Speak White (1980)
January 1, 1980Release Date
Speak White (1980)
January 1, 1980Release Date
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"Speak White" is a French-language poem written by Canadian poet Michèle Lalonde in 1968, and condemns the linguistic, cultural, and economic exploitation and oppression of French-speaking Canadians, especially the Québécois, by the English language and Anglo-American culture. The poem was first published in issue 15 of the magazine Socialisme in 1968. It was later published in 1974 by Quebec publisher L'Héxagone, and was recited by Lalonde during the 1968 performance Chansons et poèmes de résistance (Songs and Poems of the Resistance) in support of the imprisoned Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) leaders Pierre Vallières and Charles Gagnon, and again at the 1970 cultural event Nuit de la poésie (Night of Poetry) in Montréal. Responses to Lalonde's work include a 1980 short film of the same name by directors Pierre Falardeau and Julien Poulin, a number of reinterpretations, and "Speak What," a 1989 political poem by Marco Micone.