INDG 401 Lecture 19: Lecture Jan 11
9 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ENGL 409, Lecture January 11, 2018
Announcements
- All individual copies are on reserve at the library
“Let Us Compare Mythologies”
- Louis dudek – Cohen’s professor in English at McGill
o Financially invested in the work
o Owes him a great deal
- Irving Layton – Friend of Louis Dudek at first, but had a severe falling out in the 1950s
around the time they were both becoming friends with Cohen
- His friend, one-time girlfriend Frieda Guttman did the illustrations for the book
- Poem is not the first poem in the collection
- First four poems in the book
o Elegy
o For Wilf and his House
o The song of the Hellenist
o Prayer for a Messiah
- Letter and Lovers, poems of atrocity and desire, very close together in the middle of the
book
- Poem is isolated, does not have the pride of place
- “six Montreal poets” LP
o Available online
o Cohen was included at this time though he was still a nobody
o Recorded in 1956, same year that “Let us Compare Mythologies” was published
- Reading
o Sounds very cool and collected
o Pronounces his consonants very carefully
▪ Think “Turono” vs “Toronto”
o Wanting to project a coolness of affect
o Not making a spectacle of the poem
o Reads like he’s reading someone else’s words
- Did that performance embody some aspect of his poems?
o Emotionally removed?
▪ Even though in the poems were in bed with a lover, standing in the ovens
of the Holocaust, and standing under Messiah as his blood drips down
o Think of Modernist context in which he was raised
▪ Depersonalization
▪ Poetry should avoid Romantic spectacle
▪ Poet’s should not be invested in their poems
- Seems more confident in his performance in 1965 than in 1956
- Reads as if he is quieting the poem
- Detachment, emotionally removed
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
All individual copies are on reserve at the library. Louis dudek cohen"s professor in english at mcgill: financially invested in the work, owes him a great deal. Irving layton friend of louis dudek at first, but had a severe falling out in the 1950s around the time they were both becoming friends with cohen. His friend, one-time girlfriend frieda guttman did the illustrations for the book. Poem is not the first poem in the collection. First four poems in the book: elegy, for wilf and his house, the song of the hellenist, prayer for a messiah. Letter and lovers, poems of atrocity and desire, very close together in the middle of the book. Poem is isolated, does not have the pride of place. Six montreal poets lp: available online, cohen was included at this time though he was still a nobody, recorded in 1956, same year that let us compare mythologies was published.
