A. M. Klein (1909-1972), journalist and lawyer, was widely regarded as one of Canada's leading poets. His novel The Second Scroll has been acclaimed by scholars and critics as a masterpiece. He contributed significantly to the emergence of a modern, distinctively Canadian literature.

Abraham Moses Klein, born in Ratno, Ukraine, in 1909, came to Montreal as an infant with his immigrant parents and, except for a brief stay (1937-1938) in Rouyn, Quebec, lived his life there. He was brought up in a religious home, where family ties were close and affectionate. The influence of his home and of the closely-knit Jewish community during his formative years was reinforced by his biblical and Talmudic studies.

Although very much a product of the Jewish ghetto in Montreal, Klein was also influenced by the French-Canadian society with which the Jewish community was in continuing interaction. Though by no means uncritical of some...