Carle Toupito Abadri

Carle Toupito Abadri, also known under his French name Charles Abaderie, (March 8th, 1903 - September 14th, 1997) was an important poet and author from Jonquiere-Tadoussac.

Abadri was one of the first authors to write in Chicoutim, although he also published works in French, Qi and Baranxeï.

His most famous poem is "Cikoutimi Ouni" which became part of the Cikoutimian National Anthem.

Biography

Early Life

Abadri was born as Charles George Abaderie in Capore, Chicoutimi (today Kapora) to Marie Charlotte and George Robert Abaderie, who had adopted French names in the late 19th century when they had moved to the town of Capore near the then largely French city of Ceboné. Both were devout Christians who wanted to disassociate themselves from the stigma of being Cikoutimian, which carried connotations of being uneducated and backwards.

As a child, Abadri was subject to a strict family life and stifling education at the Ecole Jesus-Christ le Redempteur. He could never adapt to the strict rules of conduct at the school and was ejected in 1915. His parents tried to send him to a prestigious Cebone boarding school, but he was quickly sent back home and showed himself unwilling to go to another school again.
After a few stressful months living still in his parents' house, he finally ran away in 1917.

In the beginning, he jobbed around but found he couldn't make ends meet this way, so he started to make money as a hustler. He was arrested freqently because of this and when he was facing the possibilty of a prison term because of it, he fled over the border to Baranxtu where he first lived in Inar and later in Leu where he worked in a number of legal brothels and also started to write, mostly to cope with his experiences.

Early Rise to Fame

In 1926, Abadri published his first book, Krime sote Professon - Wi Balakarikomme (Crime or Profession - Life as a Hustler). It was printed in Baranxeï first and published in Baranxtu. However, it was first censured in Jonquiere-Tadoussac and outright forbidden later.

The book became an instant success with the Baranxtiman intelligentsia which adored the book for its frank language and honest depiction of the business, both its good and bad sides.
His two subsequent books Majoriyé Minoriyédan (Majority in the Minority) (1927) and Kréten our Kèle Wolé (Christianity and the Raped Mother) (1927) were equally critically acclaimed.

Abadri finally quitted his job in a brothel of Leu and moved to Siragge where he worked in a café during the day and wrote his next novel by night.

Return to Cikoutimi

Abadri started to suffer from severe writer's block in early 1928 which continued until 1930, when he published his forth novel Amwardan (In the Armoire).
This book, however, was not as successful as his earlier books, as it lacked the same sense of originality that the first ones possessed.

When the anti-sodomy laws of Cikoutimi were repealed in 1931, he almost immediately returned to Ceboné. There, he worked as a freelance writer for the Torche Chicoutimien, a socialist newspaper that for a time was the most succesful paper in Cikoutimi.
In 1932, he published a book of poems he had written in the period from 1920-1932. Among them also was Cikoutimi Ouni, also called Cikoutimi Nowo, which later delivered the stanza of the Cikoutimian national anthem.
The book was published under the name Carle Jorje Abadri, the Chicoutim equivalent of his birth name. This book turned out to be a huge success; Pème Cikoutimdan Cikoutimpar (Poems in Chicoutim by a Cikoutimian) was one of the first titles ever to be completely published in Chicoutim.

Middle Years

Abadri decided to attend evening school and got his baccaleaureat in 1935, the same years his new book Pème Wayajen (A Voyage's Poems) was published. He started to work as an apothecary where he met his first wife Caroline Debussé.
They married in 1937 and moved to Marie-sous-les-Arbres (today Mari Kakousou), a suburb of Ceboné.
Later, Abadri described his wife as his greates muse, even after their divorce in 1957.

He legally changed his name to Carle Toupito Abadri in 1965 - Toupito (strong farmer) is an Alimi equivalent to George.
Abadri regularly published novels and poetry collection until 1972, most of which were met with mediocre success.

Later Years and Death

When his son Aparmi died in 1972 in a car crash, Carle Abadri retired from public life and moved to a secluded mansion in the Cikoutimian Mountains for good where he lived a quiet life until his death in 1997.
He had faded to relative obscurity by then, but interest in him was reawoken when a number of novels were published after his death.

Personal Life

Carle Toupito Abadri was married four times and had five children.

• Caroline Debussé (1937-1957), four children: Anna Zoulème (b. 1939), Roger Aparmi (b. 1942), Arianne Lepata (b. 1945), Sophie Kakoumarrana (b. 1946)
• Oulla Akoutère (1957-1959), one child: Petomi (b. 1960)
• Marc Treboné (1962-1973) (by Baranxtuan law)
• Louise Zoutnira Ampalène (1980-1998)

He is known to have had several extramarital affairs.
Although he was often away from home, his children all describe him as a loving father and his spouses even after divorced said that he was a nice man.

Literary Work

Novels

(critically acclaimed novels are bold)

• Krime sote Professon - Wi Balakarikomme (Crime or Profession - Life as a Hustler) (1926)
• Majoriyé Minoriyédan (Majority in the Minority) (1927)
• Kréten our Kèle Wolé (Christianity and the Raped Mother) (1927)
• Amwardan (In the Armoire) (1930)
• La Grande Ambition de Femme (The Great Ambition of Woman) (1933)
• Un Jardin Abandonné (An Abandoned Garden) (1934)
• Les Fontaines Vides (The Empty Fountains) (1938)
• La Femme En Moi (The Woman Inside Me) (1941)
• Tiré Couwonne (Blue Crown) (1943)
• Leura Four our Kouraja (Together Strong and Courageous) (1946)
• Marana Fransima (Marani, French) (1953)
• Touse (To You) (1956)
• Perre sote Nimhan (Stone or Rock) (1964)
• Ωggeþηs (It's raining) (1966)
• Amonie (Harmony) (1970)
• Tempête (Tempest) (1971)
• Niné Otééen (Ancestors of Otea) (published 1998, written ~1980)
• Èrpourte Cebonen (Airport of Ceboné) (published 1998, written ~1965)
• Mot Premier (First Word) (published 1998, written ~1994)

Poetry Collections

• Pème Cikoutimdan Cikoutimpar (Poems in Chicoutim by a Cikoutimian) (1932)
• Pème Wayajen (A Voyage's Poems) (1935)
• Je ne suis pas marié (I am not married) (1950)
• Je ne suis pas marié, vraiment (I really am not married) (1959)
• Konfecou Men (My Confession) (1969)
• Late Works (published in 1998, including all previously unpublished material)