Recognition
Throughout the 1950s and on into the early 1990s Layton travelled widely abroad and became especially popular in South Korea and Italy. In 1981 these two nations nominated him for the Nobel Prize for Literature. (The prize that year was instead awarded to novelist Gabriel García Márquez) Among his many awards during his career was the Governor-General's Award for A Red Carpet for the Sun in 1959. In 1976 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He was the first non-Italian to be awarded the Petrarch Award for Poetry.
In his lifetime Layton attracted some criticism for his bluster, self-promotion and long-windedness. He is remembered by many as one of the first Canadian rebels of poetry, politics, and philosophy. At Layton's funeral, Leonard Cohen, Moses Znaimer and David Solway were among those who gave eulogies.
A street in Montreal has been named Irving Layton Avenue. Irving Layton Avenue is located behind St. Richards Church and close to the corner of Guelph Rd. and Parkhaven Ave.
An online scholarly journal, "The Bull Calf" (founded by Kait Pinder and J.A. Weingarten), is named in honour of Layton's famous poem of the same name.
He is considered Leonard Cohen's literary mentor. Leonard Cohen once said of Layton, "I taught him how to dress, he taught me how to live forever."
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Famous quotes containing the word recognition:
“In a cabinet of natural history, we become sensible of a certain occult recognition and sympathy in regard to the most unwieldy and eccentric forms of beast, fish, and insect.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The person who designed a robot that could act and think as well as your four-year-old would deserve a Nobel Prize. But there is no public recognition for bringing up several truly human beings.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)