Pierre Vallières

Pierre Vallières, writer (b at Montréal 22 Feb 1938; d Dec 1998). Vallières was a journalist in Montréal before joining the FRONT DE LIBÉRATION DU QUÉBEC (FLQ) in 1965. Convinced that Québec could survive only as an independent, socialist nation, and impressed by the example of Latin American revolutionaries, he pressed the FLQ to use violence to achieve their ends. A series of bomb blasts in Montréal resulted, and when his associates were arrested Vallières fled to New York, where he was arrested in 1966 and imprisoned. Deported to Canada in 1967, he spent 4 years in jail, writing his memoir, Nègres blancs d'Amérique (1968, tr White N--rs of America, 1971), and reassessing his convictions. In 1971 he renounced violence and endorsed the PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS as the best means to independence. In 1980 he repudiated them as well, publishing his belief that Québec was doomed to assimilation. In 1984, after experiencing a revelation, he joined a Franciscan-influenced religious order.