Louis Dudek, OC (February 6, 1918 – March 23, 2001) was a Canadian poet, academic, and publisher known for his role in defining Modernism in poetry, and for his literary criticism.
[3] Due to the family's financial limitations, Dudek dropped out of the High School of Montreal[4] and went to work in a warehouse until, in 1936, his father was able to send him to college.
[4] Dudek went on to become a professor of English Literature at McGill University, a major figure in publishing and criticism, and was eventually recognized by being awarded the Greensheilds Chair as well as the Order of Canada.
[3] During this time Louis Dudek "was prominent among the poets who participated in First Statement (1942-1945), a seminal 'little magazine' in the development of modern Canadian literature.
"[7] With John Sutherland, the magazine's editor, and poet Irving Layton, he "fought hard to foster a native tradition in poetry and establish new ways of writing in Canada, pioneering a direct style that articulated experience in plain language.
"[5] The Dudeks moved to New York City[5] in 1943, where he began graduate studies in journalism and history at Columbia University, and soon changed his major to literature.
[1] His colleague Brian Trehearne remembered him as a "gifted and natural lecturer" who taught "one of the most popular and challenging courses in the history of the Faculty of Arts.
[9] In 1966 he founded Delta Canada Books with Michael Gnarowski and Glen Siebrasse, which published more than 30 titles between 1966 and 1971, including Dudek's Collected Poems (1971).
"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.
[3] Dudek 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 arts and culture.
[11] 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.
[5] His "later poetry, typified by the collection Continuation 1 (1981), harks back to an earlier book, Epigrams (1975), and is an experiment in recording the fragmentary poetic moment.
"[13] Students, friends, and fellow poets honoured Dudek in 1990 with "a celebrated evening at Ben's Restaurant, where his peers gave him a special Canadian Writers' Award.