Irving Layton is known primarily for his poetry. He edited several collections of Canadian poems and wrote social and political essays and an autobiography, Waiting for the Messiah: A Memoir (1985).

Irving Layton received numerous awards and honors from the Canadian government and from universities in Canada. He won Canada’s Governor-General’s Award in 1959 for his collection A Red Carpet for the Sun. In 1976, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition for his literary achievements. Layton received honorary doctorates from three Canadian universities: Bishop’s University in 1970, Concordia University in 1976, and York University in 1979.

Layton was honored internationally for his poetry. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature for two consecutive years (1982 and 1983) by admirers in Italy and Korea. In 1993, he was inducted into Italy’s Institute Pertini and was the first non-Italian to win the Petrarch Award, an Italian award that recognizes poetic talent. Layton’s works have been translated into numerous languages.