Irving Layton
( March 24, 1912 - January 4, 2006)
Born of Jewish descent in the Romanian Town of Tirgul and nominated for the Nobel prize in literature, Layton gained local fame because he was born naturally circumcized, which was believed to be the mark of the messiah by Orthodox Jews.
His family immigrated to Montreal in 1913, and was forced to live in the poor St. Urbain neighborhood. <-- ( this neighborhood is not as poor now ). He was strongly infulenced by his father, Moiche, and taught a strong sense of the devine and poetry. After the death of his father in 1925, Layton became a buisness man, but later abandoned this suprisingly successful job to enroll in highschool. His early influences included the poets: Tennyson, Walter Scott, Woodsworth, Byron, and Shelly, the novelists, Austen and george Elliot , the Essayists Bacon, Goldsmith, Addison, and Swift, and more importantly, Shakespeare and Darwin,
-Layton later obtained a B.A.S in Agriculture from Macdonald College in 1934.
-Enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1942 where he met his first wife which lead to his two children and given an honorable discharge in 1943.
-Enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1942 where he met his first wife which lead to his two children and given an honorable discharge in 1943.
- In 1946 Layton receives his Masters degree in political science and began his teaching career in 1949 at the Jewish Parochial high school. Among his students were: Leonard Cohen and Moses Zniemer,
- Layton would continue teaching for the greater part of his career at Sir George Williams University, which is now Concordia where he taught modern English and american poetry. and as a tenured professor at York University in the 1970s.
- He worked with Dudek and Souster on "Cerebrus" a compilation of three poets' work and it was published under contact press, and later became one of their first editors. He was part of a new movement in poetry that moved away from the world war 1 romantic poetry.
- He was well- known for his booming voice, engaging personality, and enjoyed smashing Canada's puritanism and creating controversy.
- Layton would continue teaching for the greater part of his career at Sir George Williams University, which is now Concordia where he taught modern English and american poetry. and as a tenured professor at York University in the 1970s.
- He worked with Dudek and Souster on "Cerebrus" a compilation of three poets' work and it was published under contact press, and later became one of their first editors. He was part of a new movement in poetry that moved away from the world war 1 romantic poetry.
- He was well- known for his booming voice, engaging personality, and enjoyed smashing Canada's puritanism and creating controversy.
It was said that " Layton's work provided the bolt of lightning that was needed to split open the thin skin of conservatism and complacency in the poetry scene of the preceding century, allowing modern poetry to expose previously unseen richness and depth."
Many writers acknowledged Layton as a teacher and a prophet.
Many writers acknowledged Layton as a teacher and a prophet.
On The Death of A. Vishinsky
by Irving Layton
Adults are children merely
with a larger vocabulary:
my fears are no different from
when I was a six-year son.
This I my wife abuses;
and others, my principal:
who lives by daily ruses
a desperate animal
Heard today how quietly
the fluent Vishinsky died:
if he could not out-talk Death
what chance have I, so tongue tied?
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