Eli Mandel
Eli Mandel was a Canadian poet and academic, born in 1922 in Estevan, Saskatchewan, to Russian Jewish parents who had emigrated from Ukraine. Growing up during the Great Depression, Mandel pursued higher education at the University of Saskatchewan, where he earned his B.A., M.A., and ultimately a Ph.D. in the 1950s. His diverse career included serving in the Canadian Medical Corps during World War II and teaching at various Canadian universities, culminating in a long tenure at York University in Toronto. Mandel was known for his contributions to poetry, with his first collection, *Trio*, exploring classical and biblical themes, and later works reflecting his personal experiences and Jewish heritage. His acclaimed poem collection, *An Idiot Joy*, won the Governor General's Literary Award, showcasing his evolution from structured poetry to a more colloquial style. Throughout his life, Mandel received several prestigious awards and fellowships, and he engaged actively with the literary community through readings and lectures. He passed away in 1992, leaving behind a significant legacy in Canadian literature.
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Eli Mandel
Poet
- Born: December 3, 1922
- Birthplace: Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Died: September 3, 1992
- Place of death: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Poet Eli Mandel was born in 1922 in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Russian Jewish parents who had emigrated from Ukraine. Mandel was raised on the Canadian prairies during the Great Depression. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, earning a B.A. in 1949, an M.A. in 1950, and a Ph.D. in 1957. He was married to Miriam Mandel for twenty years and the couple had three children. During World War II, he served as a member of the prestigious Canadian Medical Corps.
Mandel enjoyed a long and varied academic and professional career, teaching at several Canadian colleges and universities from 1953 until 1987. He spent the last twenty years of his career at York University in Toronto, where he was a professor of English from 1967 until 1980 and a professor of English and humanities from 1980 until 1987. He also was a guest instructor at the Banff Centre; a writer-in-residence in Regina, Saskatchewan, and the University of Rome; and a visiting professor at the University of Victoria from 1970 until 1980. Mandel presented numerous poetry reading and lectures at institutions throughout Canada and the United States and hosted Canadian television and radio programs. In addition, he served on York University’s Humanities Research Council from 1959 until 1961 and on its board of governors from 1970 until 1971.
Mandel was the author of numerous volumes of poetry and edited many poetry anthologies. His first published poetry collection, Trio, which is grounded in classical and biblical mythology, was described by critics as elusive, and some critics complained that his second collection, Fuseli Poems, was heavily rhetorical. Mandel eventually moved from his early linear and heavily structured poetry to more open and colloquial verse. In Black and Secret Man, he began to refer to his personal experiences; these poems also make many references to Jewish life. An Idiot Joy was greatly acclaimed and won the Governor General’s Literary Award. The poems in Stony Plain are based on Mandel’s early life on the prairies, and Out of Place deals with his return to Estevan, Saskatchewan.
Among Mandel’s awards were a 1959 Canada Foundation fellowship, a 1961 Canada Council Award for Fuseli Poems, the 1963 University of Western Ontario President’s Medal in Poetry, the 1967 Governor General’s Award in Poetry, the 1967 Centennial Medal, and the 1977 Silver Jubilee Medal. He died in 1992.