Presentation of the Governor General’s Literary Awards

Rideau Hall, Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Reading is contagious.

It is a pleasure that is passed on, a pleasure that spreads, that is shared.

From one generation to the next, from one mind to the next, beyond space, beyond time.

It is a pleasure that I have known for as long as I can remember.

I can still hear my grandmother, my mother, my uncle—the poet René Depestre—as they read stories aloud to me.

Their voices brought to life wonderful characters; swept me away on exciting adventures; opened up new worlds to me as the tale unfolded; and gave wings to my imagination.

I asked for more, again and again.

I couldn’t get enough.

Tireless, they told me story after story, their enthusiasm matched only by my endless pleasure.

I can still picture my mother, years later, placing books in my hands as though they were treasures.

And I would dive right in, coming up for air only when the last page was turned.

I emerged dazzled, transformed.

And now, it is my turn to read stories to my daughter and to accompany her as she discovers books as a means to enriching how she relates to the world.

Reading.

It is the most precious legacy that I received and one that I want to leave to my daughter.

I want her to know that when we read, we steal a little bit of time from Time itself.

That when we read, space becomes an endless universe.

Everything stills, so that the world beginning to stir deep within the depths of our being can spring to life.

In that moment, the book opens an infinite horizon within us.

This experience reminds me of a Mi’kmaq legend, as told by author Robert Lalonde.

According to the legend, the warbler’s song pierces a blue hole in the middle of the heart.

The blue hole then begins to grow and becomes the sky, without beginning or end.

I like to think that that blue hole is like the opening that writers create within us so that we can reach that immense universe that is the human experience, in all its fullness.

In that endless sky, we are carried by words and find new freedom to spread our wings and take flight.

We escape, we travel, we dream, we reinvent ourselves, we reflect, we learn, we discover, without constraint, without limits.

Such is the importance of books in our lives.

And though our connection to books is very personal, it is also an opportunity to share.

It is impossible to keep to ourselves the impressions that a book makes, the ideas it awakens, the emotions it evokes, the possibilities it gives rise to in us, freely and endlessly.

Who among us has never shared a book that has touched us so deeply, so that we might pass on the love of reading to another?

From the first page to the last, a book can take us beyond our world, only to bring us back again in a flash.

But it is a world enriched with its perspectives, its intensity, its beauty.

Because without you, a book would be nothing more than blank paper, and without those who publish and distribute books, we, your readers, would lose out on so much.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for opening within us so many infinite skies, skies that are filled with the song of your words and your imaginings.