This translation into English of Alain Dubuc's best-seller, Portrait de Famille, questions our national identity, if there is one, and how it may be more in flux than ever before. The Rest of Canada sees Quebec in a number of ways, while the Québécois see themselves in still others, in a set of supposedly homemade myths. Dubuc asks and analyzes to what extent these myths are true, false or a mix of both. How does Quebec really stack up culturally, economically and educationally? Often the answers come as a complete surprise and lead us in unexpected directions. Many of the hard facts and statistics gathered are eye-opening for us all. Certainly, La Presse's editorial writer Alain Dubuc knows how to puncture a balloon with the best of them, a much-needed skill these days.

Alain Dubuc's profile page

Nigel Spencer's work includes acting, directing, teaching, educational research and training, journalism, subtitling and co-scripting films, as well as script-doctoring.

He taught the first bilingual graduate course on Comparative Canadian Dramaturgy (l'Université de Sherbrooke), and a performance-based course on Shakespeare at the State University of New York (Plattsburgh).

He has published six books of translated work by Marie-Claire Blais, including Thunder and Light, Augustino and the Choir of Destruction, and Mai at the Predators' Ball, which earned him three Governor General's Literary Awards for Translation.

His theatre translations include three plays by Evelyne de la Chenelière, one of which, September, will be produced by Canadian Stage in Toronto in 2020.

Nigel Spencer's profile page