The Improved Binoculars

The Improved Binoculars , published in 1956 by Jonathan Williams’ Jargon Press, was the first of Layton’s collections to be widely published in North America. Ryerson Press, the book’s Canadian distributor, refused to distribute the book (or even release it to the author) because of its controversial content. It is telling that Layton, whom we now regard as the author of some of the finest poems in Canadian history, found a warmer reception at first in the United States than he did in his own country. Layton’s early backers included Robert Creeley and William Carlos Williams, who provided a warm (but condescending - he refers to Layton, a Montrealer, as a backwoodsman ) forward for The Improved Binoculars.