From Room to Room: The Poetry of Eli Mandel
By Eli Mandel and Andrew Stubbs
()
About this ebook
The career of Eli Mandel (1922–1992) was one of the most prolific and distinguished in all of Canadian literature, yet in recent years his work has gone unsung compared with that of such peers as Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Robert Kroetsch, Irving Layton, and P.K. Page. Though he was a critic, anthologist, and editor of national prominence, Mandel’s legacy resides most securely in his poetry, which earned many accolades.
From Room to Room: The Poetry of Eli Mandel presents thirty-five of Mandel’s best poems written over four decades, from the 1950s to the 1980s. The selection covers the most prominent themes in Mandel’s work, including his Russian-Jewish heritage, his Saskatchewan upbringing, his interest in classical and biblical archetypes, and his concern for the political and social issues of his time. The book also highlights the way in which Mandel’s work bridged the formal attributes of modernist poetry with contemporary, sometimes experimental, poetics.
Complete with a scholarly introduction by Peter Webb and a literary afterword by Andrew Stubbs, From Room to Room makes a worthy addition to the Laurier Poetry Series, which presents affordable editions of contemporary Canadian poetry for use in the classroom and the enjoyment of anyone wishing to read some of the finest poetry Canada has to offer.
Eli Mandel
Eli Mandel was a renowned Canadian poet, critic, editor, and anthologist for over three decades beginning in the 1950s. Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, he taught for many years at York University. His many books included ten poetry monographs or collections, including An Idiot Joy, which won the Governor General’s Award for poetry in 1967.
Related to From Room to Room
Titles in the series (28)
Chamber Music: The Poetry of Jan Zwicky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSonosyntactics: Selected and New Poetry of Paul Dutton Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSôhkêyihta: The Poetry of Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuthrie Clothing: The Poetry of Phil Hall, a Selected Collage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarking & Biting: The Poetry of Sina Queyras Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCertain Details: The Poetry of Nelson Ball Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpace Between Her Lips: The Poetry of Margaret Christakos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Verse and Worse: Selected and New Poems of Steve McCaffery 1989-2009 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe False Laws of Narrative: The Poetry of Fred Wah Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Different Species of Breathing: The Poetry of Sue Goyette Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll These Roads: The Poetry of Louis Dudek Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeportment: The Poetry of Alice Burdick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSocial Poesis: The Poetry of Rachel Zolf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDesire Never Leaves: The Poetry of Tim Lilburn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crisp Day Closing on My Hand: The Poetry of M. Travis Lane Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLeaving the Shade of the Middle Ground: The Poetry of F.R. Scott Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Order in Which We Do Things: The Poetry of Tom Wayman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBefore the First Word: The Poetry of Lorna Crozier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Possible Trust: The Poetry of Ronna Bloom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Room to Room: The Poetry of Eli Mandel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarthly Pages: The Poetry of Don Domanski Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5By Word of Mouth: The Poetry of Dennis Cooley Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Field Marks: The Poetry of Don McKay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Please, No More Poetry: The Poetry of derek beaulieu Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChildren of the Outer Dark: The Poetry of Christopher Dewdney Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Plans Deranged by Time: The Poetry of George Fetherling Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRivering: The Poetry of Daphne Marlatt Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Deportment: The Poetry of Alice Burdick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll These Roads: The Poetry of Louis Dudek Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe False Laws of Narrative: The Poetry of Fred Wah Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCertain Details: The Poetry of Nelson Ball Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDavid Helwig: Essays on His Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChamber Music: The Poetry of Jan Zwicky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to an Introduction of Wallace Stevens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Self-Completing Tree Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Age of Auden: Postwar Poetry and the American Scene Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarthly Pages: The Poetry of Don Domanski Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Social Poesis: The Poetry of Rachel Zolf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStrong Words: Modern poets on modern poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barking & Biting: The Poetry of Sina Queyras Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLeaving the Shade of the Middle Ground: The Poetry of F.R. Scott Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Emperor of Ice-Cream and Other Poems Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5David Rosenmann-Taub: Poems and Commentaries: Volume II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOutside the Margins: Literary Commentaries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRivering: The Poetry of Daphne Marlatt Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wordsworth's Poetry, 1815-1845 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to Our Town and Other Works by Thornton Wilder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century (1918) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConversations with Donald Hall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove, Loosha: The Letters of Lucia Berlin and Kenward Elmslie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for W. H. Auden's "If I Could Tell You" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Ishmael Reed's "Beware: Do Not Read This Poem" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Tale of Monstrous Extravagance: Imagining Multilingualism Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Canadian Modernists Meet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSonosyntactics: Selected and New Poetry of Paul Dutton Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConversations with Diane di Prima Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Literary Biographies For You
Molly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Incest: From "A Journal of Love": The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1932–1934 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman Who Could Not Forget Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Very Best of Maya Angelou: The Voice of Inspiration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love," The Unexpurgated Diary (1931–1932) of Anaïs Nin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Murder Your Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Teacher Man: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Distance Between Us: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letters from Max: A Poet, a Teacher, a Friendship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1931–1934 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Real Lolita: A Lost Girl, an Unthinkable Crime, and a Scandalous Masterpiece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writers and Their Notebooks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lincoln Lawyer: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confessions of a Bookseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5remembered rapture: the writer at work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Writer's Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for From Room to Room
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
From Room to Room - Eli Mandel
From Room to Room
The Poetry of Eli Mandel
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Mandel, Eli, 1922-1992
From room to room : the poetry of Eli Mandel / selected, with an introduction by Peter Webb and an afterword by Andrew Stubbs.
(Laurier poetry)
Includes bibliographical references.
Also available in electronic format.
ISBN 978-1-55458-255-6
1. Webb, Peter, 1968- 11. Title, in. Series: Laurier poetry series
PS8526.A52A6 2011 C811’.54 C2010-906489-5
ISBN 978-1-55458-320-1
Electronic format.
1. Webb, Peter, 1968- 11. Title, in. Series: Laurier poetry series (Online)
PS8526.A52A6 2011a C811’.54 C2010-906490-9
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mandel poems © Ann Mandel
Introduction © 2011 Peter Webb
Afterword © 2011 Andrew Stubbs
The cover reproduces The Nightmare, painted by Henry Fuseli ca. 1781. Cover design and text design by P.J. Woodland.
Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omissions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future printings.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Table of Contents
Foreword, Neil Besner
Biographical Note
Introduction, Peter Webb
Minotaur Poems
Estevan Saskatchewan
The Fire Place
In the Caves of My City
City Park Merry-Go-Round
Doll on the Mantelpiece
Epilogue
Mary Midnight’s Prologue
Charles Isaac Mandel
David
Hippolytus
The Meaning of the I CHING
Girl on a High Wire
Houdini
The Madness of Our Polity
The Speaking Earth
From the North Saskatchewan
Two Dream Songs for John Berryman
On the 25th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz
Room XV
On the Renewal of Bombing in VietNam December, 1972
Envoi
from Out of Place
the return
signs
doors of perception
near Hirsch a Jewish cemetery
STRIKE sept 1931
estevan, 1934
petroglyphs at st victor
the doppelganger
Pictures in an Institution
On the Murder of Salvador Allende
The Madwomen of the Plaza de Mayo
In My 57th Year
Zenith: Saving to Disk
Afterword, Andrew Stubbs
Acknowledgements
Foreword
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, poetry in Canada—writing and publishing it, reading and thinking about it—finds itself in a strangely conflicted place. We have many strong poets continuing to produce exciting new work, and there is still a small audience for poetry; but increasingly, poetry is becoming a vulnerable art, for reasons that don’t need to be rehearsed.
But there are things to be done: we need more real engagement with our poets. There needs to be more access to their work in more venues—in classrooms, in the public arena, in the media—and there need to be more, and more different kinds, of publications that make the wide range of our contemporary poetry more widely available.
The hope that animates this series from Wilfrid Laurier University Press is that these volumes help to create and sustain the larger readership that contemporary Canadian poetry so richly deserves. Like our fiction writers, our poets are much celebrated abroad; they should just as properly be better known at home.
Our idea is to ask a critic (sometimes herself a poet) to select thirty-five poems from across a poet’s career; write an engaging, accessible introduction; and have the poet write an afterword. In this way, we think that the usual practice of teaching a poet through eight or twelve poems from an anthology is much improved upon; and readers in and out of classrooms will have more useful, engaging, and comprehensive introductions to a poet’s work. Readers might also come to see more readily, we hope, the connections among, as well as the distances between, the life and the work.
It was the