Irving Layton | |
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Born | Israel Pincu Lazarovitch March 12, 1912 Târgu Neamţ, Romania |
Died | January 4, 2006 Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec, Canada | (aged 93)
Occupation | Poet |
Nationality | Canadian Romanian |
Notable awards | Governor General's Award, Order of Canada |
Irving Peter Layton, OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001), Layton fought Puritanism throughout his life:[1]
Layton's work had 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.