In 1948 the Quebec artist Paul-Emile Borduas published his famous manifesto Refus global--a plea on behalf of the powers of imagination and sensibility in society and a revolt against rationalization, mechanization, and other restraining influences, including the church. Borduas and his consigners were bitterly attacked. But the message of Refus global had far-reaching and revolutionary effects on the culture of Quebec and ultimately on its politics.

AndrE Bourassa, in this important work, underlines the role played by artists and poets during the 1940s and the...