The Collected Poems of A. M. Klein

'Although he was not one of the most prolific writers of his time, A.M. Klein has acquired through the excellence of his five books one of the highest literary reputation in North America. His influence on and encouragement of the younger Jewish writers of the United States and Canada is undeniable when we consider the works of such artists as Leonard Cohen, Irving Layton, Morecai Richler and numerous others. A.M. Klein's poetry draws heavily on the Jewish-North America experience. He knows the past and his traditions and expresses them with magnificence and density. His awareness of the urban-ethnic predicament and the incredible demands imposed by social difference and personal aspirations expresses itself in literary brilliance. His imagery is uniquely mythopoeic, his structures are truly elaborate ; his knowledge and understanding of the historical and the individual have remark scope and focus. The Collected poems of A.M. Klein is not only composite available collection of the poet's work, it is a testament to Klein's creative genius. He was a scholar, a politician, a social reformer, an artist, a craftsman, a dreamer....There have been very few writers like A.M. Klein.'- Publisher