Louis Dudek

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Louis Dudek : biography

February 6, 1918 – March 23, 2001

Dudek published his first long poem, Europe, in 1954.

In 1956 Dudek began the McGill Poetry Series, a series of chapbooks by McGill students published by Contact Press. The first book in the Series, printed in 1956, was Let Us Compare Mythologies, the first book from Leonard Cohen. In 1957 the Series published The Carnal and the Crane, the first book by Daryl Hine."" (discussion), LeonardCohenForum.com, Web, May 6, 2011.

In 1957 Dudek began Delta, his own poetry magazine, "in which he featured the work of many promising new poets" until 1966. He bought a press, installed it in his basement, and learned how to run it to print the early issues of the magazine, as well as his 1958 book Laughing Stalks. In his own writing he continued to explore the possibilities of long poems, writing Transparent Sea in 1956 and En Mexico in 1958.

Throughout the 1950s Dudek remained "a passionate admirer and defender" of Ezra Pound, "and his efforts contributed to the older poet’s release in 1958 from St. Elizabeth’s mental hospital (where Pound had been confined since 1946)."Bruce Whiteman, "," Literary Montreal, VehiculePress.com, Web, May 6, 2001.

Later life

At odds with literary trends in the early 1960s, Dudek concentrated on his teaching and on the writing of his long poem, Atlantis (published in 1967). In 1966 he founded Delta Canada Books along with Michael Gnarowski and Glen Siebrasse. The firm published more than 30 titles between 1966 and 1971, including Dudek’s Collected Poems (1971).

Dudek married Aileen Collins in 1970. The next year the two of them began DC Books, which they would run until 1986, and which is still in business."," DC Books, Web, May 6, 2011.

He wrote a column on books, film, and the arts for the Montreal Gazette between 1965 and 1969. "This activity together with his reviews, articles and radio talks has remained fundamental to Dudek’s perception of the poet’s and the critic’s role in society." His collected columns were published in 1988 as In Defence of Art.

As well, he regularly contributed to Canadian academic journals "and, in keeping with his commitment to literature as part of daily life, made frequent appearances on CBC Radio and in various newspapers as a commentator on the arts and culture." The First Person in Literature was originally broadcast as a series of CBC Radio lectures.

Dudek "kept up a lifelong battle against some of the most famous and influential voices in Canadian cultural writing, including Northrop Frye and Marshall McLuhan." Perhaps for that reason, some major awards passed him by.

Dudek always preferred to publish in the small press. "He was incredibly supportive of small publishers and writers," Simon Dardick, publisher of Vehicule Press, said of him. "There are dozens and dozens of writers and publishers who owe him so much. There was such a generosity of spirit there."Alan Hustak, "," Montreal Gazette, Mar. 23, 2001. In return the small press contained some of his strongest supporters (including Vehicule), who continued to release new books by him through his lifetime.

Dudek’s poetry "was a beacon to three generations of Canadian poets, and among them are names like Daryl Hine and Doug Jones in the ’50s, George Bowering and Frank Davey in the ’60s, and Ken Norris, Endre Farkas and Peter Van Toorn in the ’70s and ’80s."

Publications

Poetry

  • Unit of Five: Louis Dudek, Ronald Hambleton, P.K. Page, Raymond Souster, James Wreford. Edited by Ronald Hambleton. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1944.
  • East of the City. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1946.
  • Cerberus. By Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster and Irving Layton. Toronto: Contact Press, 1952.
  • The Searching Image. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1952.
  • Twenty-Four Poems. Toronto: Contact Press, 1952.
  • Europe. Toronto: Laocoön (Contact) Press, 1954. Reprinted: Erin, ON: The Porcupine’s Quill, 1991.
  • The Transparent Sea. Toronto: Contact Press, 1956.
  • En Mexico. Toronto: Contact Press, 1958.
  • Laughing Stalks. Toronto: Contact Press, 1958.
  • Atlantis. Montreal: Delta Canada, 1967.
  • Collected Poetry. Montréal: Delta Canada, 1971.
  • Selected Poems. Ottawa: Golden Dog, 1975.
  • "Continuation 1". The Tamarack Review 69 (1976).
  • Cross-Section: Poems 1940-1980. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1980.
  • Poems from Atlantis. Ottawa: Golden Dog, 1981.
  • Continuation I. Montréal: Véhicule Press, 1981.
  • Zembla´s Rocks. Montreal: Véhicle Press, 1986.
  • Infinite Worlds: The Poetry of Louis Dudek. Robin Blaser ed. Monteal: Véhicule, 1988.
  • Continuation II. Montreal: Véhicule, 1990.
  • Small Perfect Things. Montreal: DC Books, 1991.
  • The Caged Tiger. Montreal: Empyreal Press, 1997.
  • The Poetry of Louis Dudek. Ottawa: The Golden Dog, 1998.
  • The Surface of Time. Montreal: Empyreal, 2000.
  • For You, You/Für Dich, Dir. Elfenbein Verlag, Berlin (English with German translation). Bernhard Beutler ed., 2006.