Since 1755, when the British army expelled and dispersed the French-speaking population from what is now the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, Acadia has existed only in history--and in the imagination of a few "Acadien" (Acadian or Cajun) communities in largely rural areas of New Brunswick and Louisiana. After more than two centuries of isolation and assimilation, recent years have seen a resurgence of the culture of this once-forgotten people. The outstanding figure in this Acadian renaissance is no doubt Antonine Maillet, a former village schoolmistress who in less than a decade has emerged as one of Canada's best-known writers. Growing international recognition of her work, which is profoundly Acadian in both subject and expression, culminated with her being awarded France's prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1979.

Antonine Maillet was born and raised in the village of Bouctouche, New Brunswick, the daughter of two schoolteachers, Léonide and Virginie Cormier...