Klein, A(braham) M(oses) 1909–1972

Klein was a Canadian poet, editor, and novelist. His writing reflects and integrates the three deepest influences on his life: his Jewish environment and heritage including the Bible, the Talmud, and the cabbala; the French-Canadian milieu of his native Montreal; and his wide acquaintance with English literature, specifically Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Marlowe. His novel, The Second Scroll, emphasizes his continuing concern for the fate of Jewry and his strong support of Zionism. The Rocking Chair and Other Poems, which won the Governor-General's Award in 1948, is considered by most critics to be his best work. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vol. 101; obituary, Vols. 37-40, rev. ed.)