Cymballed in a special key: The uncollected and unpublished poetry of Shulamis Yelin.

摘要

Although such prominent writers as Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Gwendolyn MacEwen have praised her work, Shulamis Yelin remains largely unknown to critics and the common reader. In three sections, this thesis attempts to rectify this situation by offering a more complete portrait of the poet and her poetry. First, it presents newly edited versions of eighty-five previously uncollected and unpublished poems spanning the length of her career. Second, in order to supply the necessary context for her work, it provides both a biographical sketch and a critical analysis of her complete poetic oeuvre. Ultimately, this thesis argues that a complicated and, at times, destructive struggle between the Real and the Ideal lies at the heart of Yelin's life and work. Tracing this theme through her various public, private, and poetic personae, it concludes that this poet represents a talented, tragic, and inspirational figure, whose rediscovery contributes a unique and powerful new voice to the Canadian literary canon.