This park was created to acquaint the public with the literary
history of Nicolet. It is a beautiful setting in which visitors
can mingle with a few characters of fiction, portrayed by
life-size steel sculptures. Think of it as a giant open
air book which informs as well as entertains you.
Over the years, thirty writers have called Nicolet their
home. Some of them even chose to set their characters' lives
in the Nicolet region.
The park is located in a stand of pine trees next to the
Museum of Religions.
One of the Museum's walls is adorned with aluminum plaques
displaying the names of all 30 writers: Pierre Laviolette,
Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, Jr., Antoine Gérin-Lajoie,
Octave H. dit Chatillon, Louis-Honoré Fréchette,
Arthur Buies, Adolphe Poisson, Nérée Beauchemin,
Edmond de Nevers, Charles Gill, Alphonse Désilets,
Jean Narrache, Jean Béraud, Jeanne L'Archevêque
Duguay, Roger Brien, Éloi de Grandmont, Guy Désilets,
Gilles Leclerc, François de Vernal, Gérald
Tougas, Marcelle Roy, Jacques Poulin , Pierre Chatillon,
Claude-Emmanuelle Yance, Louis Caron, Louise Leblanc, Jean-Marc
Fréchette, Suzanne Jacob, Raymonde Lamothe and Serge
Rousseau.
A magnificent steel inkwell accompanies this mural.
As you stroll the paths of the park,
you will come upon steel lecterns presenting texts by a
selection of these authors. On five other plaques, poems
by Pierre Chatillon come to life through the exquisite drawings
of Nicolet artist, Nicole Vigneault. The main attractions,
however, are the steel sculptures created by local artists,
Sébastien and Pierre Brassard, based on an idea by
Pierre Chatillon..
The first of these represents a scene from Pierre Chatillon's
novel entitled La mort rousse (The Red-Haired Death).
The second introduces us to Hyacinthe Bellerose, a character
in Louis Caron's novel, Le canard de bois (The Wooden
Duck). The third sculpture depicts Marguerite and Philédor
Beausoleil, the main characters of Pierre Chatillon's novel,
Philédor Beausoleil, accompanied by five miniature
characters of Québec legend. The fourth portrays
Jos Violon and four elves found in Louis Fréchette's
Contes de Jos Violon (Tales of Jos Violon). The fifth
illustrates the folk song Un canadien errant (A Wandering
Canadian) by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie. The last sculpture,
inspired by Le bonhomme sept heures (The Bone Setter),
a novel by Louis Caron, represents the young hero of the
story seated at the foot of a steel pine tree that stands
five meters tall.
The first two sculptures were set in place for the inauguration
of the park on June 24, 1998. The others were installed
in 1999 and 2000.
Nicole Vigneault's five drawings,
illustrating some of Pierre Chatillon's poems, are displayed
on aluminum plaques donated to the Literary Park in 2001
by the Auberge Godefroy, a charming country manor.
