First published in 1988, Les heures marks a turning point in Fernand Ouellette's poetics while at the same time marking a memorable date in Quebec literature. Sparked by the death of his father, Les heures was written in a month, a feverish period of work that produced 81 poems to match the age of his father upon his death. The book has been described as an attempt to take back death, to hold it at bay through poetry.