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BIOGRAPHY Rhea Côté Robbins was brought up
bilingually in a
Franco-American neighborhood in Waterville, Maine known as 'down the
Plains.'
She attended Waterville High School and graduated in 1971. Her
maman
came from Wallagrass, a town in the northern part of the state and her
father was from Waterville. Tracing the family tree back, on both
sides of her parents, she found that in Québec their people
settled
in close proximity to each other, and on a further search into their
origins
in France, she discovered that in the 1600s they lived within ten miles
or less of each other. At least three of the branches of
the
original settlers came over on the same boat to New France. She has
spent
many years researching the origins and visiting the hometowns of these
people in Canada and France. She attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle,
1980-1982,
graduating with an A.A. degree with a concentration in Art. In
1982-85,
she attended the University of Maine on a bilingual education
scholarship.
This was in part funded by a federal grant in recognition of the
Franco-American
population which exists in the State of Maine. After teaching
public
high school briefly, she worked as editor of an international,
bilingual
socio-cultural journal entitled,
Le FORUM, formerly known as Le
F.A.R.O.G. Forum, at the Franco-American Center from 1986-96.
She received her Master of Arts degree from the University of Maine in
May, 1997. She received an Honorary Doctorate from the University
of Maine at Farmington in 2004. Through her work and studies, she has had the luxury and
opportunity
to spend much time contemplating what does it mean to be
Franco-American
and female in the U.S. She has made contact with many people
across
the country who are also interested in this cultural group. She
traveled
to Louisiana to compare the progression of the culture within a
different
milieu. She has also traveled to Canada and France to visit the
hometowns
from where her ancestors emigrated. She is a founder and
Executive
Director of the Franco-American Women's Institute which is an
organization
to promote awareness about the contributions of the Franco-American
women
to the culture, their families and the communities they live in.
In addition, she has worked in the Maine prison system with women
prisoners
and created a writing group with the women. She currently teaches
creative nonfiction, literature and Franco-American women's experiences
at the University of Maine. Côté Robbins was the 1997 winner of the
Maine Chapbook
Award for her work of creative nonfiction entitled, Wednesday's
Child.
The book, taught in university courses such as social work, culture,
literature,
writing, and women's studies is in its fourth printing. She is
currently
editing a book of translations of Franco-American women writers who
were
writing in the early part of this century. Several translators
are
also involved in this project. She is also interested in
developing
a literary criticism on these early women writers in the
Franco-American
literary tradition as well as Grace de Repentigny Metalious, author of
Peyton
Place, Return to Peyton Place, The Tight White Collar and No Adam In
Eden.
These books were written by Metalious on the Franco-American women's
experiences
in New England. Côté Robbins has written a sequel to
Wednesday's Child, called 'down the Plains' for which she
is seeking
publication. She lives in Brewer with her husband, David and they
have three
children, Bridget, Benjamin who is married to Jana
Bishop, and Jesse.
PUBLICATION CREDITS
She co-edited and designed I am Franco-American and Proud of It: Franco-American Women's Anthology. She is a contributor to Old Women's Wisdom, a multi-cultural anthology of women over eighty years old living in Aroostook County. Rhea served as editor for ten years of Le FORUM, a bilingual, socio-cultural journal. In addition, she has authored two bibliographies one for WBDC and the Leadership Development Project entitled, Women and Class; the other is entitled Franco-American Health Related Bibliography. In 1995 she was selected for the Steve Grady Endowment Fund for Creative Writing, First Prize, Poetry. Her essays, poetry, book reviews, and recipes have appeared in the following publications: River Revue/Review Rivière, Reflections on Maine, Les Voix/Voices, L'Ouest Français et la Francophonie Nord-Américaine, Rafale, Stolen Island Review, Pucker Brush Review, ECHOES, Portland Magazine, WBDC Developments, Feminist Times, Le FORUM, Le F.A.R.O.G. Forum, Portland Sunday Telegram, Bangor Daily News, Brewer Register, Foxtail, Young Poets of America, other collaborative, fund-raising submissions include, Eating Between the Lines: A Maine Writer's Cookbook, Nos Histoires de l'Ile: Livre de cuisine, and RSVP Recipes: Aroostook Count. She maintains a page of current writings at: http://www.fawi.net/PoemsandEssays/WritingsbyRhea.html as well as editing several web pages, and an electronic magazine featuring writings of Franco-American women entitled, moé pi toé at: http://www.fawi.net/Links.html She is working on a book of literary criticism on the
tradition of Franco-American
women writers and Grace Metalious, the author of , author of Peyton
Place, Return to Peyton Place, The Tight White Collar and No Adam In
Eden
and who was a Franco-American woman writer. Côté
Robbins has written a sequel to Wednesday's
Child, called 'down the Plains'for which she is seeking
publication. She is currently working on a third installment of
the memoirs titled, If These Walls Could
Talk. She has work included in two anthologies Voyages A Maine
Franco-American and Acadian Reader published by Tillbury House
and French
Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets published by
Louisiana Literature Press. |