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Literary Collections Canadian

Notebooks

Selections from the A.M. Klein Papers

by (author) A.M. Klein

edited by Usher Caplan & Zailig Pollock

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Dec 1995
Category
Canadian, Literary, Essays, Canadian, Jewish
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802029904
    Publish Date
    Jan 1995
    List Price
    $91.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442623057
    Publish Date
    Dec 1995
    List Price
    $32.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442655690
    Publish Date
    Dec 1995
    List Price
    $35.95

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Description

Much of A.M. Klein's finest prose is to be found in the mass of uncompleted work that he abandoned at the time of his breakdown, and that became accessible only when his papers were deposited in the National Archives. Notebooks offers a generous selection of this work, revealing previously unsuspected facets of Klein's character and artistry.

The fiction, criticism, and memoirs collected here focus on Klein's exploration of the role of the artist. The works illuminate crucial periods of his career, especially the early 1940s, when he was transforming himself into a modernist, and the early 1950s, when he was struggling to overcome the misgivings about his art that were to lead to his final breakdown.

The semi-autobiographical text which Klein referred to as 'Raw Material' and the unfinished novel of prison life entitled 'Stranger and Afraid' cast a new light on Klein's often frustrating relationship with the Montreal Jewish community. In 'Marginalia' he discusses poetic form and technique and makes observations on the nature of poetry, thereby providing insights into his own concerns as a writer. In 'The Golem,' a profoundly ambiguous treatment of the act of creation, a self-portrait emerges of a storyteller who has lost faith in the power and value of his story. The volume includes a critical introduction, that places the material in the context of Klein's other works, as well as textual and explanatory notes.

About the authors

A.M. Klein (1909-1972) was a Canadian poet and writer.

A.M. Klein's profile page

Usher Caplan is an editor at the National Gallery of Canada.

Usher Caplan's profile page

Zailig Pollock is Professor of English Literature, Trent University.

Zailig Pollock's profile page

Editorial Reviews

'Notebooks is in fact a wonderful introduction to Klein's interior and physical worlds and provides solid evidence of what he might have been expected to achieve if ill health hadn't intervened. It's also, it turns out, a sketch of a very learned, very kindly, and often very funny man.'

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