April, Raymonde. — «[Sans titre]». — Réservoirs soupirs : photographies 1986‑1992. — Québec : VU, 1993. — Also in English : «[untitled]», p. [62]. — P. [5)

 

 

 

Réservoirs Soupirs is an imaginary place. This land of lakes, situated somewhere between the St. Lawrence River and the borders of Maine and New Brunswick, might be somewhere near the Gaspé peninsula. Far away from large cities, it can only be reached by following a complicated network of secondary roads.

 

Many places in the region are named after reservoirs: Réservoirs Atalante, Réservoirs Fourchette, Réservoirs-à‑l’aube, etc. Sometimes they refer to villages, but more often they are forest stations or simple hunting lodges reached by dirt roads. The landscape is formed by huge coniferous trees, swamps and an occasional irregularly shaped field. Moose, bears and eagles live peacefully here.

 

The first time that I heard the name Réservoirs Soupirs pronounced, I was driving on the highway with a Vietnamese family. I might have just been forced to leave my car at the side of the road because of a technical problem. More likely, I had just handed over the wheel to my new friends and gotten into the back seat so that I could study the map. That is how things happen in dreams. We were driving north on a wide highway which, except for an elevated lane, resembled the Eastern Townships Highway; the morning was coming to an end and the weather was magnificent. A short while later, I asked my travelling companions where we were going. A man in his thirties turned around and said to me in a singsong accent: “We are going to Réservoirs Soupirs”.

 

Raymonde April

Montreal, November 1992

 

 

Raymonde April, Montreal, November 1992