Klein, A. M. (1909-1972), was a Canadian poet, novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His Jewish heritage formed a key element in most of his writings. His first book of poems, Hath Not a Jew … (1940), warmly expresses his Jewish inheritance. Poems (1944) confronts anti-Semitism and the question of evil. The Hitleriad (1944) is a long poem that satirizes German dictator Adolf Hitler. In The Rocking Chair (1948), Klein portrayed French-Canadian life, with the rocking chair symbolizing movement without progression.
Klein’s only published novel is The Second Scroll (1951). This book presents a mirror of Jewish events from 1917 to the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. The narrator of the story finds a new identity with the people of Israel and recognizes the relationship between good and evil.
Abraham Moses Klein was born on Feb. 14, 1909, in Ukraine and grew up in Montreal, Canada. He was raised in the Orthodox Jewish faith. Klein drew away from orthodoxy, but became a lifelong Zionist. He was admitted to the Canadian bar in 1933. In the mid-1950’s, Klein suffered severe emotional difficulties. He withdrew from all but his immediate family. He died on Aug. 20, 1972.
