The Improved Binoculars

By Irving Layton

The 87 poems included in the first (1956) edition of The Improved Binoculars were selected from the eight volumes the poet published in the first ten years of his career. The publication of the book -- simultaneously by The Ryerson Press (Canada), Migrant Books (England), and Jonathan Williams ( US ) -- did much to establish Layton as a major talent on the international poetry scene and prompted Robert Creeley to note: `Irving Layton may well be for the historian of Literature ... the First Great Canadian Poet.'

What a pleasure to rediscover `The Bull Calf', `The Cold Green Element', `The Birth of Tragedy' and `To the Girls of my Graduating Class' and discover these poems are as vital as the day they were written.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889841012
• ISBN13: 9780889841017
• Release Date: October 1989
• Publisher: Porcupine's Quill
• Length: 133 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Layton Strikes Again!

The Improved Binoculars: Below me the city was in flames, the foremen were the first to save themselves. I saw steeples fall on their knees, lovers held short of the final spasm, their elbows held back by giant escorts of fire. .... An agent kicked the charred bodies of an orpanage to one side, marking the site carefully for a future speculation. All this I saw with my improved binoculars... This poem is the poem which gives the book its title. Very strong poem and almost makes one taste the bile rising in the throat... A MUST READ!!!!!!!!!