Jean-Marc Desgent was born in Montreal in 1951. To date he has published some twenty books, six of which have been translated into English or Spanish. His most recent collections are: Misère et dialogue des bíªtes (Poètes de brousse, 2019) and Strange Fruits (Poètes de brousse, 2017) His work has garnered many awards, including: the Grand Prix of the Festival International de Poésie de Trois-Rivières in 1994 and again in 2005, as well as the Governor General's Award for poetry in 2005. In 2010 he was awarded the Prix International Antonio-Viccaro in Paris for his book Portraits de famille, as well as for his whole body of poetry. He has participated in many public readings and conferences in a dozen countries. Academic and critic Franí§ois Paré has written: "œJean-Marc Desgent's work is among the most moving and prophetic to be found in current Quebec poetry."Â