Nelly Arcan (March 5, 1975 – September 24, 2009) was a Canadian novelist. Arcan was born Isabelle Fortier at Lac-Mégantic^[1] in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Biography[link]

Arcan's first novel Putain (2001; English: Whore (2004)), caused a sensation and enjoyed immediate critical and media success.^[2] It was a finalist for both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina,^[3] two of France's most prestigious literary awards.^[4] It contains similarities between the prostitute Cynthia in the novel and Arcan’s own experience as a professional escort sex worker.^[4]

This was followed with three more novels that established her as a literary star in Quebec and France.^[2] Her second novel Folle (2004), like her first, is semi-autobiographical and scandalous,^[2] and was also nominated for the Prix Femina.^[4] A third novel A ciel ouvert appeared in 2007. L’enfant dans le miroir (2007) is a coffee-table illustrated book on beauty. Arcan had recently completed her fourth novel Paradis clef en main (2009; English: Exit (2011)) when she committed suicide. She also wrote several short stories, opinion pieces and columns for various Quebec newspapers and literary magazines.

Arcan was thin, busty and beautiful, as Linda Leith said, "Nelly Arcan’s physical presence was too eye-catching to ignore. She would have turned heads on a movie set. The literary set had never seen the like. Picture Marilyn Monroe at the age of 28 getting short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Dublin IMPAC prize for her first novel. And then writing a second novel that gets nominated for the Dublin IMPAC prize again." ^[4]

Death[link]

Arcan was found dead in her Montreal apartment on September 24, 2009.^[3] She had hanged herself.^[4] She had just finished writing her last book, Paradis, Clef en main.^[1] She had attempted suicide previously. On September 3, 2009, three weeks before her death, Arcan published a story in her weekly column in the Quebec French-language weekly Ici magazine entitled "Prends-moi, ou t’es mort" ("Take Me, or You're Dead"), detailing an experience with a stalker.^[5]

Bibliography[link]

• Putain (2001; English: Whore, translated by Bruce Benderson, 2004).
• Folle (2004)
• L'enfant dans le miroir (2007)
• A Ciel Ouvert (2007)
• Paradis, Clef en main (2009; English: Exit, translated by David Scott Hamilton, 2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Handfield, Catherine (2009-09-26). "Le suicide a toujours été son obsession" (in French). http://www.cyberpresse.ca/dossiers/deces-de-nelly-arcan/200909/26/01-905774-le-suicide-a-toujours-ete-son-obsession.php. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 
• "Acclaimed Quebec writer found dead in Montreal". The Canadian Press. Sep. 25 2009. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090925/ENT_nelly_arcan_dead_090925/20090925?hub=Entertainment. 

Nelly
Background information
Birth name	Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr.
Born	(1974-11-02) November 2, 1974 (age 37) Austin, Texas, United States
Origin	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Genres	Hip pop, pop, R&B
Occupations	Rapper, singer, entrepreneur, actor
Years active	1993-present
Labels	Derrty Ent., Universal Motown, Bad Boy South[1]
Associated acts	St. Lunatics
Website	nelly.net

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American Grammy Award winning hip hop artist, entrepreneur and occasional actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album Country Grammar, the title track of which was a top ten hit. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to peak at number one. Country Grammar is Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States.^[2] His following album, Nellyville, produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland. Other singles included "Work It" featuring Justin Timberlake, "Air Force Ones" featuring Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatics, "Pimp Juice" and "#1".

With the same-day dual release Sweat and Suit (2004) and the compilation Sweatsuit (2006), Nelly continued to generate many chart-topping hits. Sweat debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 342,000 copies in its first week. On the same week of release, Suit debuted at number one selling around 396,000 copies in its first week on the same chart. Nelly's fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles, was released on September 16, 2008 after several delays. It produced the singles "Party People" featuring Fergie, "Stepped on My J'z" featuring Jermaine Dupri and Ciara and "Body on Me" featuring Akon and Ashanti. In 2010, Nelly released the album 5.0. The lead single, "Just a Dream", has appeared in the top ten of several singles charts and were certified platinum in the United States. The second single is "Move That Body" featuring T-Pain and Akon. "Gone" is the sequel to Nelly's 2002 worldwide number one single "Dilemma", also with Rowland, and serves as third single from Nelly's album.

He won Grammy Awards in 2003 and 2004 and had a supporting role in the 2005 remake film The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. He has two clothing lines, Vokal and Apple Bottoms. He has been referred to by Peter Shapiro as "one of the biggest stars of the new millennium",^[3] and the RIAA ranks Nelly as one of the best-selling male artists in American music history,^[4] with 21 million albums sold in the United States. On December 11, 2009, Billboard ranked Nelly the number three Top Artist of the Decade.^[5]

Life and career[link]

1974–00: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Nelly was born in Austin, Texas, where his father was serving in the military. When he was seven, his parents divorced.^[6] Nelly moved with his mother from inner city St. Louis to suburban University City, Missouri as a teenager. While still in high school, Nelly formed the St. Lunatics, who enjoyed local popularity with their single "Gimme What Ya Got". When a major record deal failed to appear, Nelly decided to go solo.^[7] He was signed to Universal Music Group by A&R Kevin Law.^[8] Law told HitQuarters that very few people at the record company liked Nelly when he was first signed, with the feedback he received from his colleagues on the rapper's music being "extraordinarily negative".^[8] Nelly was unusual for being a rapper from the Midwest at a time when the hip-hop scenes were centred around the East Coast, West Coast and the South. The label used this to their advantage by branding Nelly as a star of the Midwest, hoping to inspire pride in the people of St Louis and the surrounding region.^[8] Nelly was signed together with St. Lunatics.^[8] Kevin Law and Country from Fo'Reel Entertainment decided to do a solo record with Nelly first and then return to St. Lunatics the following year.^[9]

The label released his major label debut Country Grammar in 2000. The success of its title track as a single (#7 on the Hot 100 and #1 Hot Rap Tracks) led to the album debuting at number three in the Billboard 200 in the U.S. Other singles from the album included "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" featuring his brother City Spud and "Batter Up" featuring the St. Lunatics.^[7] The album was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on April 27, 2004.^[10]

[edit] 2002–03: Nellyville

In 2002, Nelly's second album Nellyville was released, debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Music Albums;^[11] its lead single "Hot in Herre" was a number-one hit. Other singles included "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child, "Work It" featuring Justin Timberlake, "Air Force Ones" featuring Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatics, "Pimp Juice", and "#1".^[7] This album was highly successful and was certified 6x multi-platinum on June 27, 2003.^[12] "Hot in Herre" won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance in 2003.^[13] In 2003 Nelly released Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention. It featured the hit single "Iz U" from the soundtrack to Walt Disney's The Haunted Mansion. The music video of a Tip Drill Remix became a source of controversy due to perceptions of misogynistic depictions of women. The controversy forced Nelly to cancel an appearance at a bone marrow drive at Spelman College, an historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia.^[14] Similar claims of misogyny also surrounded Nelly's single "Pimp Juice".^[15] RIAA have certified the album Platinum. For the Bad Boys II soundtrack album, Nelly contributed the single "Shake Ya Tailfeather" featuring Diddy and Murphy Lee. Another number-one hit, "Shake Ya Tailfeather" won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.^[13]

[edit] 2004–05: Sweat and Suit

On September 14, 2004, Nelly released two albums, Sweat and Suit. Suit, an R&B-oriented album, debuted at number one on the Billboard albums chart, and Sweat, a rap-oriented album, debuted at number two. From Suit, the slow ballad "Over and Over", an unlikely duet with country music star Tim McGraw, became a crossover hit.^[16] On the 2004 NBC television concert special Tim McGraw: Here and Now, McGraw and Nelly performed the song.^[17] A feud with another St. Louis-based rapper, Chingy, came up near the end of the year.^[18] Tsunami Aid: A Concert for Hope, a 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake benefit concert special produced by NBC, featured Nelly.^[19] In the winter of 2005 came Sweatsuit, a compilation of tracks from Sweat and Suit with three new tracks. "Grillz", produced by Jermaine Dupri, was a number-one hit. To date both albums have sold over 5 million units in the United States.

[edit] 2008: Brass Knuckles

Brass Knuckles was released on September 16, 2008, after several delays,^[20] Initial release dates for the album targeted October 16^[21] and November 13.^[22] Its original lead single was "Wadsyaname", a ballad-oriented track produced by Ron "NEFF-U" Feemstar and sampling the piano riff from "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo.^[21][22] Nelly later confirmed that "Wadsyaname" was never going to be on 'Brass Knuckles'. Nelly recorded Party People",^[21] featuring Fergie and produced by Polow da Don, which turned out to be his first official single off the album."^[20] Stepped On My J'z" was the next single, produced by Jermaine Dupri and featuring Dupri and Ciara; following that was "Body on Me", produced by Akon and featuring Akon and Ashanti. Nelly appeared on Rick Ross's third single "Here I Am" also featuring label mate Avery Storm.

[edit] 2009–11: 5.0 and O.E.M.O.

In the summer of 2009, Nelly made a public announcement in Las Vegas about the yet-to-be-titled album.^[23] In October 2009, Nelly did an interview with SOHH.com and said that the album was going to be released sometime in 2010.^[23] In a interview with Semtex TV, Nelly told reporters that he planned to release the album under the name Nelly.^[24] In April 2010, Nelly's cousin Michael Johnson was murdered in Missouri, Nelly said that he delayed releasing the album because of this.^[25] Guests featured on the album were, T-Pain, Chris Brown, Akon, Plies, T.I., Kelly Rowland, Birdman, DJ Khaled, Avery Storm and Diddy-Dirty Money.^[26] In May 2010, Nelly confirmed that the title of the album was 5.0.^[27] The album was released on November 16, 2010.^[28] The album's lead single "Just a Dream" was released on August 17, 2010, through iTunes^[29] along with the promotional single "Tippin' In da Club".^[30] The two songs were released to Mainstream and Rhythm/Crossover radio on August 10, 2010.^[31] "Just a Dream" made its first chart appearance debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number twelve and peaking at number 3 in its fourth week. The song also debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart, selling 888,000 downloads in its first week.^[32][33] "Just a Dream" is Nelly's highest-charting song since his 2005 single "Grillz" and debuted at number 7 on the Billboard Rap Songs. The song entered the Canadian Hot 100 in August 2010, at number thirty-two^[34] It debuted in Australia (ARIA Charts) on the Singles Chart at number 3,^[35] in New Zealand Singles Charts at number twenty-nine, and in Switzerland (Media Control AG) at number fifty-two. The second single "Move That Body", which features T-Pain and Akon, was released on October 12, 2010.^[36] The song made its first chart appearance debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number fifty-four and has reached a current peak at number twenty-nine in Australia.^[37][38] Nelly is featured on the second single by singer Mohombi titled "Miss Me", produced by RedOne. On November 13, 2010 Nelly appeared on the Pacquiao vs. Margarito pay-per-view, at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.^[39] "Gone" is the sequel to Nelly's 2002 worldwide number one single "Dilemma", also with Rowland, and serves as third single from Nelly's album. On December 24, 2011, Nelly released a mixtape titled O.E.M.O. (which stands for On Everything MO), which features guest performances from T.I., 2 Chainz, Bei Maejor, St. Louis, St. Lunatics, SAG Live and Trixie.^[40]

Artistry[link]

Musical style and influences[link]

Nelly’s rapping style has been described by Peter Shapiro as using "unforgettable hooks based on schoolyard songs, double-dutch chants, and nonsense rhymes"^[3] and has a "Missouri twang".^[41] Allmusic suggests Nelly's style is based largely on where he comes from - "Nelly's locale certainly informs his rapping style, which is as much country as urban, and his dialect as well, which is as much Southern drawl as Midwestern twang".^[7] Nelly explains his method of writing in the book How to Rap, describing how he freestyles most of the lyrics before going back over them to "make it a little tighter",^[42] he generally writes in the studio rather than at home,^[43] he normally comes up with a chorus for a song before writing the verses,^[44] and he likes to write to the music he will be rapping over.^[45] Allmusic also notes his "tongue-twisting" hooks, which are also often sung rather than rapped.^[46] Nelly began listening to artists like Rakim, LL Cool J, Run–D.M.C., Outkast, Goodie Mob and Jay-Z. He became convinced that his gift for rap could be parlayed into a career. He has his own style of rap which he likes to describe as a jazz form of hip hop.

Other ventures[link]

Nelly and Allen Iverson in 2007

Nike and Nelly agreed on a one-year deal in 2003 to release a limited-edition sneaker called the "Air Derrty" which was a retro remake of Charles Barkley's signature sneaker.^[47] Nelly later signed a shoe deal with Reebok.^[48] Nelly has done ads for Got Milk and the Ford Motor Company. His energy drink Pimp Juice sold one million cans during the first two months after its introduction in August 2003, and was criticized for its name by black consumer activists.^[49] Nelly owns Apple Bottoms, a female clothing line, and Vokal, which caters to men. He was one of the owners of the Charlotte Bobcats, along with Robert L. Johnson and Michael Jordan until Jordan became the new owner in March 2010.^[50]

Nelly has played the Main Event at the 2007 World Series of Poker.^[51] He has also played The PokerStars European Poker Tour and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.^[52] In August, 2010, Nelly started a temporary stint as the afternoon host on WHHL HOT 104.1 in St. Louis. He is taking the place of regular PM drive personality, Stacy Static, who is on pregnancy leave.

According STLtoday, the initial ratings for the show are very high. This gig garnered national attention in the Huffington Post and other websites. On September 28, 2010, Nelly is releasing a fitness DVD entitled Celebrity Sweat, walking viewers through various exercises and weight training techniques.^[53]

Philanthropy[link]

Nelly runs the non-profit organization 4Sho4Kids Foundation. The Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign began in March 2003 by Nelly and his sister Jackie Donahue after Donahue was diagnosed with leukemia. The campaign attempts to educate African-Americans and other minorities about the need for bone marrow transplants, and to register more donors. Donahue lost her battle with leukemia on March 24, 2005, almost two years after the campaign began.^[54] In 2010, Nelly endorsed Do Something's Tackle Hunger campaign. In a public service announcement he filmed for the cause, Nelly challenged teens to fight hunger by collecting one million pounds of food for the holiday sesason.^[55]

Film and television career[link]

Nelly's film debut came in 2001 in the independent film Snipes playing a famous rapper named Prolifik.^[56] His big movie role came in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock.^[57] The movie's soundtrack includes his songs "Errtime" and "Fly Away". In June 2008, in a interview with Kiwibox, Nelly revealed that he is reluctant to continue his acting career, noting that he does not want to "take away from the culture of acting."^[58] In 2008 and 2009, Nelly appeared in episodes of the CBS crime drama CSI: NY.^[59] In 2011, make a cameo appearance on 90210.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

	Book: Nelly
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• List of awards and nominations received by Nelly

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nelly

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nelly

• Official website
• Nelly at Allmusic
• Nelly on Twitter
• Nelly on Myspace
• Nelly at the Internet Movie Database

Nancy Huston

Nancy Louise Huston, OC (born September 16, 1953) is a Canadian-born novelist and essayist who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English.^[1]

Biography[link]

Huston was born in Calgary, Alberta, in Canada, the city in which she lived until age fifteen, at which time her family moved to Wilton, New Hampshire, USA. She studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she was given the opportunity to spend a year of her studies in Paris. Arriving in Paris in 1973, Huston obtained a Master's Degree from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, writing a thesis on swear words under the supervision of Roland Barthes.^[2]

Ms. Huston lives in Paris with her husband Tzvetan Todorov and their two children.^[3]

Career[link]

Because French was a language acquired at school and university, Huston found that the combination of her eventual command of the language and her distance from it as a non-native speaker helped her to find her literary voice. Since 1980, Huston has published over 45 books of fiction and non-fiction, including theatre and children's books. Some of her publications are self-translations of previously published works. Essentially she writes in French and subsequently self-translates into English but Plainsong (1993) was written first in English and then self-translated to French as Cantique des plaines (1993) - it was, however, the French version which first found a publisher.

She has 25 fiction publications, of which 13 are original fiction and 11 are self-translations.

In her fiction, only Trois fois septembre (1989), Visages de l'aube (2001) and Infrarouge (2010), as well as her three children's books, have not been published in English. She has also published two plays but has not yet translated either.

She has 14 non-fiction publications, of which 12 are original publications and two are self-translations. The other ten non-fiction publications have not yet been self-translated.

While Huston's often controversial works of non-fiction have been well-received, her fiction has earned her the most critical acclaim. Her first novel, Les variations Goldberg (1981), was awarded the Prix Contrepoint and was shortlisted for the Prix Femina. She translated this novel into English as The Goldberg Variations (1996).

Her next major award came in 1993 when she was received the Canadian Governor General's Award for Fiction in French for Cantique des Plaines (1993). This was initially contested as it was a translation of Plainsong (1993), but Huston demonstrated that it was an adaptation and kept the prize. A subsequent novel, La virevolte (1994), won the Prix "L" and the Prix Louis-Hémon. It was published in English in 1996 as Slow Emergencies.^[4]

Huston's novel, Instruments des ténèbres, has been her most successful novel yet, being shortlisted for the Prix Femina, and the Governor General's Award. It was awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens.

In 1998, she was nominated for a Governor General's Award for her novel L'Empreinte de l'ange. The next year she was nominated for a Governor General's Award for translating the work into English as The Mark of the Angel.

In 1999, she appeared in the film Emporte-moi, also collaborating on the screenplay.

Her works have been translated into many languages from Chinese to Russian.

In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada,^[5] and she received the Prix Femina in 2006 for the novel Lignes de faille and which, as Fault Lines, has been published by Atlantic Books and is shortlisted for the 2008 Orange Prize.^[6]

Her latest novel is Infrarouge (2010).

In 2007, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liège.

In 2010, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa.^[7]

Selected works[link]

Fiction:

• The Goldberg Variations (1996) = self-translation of Les variations Goldberg (1981)
• The Story of Omaya (1987) = self-translation of Histoire d'Omaya (1985)
• Trois fois septembre (1989) [no English self-translation]
• Plainsong (1993) = Cantique des plaines (self-translation)(1993)
• Slow Emergencies (1996) = self-translation of La Virevolte (1994)
• Instruments of Darkness (1997) = self-translation of Instruments des ténèbres (1996)
• The Mark of the Angel (1998) = self-translation of L'empreinte de l'ange (1988)
• Prodigy: A Novella (2000) = self-translation of Prodige : polyphonie (1999)
• Limbes/Limbo (2000) [bilingual edition]
• Visages de l'aube (2001) [with Valérie Winckler - no English version]
• Dolce Agonia (2001) = self-translation of the French version Dolce agonia (2001), cover illustration by Ralph Petty
• An Adoration(2003) = self-translation of Une adoration (2003)
• Fault Lines (2007) = self-translation of Lignes de faille (2006)
• Infrarouge (2010) [no English self-translation - yet]

Theatre:

• Angela et Marina (2002) [with Valérie Grail - no English self-translation]
• Jocaste reine (2009) [no English self-translation]

Non-fiction:

• Jouer au papa et à l'amant (1979) [no English self-translation]
• Dire et interdire : éléments de jurologie (1980) [no English self-translation]
• Mosaïque de la pornographie : Marie-Thérèse et les autres (1982) [no English self-translation]
• Journal de la création (1990)[no English self-translation]
• Tombeau de Romain Gary (1995) [no English self-translation]
• Pour un patriotisme de l'ambiguïté (1995) [no English self-translation]
• Nord perdu : suivi de Douze France (1999)
• Losing north: musings on land, tongue and self (2002) [self-translation of Nord perdu : suivi de Douze France]
• Professeurs de désespoir (2004) [no English self-translation]
• Passions d'Annie Leclerc (2007) [no English self-translation]
• L'espèce fabulatrice (2008)
• The Tale-Tellers: A Short Study of Humankind (2008) [self-translation of L'espèce fabulatrice]

Correspondence:

• À l'amour comme à la guerre (1984) [no English version]
• Lettres parisiennes : autopsie de l'exil [with Leila Sebbar] (1986) [no English version]

Selected texts:

• Désirs et réalités : textes choisis 1978-1994 (1995) [no English version]
• Âmes et corps : textes choisis 1981-2003 (2004) [no English version]

Children's fiction:

• Véra veut la vérité (1994) [with Léa Huston & Willi Glasauer - no English version]
• Dora demande des détails (1997) [with Léa Huston & Pascale Bougeault - no English version]
• Les souliers d'or (1998) [no English self-translation]

References[link]

Eugene Benson and William Toye, eds. The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, Second Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997: 564-565. ISBN 0-19-541167-6

External links[link]

• Nancy Huston, dea ex machina
• Nancy Huston entry at Canadian Encyclopedia
• Nancy Huston Biography
• Works by Nancy Huston on Open Library at the Internet Archive

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Manset. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2012.

Gérard Manset (born 21 August 1945, Saint-Cloud) is a French singer-songwriter, painter, photographer and writer, most well known for his musical work.

Since 1972, the covers of his albums state his name as simply "Manset". However, "Gérard Manset" and "Manset" are both commonly used.

Gérard Manset spent his childhood in the suburbs of Paris (Saint-Cloud) and then in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris. He failed his baccalauréat due to the degree of a failing grade in French.

In 1964, Manset was the recipient of the Concours général, and enrolled in the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. The Salon d'Automne welcomed Manset in its engraving section in 1966. Manset's work was also shown at the Paris Salon. At the same time Manset approached various French advertising agencies with his drawings, without success, however.

Manset began to play guitar, but was also interested in the drums. He borrowed his sister's piano book, and began learning to play it as well.