuttle by my eighty-four year old mother from Aroostook County who can remember learning to tat at age twelve. She has recently taught me to tat since her grandmother and great-grandmother also tatted. This is an art we wish to preserve in the "County" for many generations to come.
 Janice's beautiful greeting cards with tatting can be bought by contacting her at: sarge@mfx.net



 

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