French Canadian screenwriter and novelist Monique Proulx has drawn inspiration from city life for many of her works, but for her latest novel she is drawing inspiration from the country. Last night, Proulx read excerpts from her most recent book ‘Champagne,’ translated into English as ‘Wildlives.’ She spoke at the University as a part of the Pallister Francophone Canadian Lecture Series. Proulx is the tenth speaker in the series, which aims to educate students about Francophone culture, said Christine Drennen, interim director of the Canadian Studies Program. ‘The purpose [of the series] is to bring another culture into our campus community and we hope for people to gain from this understanding of the French experience in North America and maybe challenge typical beliefs and understandings,’ Drennen said. ‘ The excerpts from ‘Wildlives’ dealt with a wide range of topics from poisonous mushrooms to rape. She drew her inspiration for this book on the summers she spends in the country outside of her hometown of Montreal. ‘I love Montreal but I can’t live there in the summertime,’ she said. ‘Summertime is an opportunity for me to look around.’ Summer in the country is time for Proulx to connect with nature. ‘Nature allows me to be alone and writing is a solitary activity,’ Proulx said. ‘It takes years for me to write a book and nature gives me the confidence to write the books.’ Proulx really conveyed the pain of her characters during the reading, said Canadian Studies Instructor Peggy Cunniffe. ‘She is a woman with an incredible curiosity about life and through her writings you can really feel and experience the most dramatic moments of these people’s lives.’ Proulx said she has no plans to write any screenplays in the near future because the people in the film industry don’t keep writers in the loop about the projects they are working on together and the current budget cuts throughout the industry are making getting a film produced very difficult at the time. ‘You are working for someone else and if your name is not on the contract they won’t mention you,’ Proulx said. ‘I don’t need the money that much either, but if I’m attracted to an interesting project I’ll consider it, but I’m focusing on books now.’