Selected Poems: AM Klein

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

In 1990, Professor Zailig Pollock of Trent University prepared an
excellent two-volume Collected Poems as part of the Collected Works of
A.M. Klein series. The book under review selects Klein’s most popular,
successful, and characteristic poems from that edition, reproducing them
with shortened notes adapted for the beginning reader. It also contains
a clear and detailed introduction.

Klein is one of Canada’s most brilliant, learned, and allusive poets.
Many though not all of his poems draw heavily on his Jewish background
and depend upon a knowledge of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish traditions
that many readers do not possess. This book is designed for school and
university students of Canadian literature, for Jewish readers intent on
coming to terms with their contemporary literary heritage, and for more
general readers eager to sample one of the most satisfying poets of the
modern age. The selection of poems is admirable. Great care has been
taken to maintain a judicious balance between his Jewish and non-Jewish
poems, and to provide all readers with the kind of additional
information they need. It is clearly presented and attractively
produced. An ideal volume of its kind.