Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Blueberries and where I am from

I quote this line from Félix-Antoine Savard very often and I thought I would put here the translation in English, courtesy of my brother (who blogged about it himself). The blueberry is the emblematic fruit of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean where I am from. It is also how Saguenay people are nicknamed: Blueberries. So the fruit represents a lot. I like Menaud maître-draveur, or Master of the river as it was translated in English (a translation that looses a lot of the title's meaning. It should be something like Kiddo, master raftman). The novel has its flaws, the flaws that comes from its time and culture: too devoutly Catholic, mainly. But it is still a powerful, evocative story and it describes my region, the temper of its people and our relationship to the land like no other.

Here is the quote:

"On the feast of Saint-Anne, the blueberries are ripe. It is the grape of our land, the son of fire, the offering of the humble and rocky soil; it is the honey of wild gulleys, brother of the vines in the infinite realm of peat moss and bogs."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just love this quote. Its power is in its quiet, evocative imagery. Aren't you lucky the Saguenay region is not well known for growing say...bananas or nuts? :-) What a lovely post... is in its quiet, evocative imagery. Aren't you lucky the Saguenay region is not well known for growing say...bananas or nuts? :-) What a lovely post...

Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...

I agree that was a lovely post. I enjoy hearing about other peoples lives and the stories and traditions that shape us as people.

....and I LOVE blueberries!

Cheers!