Anne Hébert was born on August 1, 1916 in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, Quebec. Having begun writing poems, stories, and plays at a very young age, Hébert found her work being published in a variety of periodicals by the time she was in her early twenties. She earned recognition as a poet in the 40's and 50's. Hébert's first volume of poetry, Les Songes en Équilibre, appeared in 1942 to good critical response and was awarded the Prix David. In 1954, Hébert used a grant from the Royal Society to continue her writing in Paris. She won the Prix France-Canada and the Prix Duvernay in 1958 for Les Chambres de Bois, the Governor General's Literary Award in 1960 for Poèmes, the Molson Prize in 1967, another Governor General's Award in 1975 for Les Enfants du Sabbat, and the Prix Fémina in 1982 for Les Fous de Bassan. Anne Hébert died in Montreal on January 22, 2000 of bone cancer .