On Sunday, March 25 from 2 to 3 p.m. the Franco American Heritage Center at 32 Cedar Street will host an free public reading called “Authors Forum.” This will be an opportunity for an invited group of Franco American authors to read to the public from their works. The readings will take place in Performance Hall followed by the opportunity for members of the public to speak with the authors. Additional copies of the authors’ works will be on sale.

In this invited group is Gerry Robichaud, the elder statesman of Franco American authors. Robichaud was born in St. Evariste, Beauce, Quebec in 1908, but he grew up in Lewiston, Maine. In 1961, he wrote about his family in the novel, “Papa Martel” a novel based loosely on the life of his father. Recently, the Baxter Society of Maine recognized “Papa Martel” as one of “one hundred distinguished books that reveal the history of the State and the life of its people”. As a result of new public awareness for the book, the University of Maine republished “Papa Martel”. Now, Robichaud is busy at 98 years old giving interviews and traveling to receptions throughout Maine to discuss the book is dedicated to his wife Elizabeth who inspired him to write the story when the two were living in Greenwich Village in New York City during the early 1950s. “I’ve resisted all the temptation writers have to revise the novel”, says Robichaud. “I haven’t changed one word of ‘Papa Martel’ since it was published.”

Norman Beaupré is yet another one of the great Franco American authors who follows in the footsteps of Kerouac and Proulx was born in southern Maine. He received a Ph.D. in French Literature from Brown University in 1974. He taught French language and literature, World Literature and Transcultural Health Care at St. Francis College in Maine, now known as the University of New England. He was chair of the Department of the Humanities. He is presently Professor Emeritus and continues to pursue his two great interests, travel and writing. He is the author of seven works: L’Enclume et le couteau, Le Petit Mangeurs de Fleurs, Lumineau, Marginal Enemies, Deux Femmes, Deux Rêves and his most recent work which wil also receive its world premiere reading at the FAHC on April 14th at 7:30pm He is currently writing a novel based on the life and art of Van Gogh from the point of view of an eleven-year old boy in Arles.

Rhea Côté Robbins was brought up bilingually in a Franco-American neighborhood in Waterville, Maine known as “down the plains.” She attended Waterville High School and graduated in 1971. Her maman came from Wallagrass, a town in the northern part of the state and her father was from Waterville. Tracing the family tree back, on both sides of her parents, she found that in Québec their people settled in close proximity to each other, and on a further search into their origins in France, she discovered that in the 1600s they lived within ten miles or less of each other. At least three of the branches of the original settlers came over on the same boat. She has spent many years researching the origins and visiting the hometowns of these people in Canada and France. She attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle, 1980-1982, graduating with an A.A. degree with a concentration in Art. In 1982-85, she attended the University of Maine on a bilingual education scholarship. This was in part funded by a federal grant in recognition of the Franco-American population that exists in the State of Maine. After teaching public high school briefly, she worked as editor of an international, bilingual socio-cultural journal entitled, Le FORUM, formerly known as Le F.A.R.O.G. Forum, at the Franco-American Center from 1986-96. She has had the luxury and opportunity to spend much time contemplating what it means to be Franco-American and female in the U.S. She has made contact with many people across the countries that are also interested in this cultural group. She traveled to Louisiana to compare the progression of the culture within a different milieu. She has also traveled to Canada and France to visit the hometowns from where her ancestors emigrated. Currently, she teaches literature courses in Franco-American women’s experiences. She will be reading from her novel “Wednesday’s Child.”

Doris Provencher-Faucher attended the bilingual elementary school offered by her Franco-American parish in southern Maine, graduated from public high school, and later earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees through the University of Maine. She and her husband spent their first year of marriage in France, and then returned to southern Maine to raise a family of four children. Since her retirement from teaching at the local public high school, she has spent much of the past ten years conducting bilingual research through Québec and French archives, Canadian, French, and American historical references to produce a series of historical novels which depicts the evolution of the French presence in North America through the everyday experiences of the majority of its people. She conducts courses in French-Canadian/Franco-American Heritage at the University of Maine’s local Senior College, and continues to develop her trilogy series which was launched two years ago with the publication of “Le Québécois: The Virgin Forest” in 2000. “The Rapids” was released in November 2002 and “Imperial Conflicts” in 2006. All three novels are will be available at the reading on March 25.

Rounding out this array of authors will be Maurice Fillion, author of “Priest” about which has been written: “This memoir will leave you reflecting upon your own life…with a bit of hope. It’s a great read for anyone who has experienced that often painful battle between one’s internal passions and the external forces that shape our environment. Above all, it is an insightful look back at a life that is unique enough to capture the interest of readers from all walks of life, yet universal enough to capture the human experience. Its truest test: it has been read, then passed on to a friend, then passed on to another friend, and so on. He tells us how he became interested and joined the seminary at a very young age and then as time passed, doubted his calling. Read about his inner thoughts, and actions in a life closed off from the outside world.”

The “Authors Forum” will be held on Sunday, March 25 from 2 to 3 p.m. is open to the public and free of charge. Please call 783-1585 for any further information.