A. M. Klein
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Abraham Moses Klein (14 February 1909 – 20 August 1972) was a Canadian poet, journalist, novelist, short story writer and lawyer. He has been called "one of Canada's greatest poets and a leading figure in Jewish-Canadian culture." Best known for his poetry, Klein also published one
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
entitled ''
The Second Scroll ''The Second Scroll'' is a 1951 novel by the Jewish-Canadian writer A. M. Klein. Klein's only novel was written after his pilgrimage to the newly founded nation of Israel in 1949. It concerns the quest for meaning in the post-Holocaust world, a ...
'' in 1951, along with numerous essays, reviews, and short stories. Many of his lesser-known works, including several unfinished novels, were published posthumously in a series of collections from the
University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...
.


Life


Early life and publications

Klein was born in
Ratno Ratne (; ; yi, ראטנא ''Ratno'') is an urban settlement (town) in Volyn Oblast (province), located in the historic region of the Volhynia. Population: History Ratne is mentioned in old Ruthenian documents at the end of 12th - beginning of ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, but in 1910 (at age one) he immigrated with his family to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, the city in which he would live most of his life. Ratno had seen a series of
pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
and, like many Ukrainian Jews, Klein's parents sought a safer life elsewhere. As a result of the influx of Jewish immigrants to Montreal, its Jewish community flourished, even though many families lived close to the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. The family of
Irving Layton Irving Peter Layton, OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following, but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001) ...
was another notable addition to this community. Klein's father, a devout Orthodox Jew, influenced Klein's early development. The son's early education and literary interests owed much to his plan to become a
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
when he grew up, a plan that he never fulfilled. Klein attended
Baron Byng High School Baron Byng High School was an English-language public high school on Saint Urbain Street in Montreal, Quebec, opened by Governor General of Canada Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy in 1921. The school was attended largely by working-class Je ...
, an institution that would later be immortalized in Mordecai Richler's novel '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz''. There he became a friend of David Lewis, future leader of the socialist
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
. Klein introduced Lewis to his wife, Sophie Carson, when they were all students at Baron Byng. (Lewis later introduced
Irving Layton Irving Peter Layton, OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following, but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001) ...
to Klein. Klein became Layton's Latin tutor so he could pass his matriculation exams.) Klein went on to study political science, classics, and economics as an undergraduate at
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
. It was there that he met a group of poets and critics, including
F. R. Scott Francis Reginald Scott (1899–1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwe ...
and
A. J. M. Smith Arthur James Marshall Smith (November 8, 1902 – November 21, 1980) was a Canadian poet and anthologist. He "was a prominent member of a group of Montreal poets" – the Montreal Group, which included Leon Edel, Leo Kennedy, A. M. Klei ...
, who would form the foundations of the so-called Montreal Group of Poets. Klein's first submission of a poem to the Scott and Smith-edited magazine, ''The McGill Fortnightly Review'', was rejected on the basis of its author's refusal to alter the word "soul," which the editors felt was out of step with the modernist principles they espoused. Klein nevertheless became friends with the elder poets and was soon an avid modernist himself. After the ''Fortnightly Review'' folded, Klein and Lewis founded ''The McGilliad'' magazine at McGill in 1930. Klein also came under the influence of Montreal Group member Leon Edel, the future
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
biographer, who introduced Klein to the works of
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
and other writers. Klein would add Joyce to his list of lifelong fascinations, an interest that bore fruit in a complex literary study of Joyce's ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'', published posthumously in the Klein volume ''Literary Essays and Reviews''. After McGill, Klein studied law at the
Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
, where instruction was in French. He was a law partner first of Max Garmaise, whom he followed briefly to Rouyn, a small mining development in the North of Quebec. Then, back in Montreal, he joined with Samuel Chait (who was to become first president of the Federated Zionist Organization of Canada, when it was reorganised in 1967). Klein, Garmaise, and Chait had all been officers of
Young Judea Young Judaea is a peer-led Zionist youth movement that runs programs throughout the United States for Jewish youth in grades 2–12. In Hebrew, Young Judaea is called ''Yehuda Hatzair'' (יהודה הצעיר) or is sometimes referred to as ''Hasha ...
, a Zionist youth organization. In spite of his growing literary interests, Klein's early poetry of the 1920s and 1930s was largely concerned with Jewish themes, including the history of Jews in Western society ("Design for Mediaeval Tapestry"), the importance of religion as a mediating force in modern society ("Heirloom"), and tributes to important figures in Jewish culture ("Out of the Pulver and the Polished Lens," about the philosopher Spinoza). Klein published many of these early works in Canadian and American periodicals, although the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
made it difficult for him to find a publisher willing to accept an entire book. He also published two poems in the 1936 anthology of modernist Canadian poetry, ''New Provinces''. Belatedly, in 1940, Klein's first
monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
, ''Hath Not a Jew'', was published in the United States. Although the book sold poorly, many of its poems would later become standard selections in anthologies of Canadian literature and posthumous collections of Klein's work.


Literary maturity and prominence

During the Second World War, Klein published two more books, ''Poems'' and ''The Hitleriad'', both in 1944. ''Poems'' developed ideas forecast in ''Hath Not a Jew'' but also reflected Klein's anxieties over current events and the plight of Jews in the wake of the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. Poems such as "Polish Village," "Meditation Upon Survival," and "Elegy" were thoroughly contemporary accounts of persecution and suffering with which Klein, despite his relative safety in Canada, deeply sympathized. ''The Hitleriad'' was a very different work, a
mock epic Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...
written in a satirical style reminiscent of
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
in such works as
The Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess Dulness and the progress of her chosen agents as they bring ...
. In it, Klein attempted to satirize
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and his Nazi cohorts, although later critics often noted that the inescapable bitterness of the subject caused Klein's humorous intentions to run awry. Klein's greatest achievement as a poet came in 1948 with the publication of '' The Rocking Chair and Other Poems''. The book earned Klein a
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
in poetry and sold in numbers far exceeding the norm for a book of Canadian poetry. The success of the book owed much to Klein's new-found focus on domestic Canadian subjects, particularly the culture of
French Canada French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...
, which Klein, fluent in French and sympathetic to their minority status in North America, understood better than most
English-Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...
writers of his day. Along with the oft-anthologized title poem, "The Rocking Chair," a poem that uses the chair in a rural Quebec house as a
synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common Engl ...
of French-Canadian heritage, the book included such poems as "Lookout: Mont Royal," "Grain Elevator," and "The Cripples," all of which showed Klein at the height of his creative powers and survived long after as lyrical encapsulations of specific aspects and locations of Montreal. A lengthy elegy at the end of the book, "Portrait of the Poet as Landscape," reflected Klein's indignation at the general indifference of the Canadian public to its own literature. Klein's mission to Israel in 1949 on behalf of ''The Canadian Jewish Chronicle'' inspired his last major work and only complete novel, ''
The Second Scroll ''The Second Scroll'' is a 1951 novel by the Jewish-Canadian writer A. M. Klein. Klein's only novel was written after his pilgrimage to the newly founded nation of Israel in 1949. It concerns the quest for meaning in the post-Holocaust world, a ...
''. Taking cues equally from James Joyce, the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
and
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, and the events of recent history, Klein structured his novel as a series of five chapters, from
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
to
Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
, each of which corresponds to one of the five books of the
Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
. The story's narrator, an unnamed character based loosely on Klein himself, goes in search of his long-lost uncle, Melech Davidson, a Holocaust survivor who drifts to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and then
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
before immigrating to Israel. Just as the narrator is about to catch up to his mercurial uncle, Davidson is murdered by a group of
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
, leaving the end of the novel open as to whether Davidson was a
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
to the Jewish nation or a false
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
whose heroic status was inflated by his nephew's eagerness to meet his elusive uncle. Following the main narrative of ''The Second Scroll'' is a series of numbered glosses that add further commentary to the narrative in the form of poems, a
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
, a playlet, and, most notably, a meditative essay on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted by
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
. Although ''The Second Scroll'' was not a commercial success in its first edition from
Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, a subsequent re-print in Canada's
New Canadian Library The New Canadian Library is a publishing imprint of the Canadian company McClelland and Stewart. The series aims to present classic works of Canadian literature in paperback. Each work published in the series includes a short essay by another nota ...
ensured its survival as one of the significant works of modern Canadian literature.


Klein as a public figure

Aside from his writing, Klein was also an important member of the Montreal Jewish community during his lifetime. By profession he was a lawyer, and spent many years as a consultant and speech writer for
Samuel Bronfman Samuel Bronfman, (February 27, 1889 – July 10, 1971) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He founded Distillers Corporation Limited, and is a member of the Canadian Bronfman family. Biography Samuel Bronfman was born in Otaci, So ...
, owner of the
Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...
distillery. He was editor of the ''Canadian Jewish Chronicle'' from 1932 until 1955, a periodical to which he also contributed articles on such subjects as the rise of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in Germany, the social position of Jews in Canada, and the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. In 1949, Klein ran unsuccessfully for the Canadian Parliament as a member of the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
. Increasing mental illness in the following years led to a suicide attempt and hospitalisation in 1952. In 1956, he was awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal by the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
, but by then he had a complete mental breakdown. He lapsed into the mysterious silence that saw him give up writing altogether and become a
recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society. The word is from the Latin ''recludere'', which means "shut up" or "sequester". Historically, the word referred to a Christian hermit's total isolation from th ...
in his home in Montreal's Outremont district, until his death in 1972.


Legacy

''
The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...
'' states that "Klein has rightly been called the 'first contributor of authentic Jewish poetry to the English language.' His writings articulate the feelings of a generation that witnessed the destruction of European Jewry and the fulfillment of the Zionist dream." Fellow Jewish-Montrealer Leonard Cohen was an admirer who cited Klein as an influence and had written a couple of poems as well as a song, "To a Teacher," in Klein's memory. Mordecai Richler is said to have used Klein as a model for the character L. B. Berger in ''
Solomon Gursky Was Here ''Solomon Gursky Was Here'' is a novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler first published by Viking Canada in 1989. Summary The novel tells of several generations of the fictional Gursky family, who are connected to several disparate events in t ...
'' (1989). He is honoured posthumously through the A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry, presented by the Quebec Writers' Federation. A play inspired by the poems and life of Klein was produced by Tableau D'Hôte Theatre and presented at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montréal in February 2009. Klein was designated a
Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the re ...
by the federal government in 2007, and a plaque reflecting that status from the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board was unveiled in Montreal on November 19, 2017. Klein's papers are preserved in the National Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.


Publications


Published during Klein's lifetime

* '' New Provinces: Poems of Various Authors'' (one of six authors in collection) Toronto: Macmillan,
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
. * ''Hath Not a Jew...''. New York, Behrman Jewish Book House,
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
. * ''Poems''. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America,
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
. * ''The Hitleriad''. Norfolk, CT.: New Directions,
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
. * ''Seven Poems''. Montreal: The Author,
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
?. * ''The Rocking Chair and Other Poems''. Toronto: Ryerson Press,
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
. * ''
The Second Scroll ''The Second Scroll'' is a 1951 novel by the Jewish-Canadian writer A. M. Klein. Klein's only novel was written after his pilgrimage to the newly founded nation of Israel in 1949. It concerns the quest for meaning in the post-Holocaust world, a ...
''. New York: A. A. Knopf,
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
.


Published posthumously

* ''The Collected Poems of A. M. Klein''. Toronto; New York: McGraw-Hill Ryerson,
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
. * ''Beyond Sambation: Selected Essays and Editorials''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. * ''Short Stories''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983. * ''Poesie''. Roma
taly Taly (russian: Талый) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Alexandrovskoye Urban Settlement, Alexandrovsky District, Perm Krai Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ' ...
Bulzoni, 1984. * ''The Second Scroll.'' Marlboro, VT: Marlboro Press, 1985. * ''Literary Essays and Reviews'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987. * ''Doctor Dwarf and Other Poems for Children''. Kingston, ON: Quarry Press,
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. * ''Complete Poems''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. * ''Notebooks: Selections From the A. M. Klein Papers''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. * ''Selected Poems''. Seymour Mayne, Zailig Pollock, Usher Caplan, eds. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. ''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy of Canadian Poetry Online.''


Discography

* ''Six Montreal Poets''. New York: Folkways Records, 1957. Includes A. J. M. Smith, Leonard Cohen, Irving Layton, F. R. Scott, Louis Dudek, and A. M. Klein. (cassette, 60 mins).


Notes


Further reading

* Adam Sol, David S. Koffman, Gary Barwin, Michael Greenstein, Ruth Panofsky, Lisa Richter, Emily Robins Sharpe, and Rhea Tregebov
“Canadian Jewish Poetry: A Roundtable”
'' Canadian Jewish Studies / Études Juives Canadiennes'' vol. 34: (142-71), 2022. * Jesse Toufexis
“‘Westmount’s Sinai’: Projecting a Jewish Landscape onto Montreal through Fiction”
'' Canadian Jewish Studies / Études Juives Canadiennes'' vol. 31:148-58, May 2021. * Norman Erwin
“The Holocaust, Canadian Jews, and Canada’s ‘Good War’ Against Nazism”
'' Canadian Jewish Studies / Études Juives Canadiennes'' vol. 24: 103-123, December 2016. * Irving Massey
“On A.M. Klein (Review Essay)”
'' Canadian Jewish Studies / Études Juives Canadiennes'' vol. 3: (117-126), January 1995.


References

*Caplan, Usher. ''Like One That Dreamed: A Portrait of A. M. Klein''. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1982. *Hyman, Roger. ''Aught From Naught: A. M. Klein's 'The Second Scroll'. ''Victoria: English Literary Studies'', ''1999''. *Marshall, Tom, ed. ''A. M. Klein: Critical Views on Canadian Writers''. Toronto: Ryerson, 1970. *Mayne, Seymour, ed. ''The A. M. Klein Symposium''. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1975. *Pollock, Zailig. ''A. M. Klein: The Story of the Poet''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. *Smith, Cameron. ''Unfinished Journey: The Lewis Family''. Toronto: Summerhill Press, 1989. . *Waddington, Miriam. ''A. M. Klein''. Toronto: Copp Clark, 1970. *Mayne, Seymour and Rotchin, B. Glen eds. ''A Rich Garland: Poems for A. M. Klein''. Montreal: Véhicule, 1998.


External links


Canadian Poetry Online: A. M. Klein
- Biography and 6 poems (Out of the Pulver and the Polished Lens, Heirloom, For the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu, Political Meeting, The Mountain, The Elegy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, A. M. 1909 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male novelists Canadian male poets Canadian male short story writers Anglophone Quebec people Jewish Canadian writers Jewish poets Governor General's Award-winning poets Canadian modernist poets Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Writers from Montreal Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament Ukrainian Jews Ukrainian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian essayists Canadian male essayists Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons McGill University alumni Université de Montréal alumni Burials at Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, Montreal Candidates in the 1949 Canadian federal election