Poet, novelist, and critic, Suzanne Paradis has been publishing steadily since 1959. She has received several awards and honors for her literary work: the Prix Camille-Roy for Il ne faut pas sauver les hommes (1961); the Prix de la Province de Québec for La Malbête (1962); the Prix France-Québec for Pour les enfants des morts (1964); the Prix Du Maurier for L'Oeuvre de pierre (1968); and a 1984 Governor General's Award for Un Goût de sel (1983). Her major critical studies are Femme fictive, femme réelle (1966), an examination of female characters in novels by Quebec women, one of the first attempts to shed light on this subject, and Adrienne Choquette lue par Suzanne Paradis (1978), a study of the work of another Québécoise, the author of Laure clouet (1961).

Suzanne Paradis was born to Jean-Baptiste and Marguerite Mercier Paradis in the city of...