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MONTREAL — A Montreal author is speaking out after a local library cited Quebec’s language laws in refusing his request to host an English-language book club.
Christopher DiRaddo says he recently approached the Père-Ambroise library in the Ville-Marie borough to host gatherings for the Violet Hour book club, which focuses on LGBTQ+ literature.
He was told in an email, viewed by The Canadian Press, that the space had already been booked — but also that Quebec’s language laws require the library to host events that take place mostly in French. The library manager added that it is possible to host a bilingual event, but only if all the English conversations are translated into French.
DiRaddo says his book club is welcoming to people of all linguistic backgrounds and to people expressing themselves in French. However, he said, providing full translation services would be cost-prohibitive and unrealistic.
“It would break up the flow of the conversation if everything that was said had to be translated for people in the room who, even if they’re francophone, understand English because they’ve been engaging with this book in English,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “It felt useless. It felt like a barrier that doesn’t need to be there.”
DiRaddo says the club sometimes chooses books that are available in both French and English, including the most recent novel by Montreal author Éric Chacour, “Ce que je sais de toi.”
“Half of the people who read the book read it in French, half read it in English,” he said. “Some people actually chose to read it in both languages and we had a fulsome discussion in English about the book.”
In an email, the City of Montreal said it believes services to the public should be offered in French.
“The city encourages the holding of events that represent the city’s full diversity,” spokesperson Nicky Cayer wrote in an email. “It is in this desire for inclusion and openness that the city’s reflex was to ensure that a person who wishes to express themselves in French can participate in the activity in question and have access to a free and informal translation of the discussions.”
Cayer said library managers who can’t accommodate an activity are encouraged to suggest alternative locations, which was done in this case.
In the email to DiRaddo, library manager Isabelle Morrissette provided names and email addresses for some other venues. She also offered to support the club in other ways.
“The Père-Ambroise library will unfortunately not be able to accommodate you, but we are very interested in giving you a helping hand if your participants wish to borrow the selected books through the Montreal library network,” she wrote. “We could also help you with bibliographies, suggesting titles, etc.”
DiRaddo says that while the library manager was polite, the decision has still made him feel unwelcome in his own city. “Laws like this, situations like this, really do not make the city a very welcoming place for people to come, or even people who live here,” he said. “It’s making me feel like I don’t belong.”
He says the book club can stay in its old space, even though the room doesn’t always have enough chairs for the growing number of attendees. The club, which he started in 2018, attracts anywhere from 15 to 35 people a month.
DiRaddo says he hopes to find another space in the Village area, in order to help revitalize the neighbourhood and maintain its vibrant arts scene amid the district’s well-publicized struggles with business closures and homelessness.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press