A.M. Klein The Letters: Collected Works of A.M. Klein 9781442686502

Table of contents :
Contents
Introduction
Editorial Procedures
Acknowledgments
Biographical Chronology
The Letters, 1928–1967
The Letters 1
The Letters 2
The Letters 3
Abbreviations
Textual Notes and Emendations
Explanatory Notes
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Index

Citation preview

COLLECTED WORKS OF A.M. KLEIN THE LETTERS, 1928–1967

Klein on Hutchison Street (1940s). Courtesy of the Concordia Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies.

A.M. KLEIN

The Letters EDITED BY

Elizabeth Popham

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London

© University of Toronto Press 2011 Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com Printed in Canada isbn 978-1-4426-4107-5

Printed on acid-free and 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Klein, A. M. (Abraham Moses), 1909–1972 A.M. Klein : the letters / edited by Elizabeth Popham. (Collected works of A.M. Klein) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-4426-4107-5 1. Klein, A.M. (Abraham Moses), 1909–1972 – Correspondence. 2. Authors, Canadian (English) – 20th century – Correspondence. I. Popham, Elizabeth A. II. Title. III. Series: Klein, A.M. (Abraham Moses), 1909–1972. Collected works of A.M. Klein. ps8521.l45a4 2011

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c2011-905602-x

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its publishing activities.

Contents

introduction vii editorial procedures xxv acknowledgments xxx biographical chronology xxxi

LETTERS

3

abbreviations 279 textual notes 283 explanatory notes 329 appendix a: Arrangements for Klein’s ‘fact-finding’ visit to Israel, North Africa, and Europe [31 July–6 September 1949] and lecture tour [September 1949–February 1950] 485 appendix b: Correspondence concerning lecture engagements [March 1950–1956] 488 appendix c: Additional letters not included in this collection 493 index 499

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Introduction

All I am really interested in, above everything, is writing poetry. Everything else in my life is a mere adjunct, a means to that end ... [But] I labour at my daily tasks, and unlike a poet support my wife and children. Letter to Joseph Dainow, 27 August 1943

My ultimate purpose as a writer? To express myself; and thus, being in all essential things, save in expression, like my fellows, to express mankind; myself in Time, as centre-point between ancestry and posterity; and in Space, myself in relation to my environment, animate and inanimate, seen and Unseen. Guggenheim application, October 1943

A.M. Klein died quietly in his sleep on 20 August 1972, having lived in self-imposed exile for almost two decades in his home at 236 Querbes Avenue in Montreal. He had gradually stopped writing in the 1950s: there was no new poetry after his trip to Israel in 1948, and his attempt to write a second novel floundered; he resigned the editorship of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle in 1954, and no longer responded to letters by 1960. However, until the mid-1950s, silence and isolation were the least characteristic features of Klein’s life as a poet, novelist, journalist, and scholar who made his living as a lawyer and public-relations consultant. His voice was resonant with the cadence of a skilled orator and the passionate purpose of someone who feels himself to be – as he writes in his Guggenheim application of 1943 – at the ‘centre-point between ancestry and posterity’ [p. 77]. Almost forty years after his death, that voice remains distinct and recognizable.

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With this selection of his letters, the A.M. Klein Research and Publication Project completes the process of restoring Klein’s public voice, which began when his papers were acquired from the Klein family by the National Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada) in 1973. Previous volumes in the Complete Works series have collected Klein’s ephemeral publications in Canadian and American Jewish periodicals (short fiction, articles, and literary reviews), his poetry and his novel, and finally in the ‘Notebooks’ volume, his working papers (notes, fragmentary journals, and drafts of works abandoned and in progress). The series has followed Klein’s career as a writer from a promising apprenticeship which saw him published at the age of nineteen in the prestigious modernist journal Poetry (Chicago) to the pinnacle of public success with his winning of the Governor General’s Award for The Rocking Chair and Other Poems (1948) and the publication of his masterwork The Second Scroll (1951) by a major American publisher. It has also documented the faltering of Klein’s confident voice: preserving evidence of his compulsive revision of old poems in the mid-1950s1 and the ‘hundreds of pages of notes’ for his uncompleted final novel, The Golem – a project which never progressed beyond two chapters which focus on ‘the repeated, and repeatedly frustrated, attempts of the narrator to tell this story, a story about which he has profound misgivings.’2 This last volume in the Complete Works series adds a final piece to the emerging portrait of A.M. Klein with a substantial selection of his letters. Letters are, of course, a different species of writing than appears in the previous volumes in the series. We may speculate as to the autobiographical resonance of a poem or novel, note the personal interest that leads to the writing and publication of a review or article, or trace the evolution of themes and motifs from one work to another, but the writer of a letter speaks for himself. An exchange of letters is a private space inhabited by the correspondents. As readers, we imagine we hear the subject’s voice, and whether or not we are lucky enough to find both sides of a correspondence, we reconstruct the dynamics of the relationship. Reading chronologically through a collection of letters, we instinctively create a narrative to bridge the gaps between individual scripts. In Klein’s case, many of these gaps have been expertly glossed with documentary evidence by his biographer, Usher Caplan, in Like One That Dreamed, and Klein’s dialogue with his editors and publishers has been documented by Zailig Pollock as he traced in minute detail – literally manuscript by manuscript – the genetic code of Klein’s poetry in the two-volume Complete Poems. The correspondence between Klein and Herbert Weinstock,

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his editor at Knopf, has guided the restoration of Klein’s plan that the pages of ‘Gloss Gimel,’ Melech Davidson’s Kabbalistic reinterpretation of recent history in The Second Scroll, mirror the architecture of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.3 However, the publication of Klein’s letters as a separate volume will permit each reader to construct his or her own narrative, and so I have attempted in my annotations to facilitate the process: reconstructing the evolution of the final text where multiple drafts of letters exist, identifying correspondents and the contexts of their exchanges, preserving a sense of both sides of the correspondence where possible, and cross-referencing the contents to other volumes in the Complete Works series. That said, by way of introduction, I offer a summary of the narrative that has emerged from my own repeated reading of these fragments of Klein’s life. For those who know something of Klein’s personal history, the most surprising features of the correspondence may be the gaps. Klein was a lawyer by profession, with a secondary career as a journalist, serving from 1939 to 1954 as the editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle; he was active in the Jewish community in Montreal; he was a candidate for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party in two elections in the federal riding of Cartier; he taught for three years in the English Department at McGill University; and he was a loving husband and father of three growing children. These aspects of his life are alluded to periodically, but are not significantly represented in this volume. His controversial relationship with Samuel Bronfman, president of Seagrams Distilleries and long-time president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, who hired Klein in 1939 to serve as his speech-writer as well as a ‘public relations consultant’ is represented only sporadically. The correspondence associated with his law practice – confidential, and of little literary or personal interest – is largely absent. The exceptions are Klein’s brief letters on 5 March 1956 to his partners, Samuel Chait and Harry Aronovitch, and to the Bar Associations of Montreal and Quebec [pp. 265–7], resigning from the firm he had joined sixteen years earlier, and signalling his intention to cease practising law. These provide documentary evidence of Klein’s tragic withdrawal from the world until his death in 1972. Hints of his professional life are provided in letters to friends. For example, his letters to Joe Frank [8 January and 5 August 1938; pp. 10–11 and 13–14] remind us that he had joined his friend and partner Max Garmaise in Rouyn, Quebec in 1937, and, subsequently, the changing names and addresses on his letterhead evidence his return to Montreal in 1940, his joining Samuel Chait’s practice, and

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Harry Aronovitch’s joining the partnership in 1949. The few additional letters in the Klein papers which are related to his law practice have been omitted from this edition as disrupting the ‘narrative’ of a literary life sketched out by the majority of Klein’s letters. However, in his correspondence with publishers, writers, and literary mentors, there is a distinct sense of frustration with the necessary grind of the office. And, as most of Klein’s letters were typed by a series of secretaries, presumably from handwritten drafts or dictation, it is evident that his literary life had increasingly ‘invaded’ that space. These – together with what can be culled from the files of his correspondents – are the letters which have survived.4 Also missing from the collection are family letters, as access to family material in the Klein fonds has been sealed until 2022, fifty years after his death. But then – with the exception of his ‘fact-finding tour’ of Israel, North Africa, and Europe for the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1949, and the relentless lecture tours between 1949 and 1952, Klein was seldom absent from his family for more than a few days at a time. One ‘letter’ included here, to his future wife Bessie Kozlov, is in the form of two sonnets addressed in 1931 ‘To Bessie’ which serve as the dedication to a gift-book of the poems of Edna St Vincent Millay. In the first of these, he passionately laments that he is no Orpheus capable of making ‘trees leap and mountains shout’ [‘Here They Are – All These Sunny April Days!,’ p. 6] – all that we might wish for in a love letter from a poet to his future wife. His letters to his half-brother, Ben Weinper, concern the settlement of their mother’s tiny estate and are oddly impersonal. They are significant only because they offer a glimpse of Klein’s reverence for his mother, Yetta Klein, and his role as the manager of the family’s business.5 With the exception of his brief stint in Rouyn between 1937 and 1940, Klein lived in Montreal. As a result, his few personal letters are to close friends from high school or university whose careers had taken them away from that centre. David Lewis, his best friend at Baron Byng High School, took up his Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1933, then joined a law firm in Ottawa; he went on to become a major force in the emerging Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party, the precursor of the New Democratic Party (NDP). In 1938, Samuel Abramson fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War; he later moved to Toronto, far from ‘the flesh pots of Montreal’ – and more specifically, of Ben’s Deli [6 May 1940; p. 24] – to work with the Central Division of the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1938, and by 1952 was

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living in New York. And, finally, with the exception of F.R. Scott, the alumni of the ‘Montreal Group’ who effectively established Canadian literary modernism – Leo Kennedy, A.M. Smith, and Leon Edel – relocated to the United States. In Klein’s exchanges with these old friends, there are a few profoundly personal moments: jubilant congratulations on David Lewis’s marriage, and elation as Klein announces the birth of his first son. However, almost all his letters move quickly to some aspect of shared business: his candidacy for the CCF in the case of Lewis; the activities of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and later the internal politics of Contemporary Jewish Record, in the case of Abramson; Klein’s ‘avocation’ as a poet in the case of Kennedy and Smith, fellow poets supporting themselves in copy-writing and academia respectively; and his dream of making a major contribution to Joyce scholarship in the case of Edel, who had published on Joyce and, although working as a journalist, had by 1939 begun to establish himself as a major commentator on Henry James. Yet these letters are deeply felt and passionately expressed. What soon becomes evident is that the ‘personal life’ of A.M. Klein, the lawyer, is the life of words and ideas – of poetry – and the politics of making his voice heard. Occupying a middle ground between the practice of law and his literary enthusiasms was Klein’s ongoing work on behalf of the Jewish community and – as an offshoot – his ‘public relations’ work for Samuel Bronfman and Joseph E. Seagram and Sons. By the early 1930s, Klein was an experienced organizer for Canadian Young Judaea as well as editor of the Judaean; by 1937, he was director of ‘Publicity and Propaganda’ for the Zionist Organization of Canada, editing the monthly Canadian Zionist; by 1938, he had graduated to the position of editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, a position which until 1954 provided him with a weekly forum to address Canadian Jews in a crucial period in Jewish history, but also to publish his own poems and stories. Beginning in 1939, as assistant and speech-writer for Samuel Bronfman, then president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Klein exercised his rhetorical muscles, and soon also began freelance work for Seagram’s. In both cases, the work was political and administrative, but also occasionally literary. The inherent complexity of his work for the Congress is perhaps best illustrated by a series of individually pedestrian letters written in the summer and fall of 1939. As he had only recently accepted the position with Bronfman, they also show Klein exploring the possibilities of the position to enact his own agenda in and around his new role as Bronfman’s speech-writer. At the time, Canadian Jews were reeling at Brit-

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ain’s adoption of the MacDonald White Paper, which restricted Jewish emigration and ownership of land in Palestine.6 Klein’s editorial on the subject appeared in Canadian Jewish Chronicle on 26 May 1939. In it, he voiced the outrage of Jews at the British government’s volte-face. However, while lamenting that ‘[a] ghetto is planned where a homeland was contemplated’ [‘The White Paper’; BS, p. 51], he advised that restrained political action was the most effective way to oppose and eventually alter the policy: For sensation-seeking journalists, therefore, to speak of boycott and war against Britain is dangerous, irresponsible, prima-facie demagoguery. The battle against the White Paper is to be fought, not with boycott and Anglophobia, but with all those instruments and modalities which the Government opposition, for example, employs against unjust legislation of Governments in power. [BS, p. 52]

The next few months show the strategy of respectful dissent being put into action. On 24 August, Klein writes Oscar Cohen of the Central Division of the Canadian Jewish Congress to inquire whether the Ontario press had covered Samuel Bronfman’s recent address to the Western Conference in Calgary. This inquiry takes on a certain irony when we recognize that Klein would have written the speech which, as editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, he subsequently summarized in the August 11 issue under the headline ‘Sam Bronfman Calls Empire, Liberty’s Bulwark’ and responded to in his page 3 editorial. Here he declared that Bronfman’s speech represented a crucial communication by Canadian Jews to their countrymen that, despite ‘disappointment … in the foreign policy of England, as it is applied to Palestine,’ ‘we’ are a ‘loyal opposition’: It is well, too, that at a time when so many malicious tongues seek to describe us with venom rather than with veracity, that our positions should be made clear, and made clear by one who is authorized to speak in the name of Canadian Jewry. That our fellow-Canadians were waiting for some such expression of our national stand, moreover, is evidenced by the echo of approval which the Congress President’s remarks received in the Canadian press. Such public relations work, indeed, does more than tomes of apologetics and crates of pamphlets; it speaks that language of the day, and touches the things that count. [‘Words in Their Season,’ CJC, 11 August 1939]

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Then Klein composed and distributed ‘Bronfman’s’ New Year’s message to the Jewish press. Of course, the ‘public relations work’ for which Klein praises Bronfman was his own. While Bronfman as president of the Canadian Jewish Congress was establishing himself as the official spokesman for Canadian Jewry, Klein was working in parallel as their speech-writer and press agent. (It should be no surprise that the poetry of this period runs a parallel course as Klein experiments in poems such as ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ with ways to contain images of Jewish identity under siege within the English poetic tradition of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Byron, and Fitzgerald.) Klein would adapt the same strategy of quiet insistence on the Jewish minority’s place in the dominant community in 1947 when the Canadian Jewish Congress distributed copies of his ‘Suite Canadienne’ – for which he had recently been awarded the Edward Bland Memorial Prize by the editors of Poetry (Chicago) for ‘poetry which contributed to the alleviation of derogatory concepts of race’7 – to prominent members of the French Canadian community in an attempt to counter anti-semitism. And these tactics, in turn, foreshadowed the rhetoric Klein would use to counter racial and political slurs in 1949 as the CCF candidate in the federal riding of Cartier [letter to Maurice Hartt, 24 June 1949; p. 191]. Klein’s position as a consultant for Seagram’s distilleries, also beginning in 1939, required a less personal commitment than his work for the Congress, but occasionally made use of his skills as a writer and editor. Under Bronfman, the company expanded its in-house publishing to include not only internal newsletters and materials on distillation intended for wider distribution, but high-profile projects designed to enhance the company’s reputation as a responsible corporate citizen. Between 1947 and 1948, Klein acted as managing editor for a History of Distillation;8 and between 1956 and 1958, he provided input on ‘Partners in Democracy’: Canada and the United States9 and ‘The Next Hundred Years: A Scientific Symposium, two of several projects celebrating Seagram’s centenary;10 but he declined to write an account of the major events in Canadian history since the founding of the company on the grounds that ‘for the prestige of the House of Seagram, there is required a professional knowledge which I realize I do not have’ [7 Aug. 1957; p. 271]. The most prominent of the Seagrams prestige projects was Stephen Leacock’s Canada: The Foundations of Its Future – commissioned and sumptuously produced with colour plates by Canadian artists, and placed in every school in Canada.11 In 1941, Klein had reviewed the manuscript on Bronfman’s behalf to

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ensure that it would have the desired public relations effect, and helped to negotiate revisions [letter to Bronfman, 20 Jan. 1944; pp. 94–6]. In 1944, the Seagrams correspondence shows him reviewing a French translation of Leacock’s history for potential problems. Once again, these letters evidence Klein’s anxious attention to appearances – in this case, about how to contain potential damage to the firm’s, and Bronfman’s, reputation of seeming to condone Leacock’s racist, if humorously expressed, opinions – a result entirely counter to the intention that the translation would build bridges with French-speaking Quebec. On 20 January 1944, Klein warns Bronfman of ‘passages which permitted of two versions,’ saying that ‘in all instances, I preferred and recommended a rendering which would eliminate any possible controversy and offence, or ambiguity – and yet not be false to the original … There still remain, however, certain sections of the translated version which do trouble me, having regard to the unpredictable nature of national sensitivities’ [pp. 94–5].12 While he had ghost-written Bronfman’s preface to the English edition, Klein declined to compose the French preface, though he makes detailed and specific recommendations on its contents [pp. 95–6]. From the start, the work for Seagram’s was an important source of income, and thus, as Klein admits in the letter to Joe Dainow of 27 August 1943, ‘a mere adjunct, a means to an end …’[p. 72]. Once Klein had resigned from his law practice in 1956, maintaining his position as a ‘salaried employee of an industrial concern’ [letter to Father Murphy, 24 Jan. 1956; p. 269] was necessary to sustain the family. While they make a sad contrast with his enthusiastic engagement as a poet and scholar in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the letters of 1956 to 1958 show Klein active, if indirectly as an editor and consultant, in the presentation of words and ideas, working from home with his wife Bessie (‘BK’) acting as his secretary. Klein’s linguistic and rhetorical skills were central to his first, second, and third careers as lawyer, editor, and PR consultant; however, in the ‘literary’ correspondence which makes up most of this volume we reap the benefits of the separation between his profession and literary avocation. The treasures of this collection are Klein’s letters to other poets, scholars, and sympathetic publishers – letters in which he is committed and passionate (sometimes overly so) in his articulation of his goals and purpose as a writer. Not surprisingly, he sought professional outlets which would bring the two parts of his life into alignment: first as an academic during a threeyear term as ‘Visiting Professor of Poetry’ at McGill University (1945–8),

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and later as a public speaker. He had idealized the academic life, writing to E.K. Brown on 21 April 1943, that ‘a minor lectureship in a university … would provide me with a minimum of congenial work and a maximum of leisure to work upon the hundred “projects” which agitate me’ [p. 105]. However, on 22 January 1948, he writes to decline an invitation to deliver a lecture in the United States, indicating that he might be able to commit to a later date: I do not intend to renew my association with McGill – although I was offered a promotion – because all of the excitement and novelty of the thing has gone out. This year I am teaching the same thing I taught three years ago – such a psittacious existence is not for me. I could, of course, give new courses every year – but who wants to work like a horse even if the horse is Pegasus? So I am returning to the practise of law where the duties are less onerous and the rewards – when they come – more generous. [Letter to Shonie Levi; pp. 153–4]

Having experienced life as a university professor, he found it to be as humdrum as his detested law practice, and his ideal gravitated towards absolute freedom to devote himself to scholarship and poetry. He writes to Henry Allen Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation on 17 July 1948 for advice about possible sources of funding for his research on Joyce [pp. 166–9]. By 8 December, in a letter to Joyce scholar Ellsworth Mason, his frustration is evident: My manuscript is growing apace, and Joyce’s wonders do not cease. Hardly a week passes by without its revelation. The man is inexhaustible, has the true gift of tongues. But when I shall finish the work I do not know; again and again I am interrupted by having to make a living, not only for myself, but my wife, my three children, and my dog. O that my father had left me an estate! [p. 177]

In a letter to Leon Edel on 15 February 1949, Klein indulges in a playful fantasy that he might find ‘a patron! Somebody who can, for a dedication, a tribute, or for its own sake finance the completion of my annotation’ [p. 184]. Finding none, and having recently completed his obligation to the Canadian Jewish Congress to deliver a series of lectures on his experiences touring Israel, North Africa, and post-war Europe, he signed on for additional dates as a free-lance speaker through the Jewish Center Lecture Bureau in New York.13 The topics on which he proposed

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to speak range from the political and economic problems facing the new state of Israel to Jewish humour. He also used the public forum to hone set pieces that would be integrated into The Second Scroll and to explore aspects of Ulysses, as well as to showcase his own poetry.14 However, the lecture circuit was frustrating and physically exhausting. If only indirectly, Klein came closest to living his ideal life in his literary correspondence, particularly his exchanges with old friends A.J.M. Smith and Leon Edel, who had established themselves in the world of scholarship; with Joyce scholars Ellsworth Mason and John J. Slocum; with James Laughlin IV, who as the founder of New Directions Press was arguably one of the most important patrons of American modernism. His ego was fed by their respect, and his sense of purpose blossomed in discussion and debate. While Klein seldom shares plans for future works or works-in-progress, his careful instruction of anthologists, editors, and publishers – whether sympathetic or adversarial – provides us with valuable authorial glosses. And there are moments in which, whether out of frustration, fellow-feeling, or sheer enthusiasm, he embarks on impromptu manifestos, waxing poetic on his ‘purpose’ as a writer and, more specifically, as a Jewish writer in the English tradition, in North America, and in the contemporary historical context. In 1941, for example, Klein found himself in the unusual position of defending his decision, not merely to write on ‘Jewish’ subjects, but to write on them in English rather than Yiddish. On 21 January 1941, he responds to a critique by eminent Yiddish writer Shmuel Niger (Samuel Charney) that the ‘difficulty’ of the poems included in Hath Not a Jew ‘lies in wanting to untie the culture of one people, with the language of another people’:15 You are right when you say that my book pre-supposes on the part of the reader a knowledge of the Hebrew tradition. Apart from being written because I wished to write it, the book is addressed precisely to those who have that knowledge or those who may acquire it. In English literature reference to a so-called alien culture is not a novelty. Milton’s Paradise Lost pre-supposes great Biblical knowledge. A better example, – large tracts of English poetry assume on the part of the reader an intimate knowledge of Greek mythology and the close relationship between the various Gods and Goddesses of Greek lore. To amalgamate factors, therefore, of two cultures does not to me appear to be an impossibility – it becomes a certain failure however only when the attempt is stretched to ridiculous extremes, as for example, James Joyce’s attempt – in his Finnegans Wake – to write in a lan-

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guage which although essentially English is a composite of all the tongues and dialects of Europe. Per contra, Joyce’s Ulysses, where every chapter has its counterpart in a similar chapter of Homer’s Odyssey is to my mind a completely successful literary merger of the values of two cultures. [p. 35]

As Klein goes on to explain, the combination of two cultures is entirely natural to him as a North American Jew: ‘Certainly in a world where one culture impinges upon another, and where time and space have been considerably constricted, it is not surprising that the synthesis should be attempted’ [p. 36]. Insights are also provided into Klein’s modernist poetics. In his detailed response to A.J.M. Smith’s ground-breaking Book of Canadian Poetry (1943), he declares Smith to be the Canadian ‘Palgrave,’ the maker of the new canon of English Canadian poetry: What I was particularly pleased about is that your approach to your subject, as so admirably illustrated in your well-thought-out and fundamentally sound preface, was eclectic. You did not come to your work with the fixed ideas of a single school, even of a school of seven. You did not, merely because you stole into this century, damn with one devastating gesture, all the fathers that begat us. In every period, you found something worthwhile remembering … This is a tribute to your good taste; the peasant can stomach only one diet; the epicure enjoys all delicacies. [5 Nov. 1943; pp. 79–80]

Then, noting that ‘a number of thoughts struck me on first looking into Smith’s Homeriana,’ Klein proceeds to provide a comment on virtually every poet in the anthology – and the relative wisdom of Smith’s ‘eclectic’ and encompassing selection. And for those who assume that ethnicity precludes modernity, Klein’s commodious definition of the term is suggested by his activities in the summer and fall of that same year. His 30 November letter to Smith about the uncertain critical reception of the more ‘modern’ verse in the Book of Canadian Poetry – including his own – appears amid a series of letters in which he reluctantly negotiates revisions to Poems (1944) with the conservative editors of the Jewish Publication Society,16 submits The Hitleriad to the definitively modernist New Directions Press, which had just accepted nine of his poems for its Annual,17 and applies to the Guggenheim Foundation for a grant which would allow him to write a ‘long poem of homage to James Joyce, rhymed, and employing the linguistic technique of Finnegans Wake,’ in which he would ‘pour his unconven-

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tional language into conventional forms’ [October 1943; pp. 77–8]. As this catalogue illustrates, while Klein might voice his wish to A.J.M. Smith that influential modernist critics E.K. Brown and W.E. Collin would stop ‘flaunting my circumcision’ [30 Nov. 1943; p. 85], he was deeply committed to maintaining the Jewish focus of his writing. His plans to write a poem in honour of Joyce and a 600-line satiric ‘Essay on Law’ appear first and second on the list in his 1943 Guggenheim application of ‘themes which have been clamouring within me for utterance,’ but they are followed by ‘an updating of the fourth act of The Merchant of Venice, a oneact play set in Prague at the time of the Nazi invasion, and an ‘Askenazate Anthology’ [p. 78]. Perhaps the most extravagant commentary Klein offers on his struggle to become a successful writer while retaining his distinctly Jewish voice occurs as he and James Laughlin of New Directions Press consider how to market The Hitleriad. Having been criticized by his old friend Leo Kennedy for writing almost exclusively out of the Jewish experience and compounding the ghettoization of his work by publishing with Jewish presses,18 Klein had been determined that his satire would reach a much broader audience. After the poem had been rejected by Macmillan Canada and Klein had somewhat reluctantly offered the manuscript to the Jewish Publication Society as a follow-up to Poems (1944), he was elated when it was accepted by New Directions, a small but prestigious modernist press, and was anxious to take advantage of the opportunity.19 He bombarded Laughlin with marketing ideas, and the two speculated freely on the paradoxical prejudices of the largely Jewish elite of publishers and reviewers controlling the commercial book trade. Klein’s letter of 18 October 1944 is an unabashed rant: You are right, right, full-face, dead-centre, bullseye right! Myself I never would have volunteered that analysis of the Fadiman, Untermyer, Cerf, Keimberg attitude20 – you may think of this junta as the composite of their initials – myself, I had deluded myself into believing that this phenomenon was a social, a family secret – but if you, a non-Jew have observed it, have noted it, have written about it, – well, then the shame is out! Let it be discussed.21 [p. 114]

As the letter continues, Klein’s rhetoric intensifies into a parody of his more philosophical declarations of cultural identity, culminating in his insistence that, while he does not ‘showcase’ his Jewishness, he refuses to hide it ‘under the counter, like contraceptives.’ However, the rant

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gradually evolves into a serious statement of his own ethnic and national identity: I am the possessor, because of the education which my bearded father gave me, of a rich legacy. The burden of Jewry, for me, is not all sorrow; I own – and I am not being arrogant or literary – vast stores of cultural wealth. My grandfather may have been a peddler; but my great-great grandfather was a prophet. As for myself, I believe I still have a contribution to make as a Jew, a contribution to the culture of the group – the whole group – in which I dwell. To my country Canada I am bound by a thousand bonds, infancy, habit, nostalgia, association, paysage – all the little things that constitute true patriotism. Other cultures, therefore, I meet as an equal, not as an interloper. I travel on my own passport. [p. 115]

The rhetoric of much of this letter is in the spirit of The Hitleriad – caustic, outraged, and outrageous. Even in the context of an evolving friendship with a sympathetic publisher, it suggests a precarious tension in its author between arrogance and a dreadful anxiety that his work will not ultimately be accepted. But its conclusion evidences the intention to make space for both his ethnic and national identities, which will culminate in the sophisticated balance Klein achieves in The Rocking Chair and Other Poems (1947) and The Second Scroll (1951). The end of the war and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 raised the stakes for Klein as a Jewish writer. Nowhere is this more evident than in his letter to American poet Karl Shapiro (surviving only as a draft), exhorting him of his responsibility to write as a Jew in the historical moment: Now the continuation of our own culture stands before the Jewish writer as the challenge. The hiatus of the Diaspora has been closed – closed even for those who still remain therein. We do not write any longer in vacuo; we write in the aftermath of a great death, European Jewry’s, and in the presence of a great resurrection. Our miracle, moreover, owns to a miracle’s greatest virtue – contemporaneity. [27 Dec. 1948; pp. 180–1]

Klein’s own answer to the call is the masterful collage of prose and poetry, contemporary history and biblical allusion, documentary and myth that is The Second Scroll.22 However, having successfully placed the manuscript with A.A. Knopf, a major American press, he is adamant that the readership for his novel should not be limited to the Jewish com-

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munity. He directs explications of the novel’s ‘Christian’ parallels to A.J.M. Smith and Leon Edel, not only close friends from their days at McGill, and a fellow poet and scholar (respectively), but also influential critics who could and did assure that the novel would be reviewed in the non-Jewish literary press. When one considers that Klein the poet competed for time with Klein the lawyer, editor, and public relations consultant, as well as, for briefer periods, Klein the politician, academic, and professional speaker, the quantity and quality of his literary activity and achievement is extraordinary. Along with other members of the ‘Montreal Group,’ he was in the vanguard of Canadian modernism: despite his distinctively ‘Jewish’ voice, his poetry was acknowledged by critics W.E. Collin and E.K. Brown to be at the core of the modernist movement in Canada; his poems anchored the modernist anthology New Provinces and were staples in the anthologies of the 1940s which were remaking the canon of Canadian literature. James Laughlin anthologized his verse, issued The Hitleriad as a separate volume in New Directions’ ‘Poets of the Month’ series, which in 1943 included volumes by Dylan Thomas, Yvor Winters, Bertolt Brecht, and George Barker, and expressed interest in publishing his commentary on Ulysses. When The Rocking Chair was published by the Ryerson Press, Klein won long-awaited public recognition, including the Governor General’s Award in 1949 and the Royal Society of Canada’s Lorne Pierce Medal for contributions to Canadian literature in 1956. In 1951, The Second Scroll was published by Alfred A. Knopf, which had an option on a second novel. And for a time in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Klein was one of a select group of scholars to whom John J. Slocum was providing photostats of Joyce’s letters and manuscripts. He had published three instalments of his commentary on Ulysses, and had given an invited address to the James Joyce Society at the Gotham Book Mart in New York. Klein was in demand on the lecture circuit, both as a speaker on Jewish politics and culture and as a poet and novelist. Usher Caplan has described the Klein letters as the core element in ‘the working files of an active writer at a particular moment in his career – in this case, the moment at which it is about to end.’23 They reflect his ambitions, his strategies and work habits, his frustrations and his accomplishments. They also record the tragic loss of his distinctive voice. Read in sequence, the correspondence provides a piecemeal narrative focused on what Klein described as ‘all I am really interested in’ [letter to Joseph Daniow, 27 Aug. 1943; p. 72] – his life as a poet and scholar. This life was short, spanning the years 1929 to roughly 1954 – only twenty-five of his

Introduction

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sixty-three years. And here, in his own words, is A.M. Klein as he wished to be remembered.

notes 1 In the ‘Introduction’ to Complete Poems, Zailig Pollock observes that, while Klein wrote no new poetry after his return from his tour of Israel, he embarked on ‘impressive’ revisions to a number of major poems, including a substantial addition to ‘In Re Solomon Warshawer’ and new translations of Bialik which are ‘among the most moving poems he ever wrote’ [CP I, p. xxviii]. 2 Pollock, ‘Introduction,’ NB, p. xvii. As Pollock and Caplan note, ‘In contrast to the two opening chapters, the rest of the “Golem” material consists of an extremely miscellanous collection of notes, ranging from lists of words and phrases to passages of continuous prose’ [NB, p. 161] 3 See Klein’s 10 April 1951 letter to Herbert Weinstock, his editor at Alfred A. Knopf [209–10]. For a history of their negotiations of the design of ‘Gloss Gimel,’ see SS, pp. 110–11. 4 The ‘invasion’ of Klein’s professional space was not limited to his literary correspondence. Caplan cites an anecdote by Wynne Francis, a former colleague at McGill who, visiting Klein in his law office in 1950, found him surrounded by ‘an immense array of papers and books’: ‘the books were Browne’s Religio Medici and Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy, and he was at work on his Joyce’ [LOTD, p. 184]. 5 The text of these letters are not reproduced in this volume, but dates and summaries of their contents are listed in appendix C, pp. 495, 497. 6 See Klein’s editorial, ‘The White Paper,’ which appeared in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle on 26 May 1939 [BS, pp. 51–3], and the note on ‘right to purchase land … to breathe and live’ in the letter to Leo Kennedy, 15 Mar. 1940 [pp. 22–3]. 7 The award recognized seven poems from Klein’s ‘Suite Canadienne’ published in Poetry 70 ( July 1947), pp. 175–81. The Canadian Jewish Congress republished them in pamphlet form under the titles Poems of French Canada (1947), Seven Poems (1947), and (with the addition of a French preface and ‘Parade of St. Jean Baptiste’) Huit Poèmes Canadiens (1948). As Klein writes Frank Flemington of Ryerson Press, ‘several thousand copies’ were distributed ‘throughout the province by the Canadian Jewish Congress as part of its public relations work’ [6 Mar. 1948; p. 159]. For details of the campaign’s reception, see Pierre Anctil, ‘The Poet and His Relations with French Can-

xxii

8 9 10 11 12

13

14

15 16

17 18

Introduction

ada,’ in The Jews of North America, ed. Moses Rischin (Detroit: Wayne State University Press 1987), pp. 247–64. See the letters to Argus Tresidder between July 1947 and January 1948 [pp. 141–6 and Appendix C, p. 496]. See the letters to Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr, of 14 Mar., 28 June, and 21 Aug. 1956 [pp. 268, 269, 270]. See the letter to Bronfman, 6 Jan. 1958 [p. 273]. See Carl Spandoni, ‘Leacock’s Canada: The Book That Booze Bought,’ Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 26 (1987): 88–105. Samples of potentially incendiary comments from the English text are Leacock’s descriptions of Louis Riel as ‘a cracked visionary who had enough meglomania for two rebellions and not enough capacity for one,’ and Thomas Scot as ‘a man reckless and fearless, jeering at Riel with the contempt of a brave man for a coward’ (Canada: The Foundations of Its Future, pp. 165–6). For further examples, see the notes on ‘large scale immigration’ and ‘Louis Riel’ in Klein’s letter to Bronfman (20 Jan. 1944) [pp. 387–8]. Appendix A contains two letters from Saul Hayes of the Canadian Jewish Congress outlining the plans for Klein’s trip and his obligations to lecture on his return [pp. 485–7]. The texts of letters concerning his many lecture engagements between 1950 and 1956 are not reproduced in this volume. However, a complete list of this correspondence appears in appendix B [pp. 488–92]. Appendix B in The Second Scroll contains a transcription of the first speech in Klein’s lecture tour for the Canadian Jewish Congress, delivered at the convention in Toronto on 24 October 1949, as well as his manuscript notes for other speaking engagements [SS, pp. 205–19]. Charney’s letters to Klein are in Yiddish; I am extremely grateful to Mildred Gutkin for this translation. On 25 June 1943, Louis E. Levinthall of the Jewish Publication Society had written to accept the collection, but negotiations continued throughout the fall, as the press was demanding revisions to poems which members of the board found objectionable or ‘obscure.’ Klein responded with detailed explanations of his poems. Letters to James Laughlin, New Directions Press, 12 Jan. 1944 and 10 Sept. 1943 (respectively) [pp. 90 and 73–4]. For example, on 26 October 1940, Kennedy writes of ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’ that ‘it is the same poem you’ve been writing for thirteen years by my count. Your Jew has been persecuted in Prague of the middle ages, in Amsterdam, in the bailiwick of Pan Stanislaus, in Palestine, and now in latter-day Warsaw. Intentionally or not, you are a writer of propaganda

Introduction

19 20

21

22 23

xxiii

poems, and the propaganda appeals only to a small group, the middle-class Jews. If you’re content to be another Ludwig Lewisohn, it’s all right. But I know you’ve no kidney for that cheap faker, and so I say, Abe, my friend, if you want a wide audience, you have to write more widely’ [Klein, LAC – MS 100–1]. On 12 November 1940, Kennedy writes, ‘I’m going to write an article about you that won’t be the kind of thing we wrote about each other ten years ago … I’ll probably lambaste you somewhat because I think you’re endangering your early success in a narrow confinement’ [Klein, LAC – MS 111–12]. See the 30 November 1943 letter to James Laughlin [pp. 83–4]. Clifton Fadiman was a reviewer and anthologist; Louis Untermeyer was a poet, translator, and anthologist; and Bennett Cerf was publisher of Random House Books and the Modern Library series. All were extremly influential. ‘Keimberg’ (also referred to in Klein’s letters to Laughlin as ‘Kip’) may be a misspelling of the surname of poet and anthologist Alfred Kreymborg, who had published Klein’s poems in his American Caravan. His name seems to have been added to the list primarily because the letter ‘K’ filled out Klein’s acronym. Ironically, Klein’s public relations campaign for The Hitleriad was modelled point-by-point, right down to seeking the approval of Roosevelt, on Clifton Fadiman’s guide to making a ‘best seller’ in the informal prologue to the anthology Readings I’ve Liked, Personal Selections from Two Decades of Reading and Reviewing (New York: Simon & Schuster 1941). ‘Introduction,’ SS, pp. vii–xxvi. LOTD, p. 218.

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Editorial Procedures

contents and presentation The letters collected in this volume are – with the exception of two letters to Morris Laub which were published in the Congress Bi-Weekly (22 December 1972) – transcriptions of unpublished manuscripts, many with minor revisions by Klein. We are fortunate in the cases of four of Klein’s publishers ( Jewish Publication Society, New Directions Books, Alfred A. Knopf, and The Ryerson Press), and several individual correspondents (e.g., Samuel Abramson, Leon Edel, Leo Kennedy, Samuel Charney, Ellsworth Mason, and John J. Slocum), that responses to Klein’s letters have been preserved. Whenever possible, the resulting dialogue has been summarized in the explanatory notes. In cases where multiple drafts of letters exist or revisions have been made, the latest version has been followed. As a rule, Klein’s originals are followed in accidentals as well as substantives. However, obviously inconsistent or incorrect spellings and punctuation have been emended. The following categories of accidentals have been regularized in accordance with the ‘house’ style of the University of Toronto Press: capitalization of titles, quotation marks (single, with double quotation marks for interior quotations); and ellipsis points (triple throughout). Foreign words and phrases have been italicized, as have titles of books (e.g., Hath Not a Jew). In the case of ‘The Hitleriad,’ the title is italicized only when the reference is to the book title rather than a poem. Substantive emendations have been made only when the text is incoherent as it stands because a word has been left out or a passage has been incompletely revised. In most cases, the correct alternative has been obvious; in all of these cases, the emendation has been noted.

xxvi

Editorial Procedures

In transcribing handwritten letters, it has been necessary to make choices about the formatting of the text: the treatment of numbering, subheadings, line spacing, indentation, and quotations. A certain degree of normalization has been necessary; however, Klein’s apparent intentions have been used as a guide in all cases. In those occasional instances where multiple drafts exist, the textual notes reflect the evolution of the document. Editorial commentary in the text has been kept to a minimum. Where the text is illegible, missing words or letters have been indicated by brackets enclosing ellipsis points, each point corresponding to a single letter: for example, ‘its own c[...]’ or ‘ab[..]t.’ Where it is impossible to distinguish individual letters, or where a larger block of text is indecipherable, the gap in the text is indicated by empty brackets: for example, ‘question of [ ].’ Uncertain readings are followed by a question mark in brackets: for example, ‘story written by us[?].’ In those rare instances where a word necessary to the sense of a sentence has been omitted, ediorial additions have been indicated within brackets: for example, ‘to [do] this ...’ Where Klein consistently misspells a name or title (e.g, ‘Rolph’ for ‘Ralph’ and Finnegan’s Wake for Finnegans Wake), the text has been corrected and the original spelling has been indicated in the textual notes with ‘[sic].’ As Klein himself uses ‘(sic)’ frequently in his letters, all instances in the text of the letters are his own: for example, in his 14 May 1945 letter to the editors of Circle magazine, he makes the ironic observation that, ‘as a leading Canadian poet (sic), I have been anthologized, publicized, criticized …’ Probable dates for undated letters are indicated in brackets: for example, ‘[4 Mar. 1966].’ textual notes The textual notes for each letter consist of (1) a notation of date and correspondent; (2) indication of the source and location of the letter; (3) a physical description of the manuscript; and (4) a list of variations and emendations. The physical description – handwritten or typed, on plain paper or letterhead, carbon or original script – is designed to indicate something of the nature of the correspondence. In most cases, typing has been done by a secretary from dictation or a handwritten draft. Thus, accidentals

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(spelling, punctuation) often cannot be attributed to Klein himself, but to someone struggling with his handwriting (and especially, his suspiciously drifting quotation marks and apostrophes) or unusually sophisticated, and occasionally multi-lingual, vocabulary. Attempts to describe the appearance of the page – for example, interlining, additions in the margins, overwriting, crossing-out – have been made only where such information is necessary to indicate the sequence of Klein’s revisions. In such cases, the following formula has been used: ____ altered to ____. Marginal notations in other hands (e.g., ‘Marginal note upper right corner, page 1, “HW 10-22-51.”’) have been indicated where they reflect the correspondent’s response to Klein’s letter. Variants and emendations are listed together. explanatory notes The explanatory notes identify Klein’s correspondents, provide necessary information about his life and times, gloss obscure terms and references, and sources and allusions. When relevant, parallels are drawn from Klein’s other writings. Klein’s published writings are quoted from the Collected Works of A.M. Klein, published by the University of Toronto Press. appendices Klein’s correspondence is supplemented by three appendices. Appendix A reproduces two letters from Saul Hayes of the Canadian Jewish Congress, detailing arrangements for Klein’s ‘fact finding’ tour of Israel and Europe (31 July to 6 September 1949) and the lecture tour which followed (October 1949 to February 1950). This trip provided raw material for The Second Scroll, and launched Klein on a six-year supplementary career as a freelance public speaker. Only seven of fifty-six letters associated with Klein’s speaking engagements are reproduced in this volume, but all are catalogued in appendix B. Appendix C lists and briefly annotates other letters from Klein which have not been included in the selection.

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Acknowledgments

This volume of The Collected Works of A.M. Klein – the final in the series – is the product of the combined efforts of many individuals. Klein’s correspondence has been amassed by a team of scholars over a period of over thirty years. The process began with Dr Usher Caplan’s accumulation of materials for his documentary life of Klein, Like One That Dreamed, and his subsequent cataloguing of the manuscripts which now form the Abraham Moses Klein fonds in Library and Archives Canada. This was the foundation on which this selection of Klein’s letters has been built. Subsequently, the editors of each successive volume of The Collected Works contributed letters and interpretations, and the project benefitted from the advice of the members of the A.M. Klein Research and Publication Committee: Dr Usher Caplan, Professor Noreen Golfman, Dr Harold Heft, Colman Klein, Sandor Klein, Professor Seymour Mayne, Dr Linda Rozmovits, Professor M.W. Steinberg, Dr Robert Taylor, and especially Professor Zailig Pollock, the project’s general editor. Dr Harold Heft tracked down Klein’s correspondence with Joyce scholar John J. Slocum and the ‘lost’ Guggenheim application of 1947. Dr Usher Caplan, Didi Pollock, and Professor Zailig Pollock generously provided translations of Hebrew and Yiddish words, phrases, and letters; and Dr Muriel Gutkin translated the Yiddish letters of Samuel Charney (Shmuel Niger). Library and Archives Canada and the Archives of the Canadian Jewish Congress were most helpful in making available their A.M. Klein collections and related material, and in providing special use of their facilities. Numerous other libraries have also contributed letters from Klein’s correspondents: the American Jewish Historical Society, Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center, and YIVO Institute; the E.J. Pratt Library at Victoria College, the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas at

xxx

Acknowledgments

Austin, and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto; the libraries of the Universities of Chicago, Saskatchewan, and Western Ontario; Concordia, Queen’s, and Yale Universities; and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The Trent University Library and, especially, its interlibrary loan department were also most helpful. Others who provided assistance of various kinds are Jennifer Bistolas, Catherine Downey, Luke Tromly, and Professor Fred Tromly. The financial assistance provided to the A.M. Klein Research and Publication Committee by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada was invaluable in furthering the work of the committee and the preparation of this edition, and has been very much appreciated. Finally, the project would not have been possible without the permission of Colman and Sandor Klein to publish their father’s letters. On behalf of the scholars associated with the A.M. Klein Research and Publication Project, I wish to thank them for their good will and continued support.

Biographical Chronology

1909 born to Kalman and Yetta Klein, orthodox Jews, in Ratno, a small town in the Ukraine, and brought to Montreal with his family, probably the following year (officially claimed to have been born in Montreal, 14 February 1909). 1915–22 attended Mt Royal School. Received Jewish education from private tutors and at Talmud Torah. 1922–6 attended Baron Byng High School. 1926–30 attended McGill University, majoring in classics and political science and economics. Active in Debating Society with close friend David Lewis. Founded literary magazine, the McGilliad, with Lewis in 1930. Associated with ‘Montreal Group’ of poets and writers, including A.J.M. Smith, F.R. Scott, Leo Kennedy, and Leon Edel. Began publishing poems in the Menorah Journal, the Canadian Forum, Poetry (Chicago), and elsewhere. 1928–32 served as educational director of Canadian Young Judaea, a Zionist youth organization, and edited its monthly magazine, the Judaean, in which many of his early poems and stories appeared. 1930–3 studied law at the Université de Montréal. 1934 established law firm in partnership with Max Garmaise, and struggled to earn a living during the Depression. Served as national president of Canadian Young Judaea.

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Biographical Chronology

1935 married Bessie Kozlov, his high school sweetheart. 1936 active in publicity and educational work, and on speaking tours, for the Zionist Organization of Canada, and editor of its monthly, the Canadian Zionist. 1937 moved to Rouyn, a small mining town in northern Quebec, to join Garmaise in law practice there. 1938 returned to Montreal, and re-established law practice in association with Samuel Chait. Assumed editorship of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, to which he contributed numerous editorials, essays, book reviews, poems, and stories. 1939 began his long association with Samuel Bronfman, noted distiller and philanthropist and president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, working as a speech-writer and public relations consultant. 1940 first volume of poems, Hath Not a Jew, published by Behrman’s in New York. 1942–7 associated with the Preview group of poets, F.R. Scott, Patrick Anderson, P.K. Page, and others; and with the First Statement group, in particular Irving Layton. 1944 The Hitleriad published by New Directions in New York. Poems published by the Jewish Publication Society in Philadelphia. Nominated as CCF candidate in federal riding of Montreal-Cartier, but withdrew before the election of 1945. 1945–8 served a three-year term as visiting lecturer in poetry at McGill University. 1946–7 wrote his first novel, an unpublished spy thriller, ‘Comes the Revolution’ (later retitled ‘That Walks Like a Man’), based on the Igor Gouzenko affair. 1948 The Rocking Chair and Other Poems published by Ryerson in Toronto. Begins correspondence with Joyce scholars, Ellsworth Mason and John J. Slocum.

Biographical Chronology

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1949 published the first of several articles on James Joyce’s Ulysses. Ran unsuccessfully as CCF candidate in the federal election of June 1949. Awarded the Governor-General’s Medal for The Rocking Chair. Journeyed to Israel, Europe, and North Africa in July and August, sponsored by the Canadian Jewish Congress, and published his ‘Notebook of a Journey’ in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle. 1949–52 travelled widely in Canada and the United States, addressing Jewish audiences, principally concerning the State of Israel. 1951 addressed the James Joyce Society in New York. The Second Scroll published by Knopf. 1952 adapted Pedro Bloch’s The Hands of Eurydice (retitled Conscience) for the New York stage: the play closed after two days. Increasing signs of mental illness. 1954 hospitalized for several weeks in the summer of 1954 after a thwarted suicide attempt. 1955 resigned from editorship of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle. Ceased writing and began to withdraw from public life. 1956 resigned from law practice and became increasingly reclusive. Awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal by the Royal Society of Canada. 1971 death of Bessie Klein, 26 February. 1972 died in his sleep, 20 August.

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THE LETTERS, 1928–1967

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To Harriet Monroe, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE 4267 Clarke St. Montreal, Que. May 13, 1928 My dear Miss Monroe In answer to your inquiry whether I would be willing to have you accept my ‘Sequence of Songs’ with the corrections and omissions you suggest, I may say that, like Barkis, I am willing. I have re-read my copy of the Sequence and have seen that it contains a good number of bad lines … which you have not overlooked. It is because I am heartily in accord with all the suggestions that you have made that I do not enclose a re-typed copy but do rather rely on you making the necessary corrections in your own. Thanking you for the acceptance, I am Very sincerely yours Abraham M. Klein

To Rose Carlofsky Dec. 22, 1928 My dear Rose, I received your letter a few days ago but was unable to answer immediately, being, as you most prophetically conjectured, exceedingly occupied, first with preparation for exams, secondly with exams, and thirdly with post-mortem reflections after exams. By way of reaction to all this unpleasantness, therefore, I am writing to you. Your poem is an excellent piece of modernism, but of that modernism which has little in its favour except vogue. I know that poetry can sometimes be depressing, (witness Wordsworth) I would like it to be beautiful, and I may say that ash cans, though realistically true, greet me with a very unwelcome familiarity … Please send me some poems written in the style of the one which appeared in the Vanguard; I believe that it is excusable to murder if only to be able to write such epitaphs thereafter.

4

Letters 1931

I am enclosing herewith some records of my poetical novitiate written some two years ago, and which I, in my paternal mercy, have preserved. I will not praise them beyond saying that they have been praised … ‘Symbols’ you will notice is an exercise infant, with rhymes; ‘Last Will & Testament’ an exercise in fantastic rhymes. The ‘sonnet’ is the result of brooding too much on what Keats called ‘being half in love with easeful Death. / Calling him soft names in many a musèd rhyme’ – ‘Midnight Awakening’ is midnight awakening. Perhaps I have said too much about my own. Pardon, then, the exuberance of the Creator; even God said ‘It is good!’ As for me, life is a series of boredoms interrupted by ennui … Occasionally, however, I find an ephemeral preoccupation; poems follow … Otherwise I make life interesting for myself by making it dull for others, – I edit the Judaean. Have you received the last issue? – Am I curious beyond the bounds of decorum if I ask you to write me more about yourself beyond telling me that life is dull and the excise department duller? Do not dispense such merely with a blasé gesture. When are you coming to Montreal again? I believe that I may be in Ottawa during the week-end of the 30th [..] in my capacity as educational director of Canadian Young Judaea. However of that I am not as yet sure. If, however I do come, I suppose that I will be able to see you. N’est-ce pas? But brevity being the soul of wit, I believe that I have been soul-less long enough, and therefore conclude Sincerely yours Abraham M. Klein P.S. Forgive the punctured stationery. P.P.S. Forgive the stenographic hieroglyphics.

To Harriet Monroe, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE April 19, 1931. 4455 St. Urbain St., Montreal, Que. Poetry Magazine 232 East Erie St Chicago, Ill.

Letters 1931

5

My dear Miss Monroe I want to thank you for the encouraging note which I received from you a few days ago. Upon your invitation I am forwarding a set of poems, ‘Heirlooms’ which, I fear, may need some explanation, if not apology. ‘Ave atque Vale,’ I believe is quite clear except for the catalogue of rabbinic worthies. ‘Reb Levi Yikschok’ is a saint in the Hebrew calendar who is noted for his intimate and almost Blake-like, conversations with deity. His theology reads like a divine comaraderie. ‘Plumaged Proxy’ refers to the custom, still observed by orthodox Jews, which enjoins the pious to slay a rooster as proxy for the sinful soul before the Day of Atonement. The ritual killing of the fowl is preceded by the intonation of a prayer, while the rooster is circled over the head. ‘Scribe’ – the scrolls of the law are written entirely by hand, and particular care must be taken to preserve the sanctity of the work. I believe, Miss Monroe, that the aforesaid is sufficient apologie pro versis meis. Sincerely Abraham M. Klein

To the Jewish Publication Society 4455 St. Urbain St. Sept. 16, 1931. The Jewish Publication Society Philadelphia, Pa. Dear sirs: Enclosed you will find manuscript for a volume of verse which I would be pleased to have you consider. Its contents are mainly Hebraic, and are the result of several years’ work. Most of these poems have already appeared in magazines, my work having been published in The Menorah Journal, Poetry Magazine, The American Caravan, The Jewish Tribune, The Jewish Standard, The Canadian Mercury, The Canadian Forum, Braithwaite’s Anthology, and many others.

6

Letters 1931

I hope that you will give ‘Greeting on this Day’ the shalom that it deserves. Sincerely yours Abraham M. Klein

To Bessie Kozlov [Oct. 1931] To Bessie: Here they are – all those sunny April days! The sticky buds upon the maple-trees; The dawns; the dewdrops juggling the sun’s rays; The robins prim, and the swashbuckling bees. And more than that. Here June, and dog roses – Do you recall the bush we plucked ours from? The tall grass bent where lovers hid to kiss; Unchristened fieldflies, and their heathen hum. I cannot bring a forest on my back; Nor pull the lining of my pockets out, Dropping a sun or moon; nor can I crack A whip, and have trees leap and mountains shout. But what I can do, failing such magic bright, Is bring these, as I do, in black and white. – Abbie. Oct., 1931. Think not, my dear, because I do not call You darling names over the tea and cakes, Nor sigh, nor stroke your fingers, nor speak small, Nor point to show the parlour my heart aches, Think not I love you less. Not I the man To wait until the sewing-circle hoves In sight, then love according to a plan, And set the gossips talking of two doves. Too much the mine to show it to the mob,

Letters 1933

7

Or tattoo it upon my arm, or wear It dangling public from my watch’s fob, Your first-name, which is ours, and not to share. It is enough the sparrow on your sill Already knows our love, as others will.

To the Jewish Publication Society February 3, 1932 Jewish Publication Society, S.E. Cor. Broad and Spring Garden Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. U.S.A. Dear Sirs: Sometime in August of 1931 I forwarded to you the manuscript for a book of poems called, ‘Greeting on this Day.’ In reply you wrote me that it was to be considered at a meeting of your committee in September. As yet I have not heard from you. Will you kindly favour me with a reply as to your intentions in this matter? Yours very sincerely, Abraham M. Klein 4455 St. Urbain St. Montreal, Canada AMK/EW

To Joseph Frank September 25, 1933. My dear Joe, Many thanks for your very charming note and book accompanying. I may say that I have felt highly honoured in being the christener (?)

8

Letters 1935

of your daughter, and that I have considered myself as much responsible for the establishing of the identity of your daughter, as, saving your grace, yourself. Bessie, too, joins with me, in wishing Rose, yourself, and the little one, all happiness and joy during the coming year. May you be a trinity forever flourishing! Sincerely Abraham M. Klein.

To David Lewis [24 Nov. 1934] 298 CC 1133 24 Montreal 27 MR DAVID LEWIS LINCOLN COLLEGE OXFORD MR SPEAKER SIR CONGRATULATIONS STOP I TOO WILL BE PRESIDENT OF A UNION SHORTLY STOP LETTER FOLLOWS STOP FRATERNALLY = ABE A.M. Klein

To the Jewish Publication Society March 1st, 1935. Dr. Isaac Husik, c/o Jewish Publication Society of America, Broad & Spring Garden Sts., Philadelphia. Dear Dr. Husik: – Many thanks for your invitation to present my manuscript for examination before the Jewish Publication Society. I am most willing to comply

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9

with your request; the manuscript will be forwarded to you in the course of a few days. I must say that Mr. Ludwig Lewisohn, who has frequently and favourably commented upon my work, has in his possession a copy of ‘Gestures Hebraic,’ in which I understand he is trying to interest the Harper people. As he is now travelling on a lecture tour, I have not heard from him for some time. I am free to say however, that to date no definite berth has been found for these wandering verses; and as for myself, the imprimatur of the J.P.S. would be most acceptable to me. I am sending you some of the poems that I think ought to be included in the volume dubbed ‘Gestures Hebraic.’ I shall of course, be pleased to hear from you, as to any suggestions you may have concerning deletions, exclusions, inclusions, sequence, etc. A great number of these poems have already been published in various periodicals; to the manuscript I am appending a list showing where and when. I would appreciate it if you could write me your reaction and the reactions of your Society to this volume, at your earliest convenience, so that if our negotiations fail – against which event I most sincerely hope – my chances with Harper’s may not be jeopardized. Sincerely, Abraham M. Klein AMK/S

To W.E. Collin July 13th, 1936 Professor Collin, 202 Oxford Street West, London, Ont. My Dear Collin: This is to thank you for the copy of your White Savannahs but more particularly for the contents thereof.

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Letters 1938

Will you be passing thru these parts this Summer? If so, do let me know as I would like to shake the hand that wrote the book that gave me pleasure. Yours truly, A.M. Klein AMK:mz

To David Lewis 1937 JUL 5 AM 10 54 FD MONTREAL QUE 5 1047A DAVID LEWIS CARE SMART AND BIGGAR VICTORIA BLDG OTTAWA ONT REARMAMENT POLICY IN FULL SWING STOP SON BORN STOP ENTIRE BATTALION INCLUDING FATHER DOING WELL ABE. A.M. Klein

To Joseph Frank Jan. 8, 1938. My dear Joe, Just a note to congratulate you upon your recent election to the C.Y.J. presidency. It was, as I told you about six years ago, and again this last summer, a consummation greatly to be desired. But you, like Caesar, twice refused the crown. Now, at last, the vox populi has divinely conquered. I would have written you long ere this, but acclimatizing myself to this Nordic environment has left its mark upon my correspondence. How-

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ever, now my ways run along a more even tenor, and I do hope to hear often from you. From these quarters you know that no great intellectual news can be forthcoming. As for financial apocalypses, underground mining, like overground nature, begins to blossom only in the spring. As for ourselves, we are getting along nicely, doing justice unto others and unto ourselves. We are getting a little but not too much of the sacred ore of our ancestors. And when the days’ clients, confident and at ease (and in no way patronizing, like the Montreal ones), leave our offices, we return to our homes, Max to work on some abstruse bridge problem, and I to play with my little boy, and write some lines of a play in verse that I am writing – on industrial strife – dubbed ‘Barricade Smith.’ So, for the nonce, enough; and more anon. With kindest personal regards to Rose, the kids, and all our mutual friends, Abe.

To Samuel H. Abramson P.O Box 20 Rouyn, Que. June 4, 1938. My dear Sam, If I have not written to you earlier, it has surely not been because you have vanished out of my memory and mind. Often have I thought of you, and the splendid thing you did and are doing. He is a liar and a would-be breaker-up of friendship who dares to say that I ever spoke in other than in proud and glowing terms of your great adventure. Would that I, too, were to be counted amongst your sodality! Since the receipt of your letter – I blush to note its date, October 11th 1937 – I have often thought of writing you in ink green with envy, but somehow the colour escaped me, and I, Homer ben Homer, nodded. Several months ago I did write three poems dedicated to S.H.A. – and they are better and worthier than a prothalamium – and they have this

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month been published in the Canadian Forum. I send you a copy, and may they bring confusion to the rebels, and Francruptcy to Fascism! For a time I was much discouraged by what looked like imminent defeat to the people of Spain, but recently I have been heartened by the reports which seem to indicate that the fessistes, as we call them here in Quebec, from the French fesse, a tochos, are as yet far from sitting in Madrid. Good luck, therefore, to you, and may you live to spit on Franco’s tomb, and report how you did it, à la Louis Fitch, in a lecture to the Y.M.H.A. Confessionally speaking, I was once of the opinion that I didn’t give a hoot in hell about civil war in Spain. I felt a sort of postponed vicarious feeling of revenge for the Spanish Inquisition. Let them decimate themselves, I said, to the greater rejoicing of us marranos. But ’tis not so. You are fighting the Torquemados and Don Pedros of to-day. As for Zionism, it is still a noble enterprise, and in a world set up as it is at present, you can hardly blame us for the fact that our interests happen to be tied up to those of Britain. She is still the friendliest ally; and in realpolitik, you must work with what you have, and not with what you would like to have. Politics is not waged in a no-man’s land; its nature abhors a vacuum. As for England’s screwings, as you term them, they are, as the sybarite would say, at least done with delicatesse, and not like other nations, whose perfidious fornications are accompanied, characteristically enough, with flagellation. As for myself things are running along the even tenor of the bourgeois way; I am paterfamilias, constant reader, and citizen all in one. Until it hurts. No adventure, all routine. But it has its compensations. I have a lovely son who thrives in this northern clime, and who probably will become a lumberjack, and true proletarian. Max, too, has contributed his share to the Malthusian practise; result, a little girl. Negotiations are going on apace between the two families for a shidduch, but Max is not offering enough. After all, I have the boy! And the value of boys can best be appreciated by you, in the midst of a civil war. How about you? Can you get yourself a leave of absence, and arrange personally to produce your own re-enforcements, to take up your place in twenty years. It seems that long since the war has lasted. We organized an Habonim lodge here in Rouyn – how other-worldly that must seem to you! – and Bernard Cohen came up to install the officers and make the principal address. He associated the Jewish problem with Fascism – which is fair enough – and then proceeded to show how

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Japan, Germany and Italy, were doomed to collapse. He may have been right, but it was amusing to watch the serious Cohen, in his nineteenth century manner, proceed to do battle with Fascism, from the vantage point of the mizrach of a synagogue, and bring down single-handed and alone, Germany, Japan, & Italy, to ignominious defeat. When are you coming home? It would be good to see you again in our old haunts, and kibbitz, and shmooze. And then have you scram at the drop of a skirt. Do drop me a note; and in the interim, the best of luck. Abe.

To Joseph Frank August 5th, 1938. Mr. Jos. N. Frank, c/o Bush Service Corporation, 417 St. Peter St., Montreal, Quebec. My Dear Joe: Many thanks for your breezy little epistle of the second. You do me wrong when you assume that I have become a Pharaoh who knows not Joseph; oft in the stilly watches of the night, as I stood beneath the pyrotechnics of our Northern Lights, and reflected upon the moon, that golden nugget, and the constellations, that rich ore, I have thought of you who understand equally well the metal market and the ‘lands of gold’ through which Keats travelled. You should have been a Dutch Mynherr chaffering for tulips on the Amsterdam exchange. Wherefore, to anything I pen which goes into print, you have the undoubted right of first edition. Indeed, I thought that you had seen the three poems I had dedicated to Sam, in the Canadian Forum of June, 1938. I have only one copy of it, and so am sending you a transcript. The Forum has also accepted a series for publication in future issues, dubbed ‘Barricade Smith; his speeches’ – intended as revolutionary, but remember, I am only a snuff-tobacco

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bandit armed with tzitzith and tfillin. Am also at work on a poetic rendition of Rabbi Nachman Bratzlaver’s ‘Tale of the Seven Beggars,’ highly metaphysical, deeply religious – which I am, in an unorganized way – and one of the few examples of autochthonous Yiddish short story. Have also translated one of Rabbi Jehuda Halevi’s love poems into Rubaiyat form. It was published in the Reconstructionist, a literary yarmulka and I enclose a copy. But what I am proudest of, is an opus ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ – Byron also wrote one – which is appearing in Stephen Wise’s Opinion. I send you the galley proofs. So I have not, as you see been resting on my laurels. As for my book – may my publisher be drowned in ink, may he be crushed between presses, may the printer’s devil take him – he is giving me the runaround. The contract is signed. The manuscript has been made up, but the publisher stands, like life, between me and immortality. Your gossip about Montreal is quite interesting. I do frequently miss my Montreal friends, and the Montreal scene. It is only my work which saves me from becoming provincialized in an atmosphere of bridge and boorishness. If it were not for the fact that I am getting my due share of the world’s goods here, with sure prospects of more to come, I would have abandoned my exile long ago. Why, I sometimes, like a worm nostalgic for its horse-radish, get lonesome even for some of the metropolitan shtunks you mention. My son is getting along splendidly, may no jettatura assail him! He has my wife’s sweet complexion, and my sour selfishness. He’s fat and merry and busy, and thinks the world a flower for his little nose. He makes me believe that, after all, the chromosome is the true passport to deathlessness. Nothing more for the nonce. Perhaps I shall see you at the Habonim Convention. The Garmaises send their best, and my menage too, to yours, Sincerely, Abe

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To H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress December 29, 1938. Mr. H. M. Caiserman, c/o Canadian Jewish Congress, 2040 Bleury Street, Montreal. Dear Mr. Caiserman, Following our conversation of to-day I am sending you Mr. Figler’s translation of the letter which was published in the Canadian Jewish Eagle. You will agree with me that it is not desirable to have this letter published in the pages of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, a magazine which is widely circulated among Gentiles. I would not agree to have it revealed to our enemies, as is indicated in the above mentioned letter, that the machinery of the Congress breaks down before a vital issue, and that the Jews would sell their national pride for 30 pieces of German silver. I would however suggest – in view of the fact that I heartily agree with Mr. Figler when he maintains that we adopt drastic measures towards the betrayers of the boycott, that his letter should be circulated and drawn to the attention of those individuals whose policy it may influence. Yours very truly, AK/JG.

To Leo Kennedy June 2nd, 1939. Mr. Leo Kennedy, c/o N.W. Ayers, 1705 Victory Bldg., 80 Richmond Street, West, Toronto, Ont.

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My dear Leo: Enclosed please find a copy of ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ originally printed in Opinion and reprinted here in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle. It is one of the best things that I have done in the past few years and I hope you will find room for it in the contemplated volume of ‘New Writing.’ With kindest personal regards. Sincerely yours, Abe. AK/PA

To Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress August 22, 1939. Mr. Oscar Cohen, 150 Beverley St., Toronto, Ontario My Dear Oscar: Since your note of August 18th, I have had occasion to see the report of the Refugee Activities which you sent to Mr. Samuel Bronfman. I want to congratulate you upon it and I think that that report will do a great deal towards giving a clearer comprehension of the work which is being carried on in your division. Considering the appointment of a Director there is nothing new. There appear to be a number of other candidates apart from Saul Hayes; Mr. Bronfman is investigating possibilities and will no doubt be in a position when he returns to make some detailed suggestions. One of the things which I am doing for Mr. Bronfman is keeping him au courant with press reactions to all things Jewish, particularly as it impinges upon Congress work in all its ramifications. To this end I keep a file of clippings from the Quebec press and from the Anglo-Jewish press of Canada. I would appreciate it therefore if you, for the purpose of completing my file, would send on to me, as they appear, clippings from the Ontario press which would be interesting to us. I am making a similar

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request to Mr. Averbach of the Western Division so that there might be in the President’s Office a co-ordinated clipping bureau. Thanking you, I am, With kindest personal regards, Abe. AK/EC

To Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress August 24th, 1939. Mr. Oscar Cohen, 150 Beverley St., Toronto, Ont. My Dear Oscar: Thanks for your letter of yesterday together with the enclosure. Do you know whether the Globe and Mail has commented upon Mr. Bronfman’s address. Perhaps in the light of the international situation, a situation which so urgently demands Canadian harmony, his remarks should be drawn to its attention. I expect to have a New Year’s message from Mr. Bronfman during the early part of next week, which I shall forthwith despatch to you. Yours truly, A.M. Klein P.S. You will have Sir John Hope Simpson’s book. I will send it on to you tomorrow. AK/EC

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To Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress August 25th, 1939. Mr. Oscar Cohen, 150 Beverley St., Toronto, Ont. Mr. Dear Oscar: We are intending to send out from Montreal, a general letter to all our members informing them in a summary way of what took place at the Calgary Conference. I understand from Mr. Caiserman that he has not a complete mailing list for the Central Division. Would you be good enough to mail me such a list immediately upon receipt of this letter. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein. AK/EC P.S. I believe that there will be a general meeting of the Executive of the Refugee Committee in Toronto on Sunday, Oct. 15, although at time of writing it is not yet definitely arranged. Upon that occasion, when members of Montreal’s disbursement committee will be present in Toronto, the financial misunderstandings could well be ironed out. In the meantime, would you rush that budgetary statement to me?

To Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress October 16, 1939. Mr. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress, 150 Beverley St., Toronto, Ont.

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My dear Oscar: – Many thanks for your letter of October 15th together with enclosures. I may say that I do not think that there will be a meeting of the National Refugee Committee in Toronto on Sunday October 22nd. It is planned on that day to organize here in Montreal the executive of the Eastern Division of the United Jewish War Relief Societies. I would suggest therefore that the Toronto meeting be left in abeyance. Although I would appreciate it if you would give this matter your consideration and drop me a note as to the Toronto personnel which you would suggest for the Central Division of the United Jewish War Relief Committee. I may add that it is considered here that your addition of the word, Refugee, in the name of the Committee is a splendid one. As to paragraph two of your letter to Mr. Bronfman, referring to immediate refugee necessities, I understand that a meeting of the disbursement committee is taking place today. Will you also be good enough in your next communication to me to indicate whether to your knowledge there have arisen any specific problems affecting enemy aliens who have no visas for Canada. I would appreciate it if you named to me individual cases and the problem in each case and the nature of Government interference if any. Your suggestion contained in paragraph five will of course be brought to the attention of the National Emergency Council at its next session. No doubt you have in mind such an interview as took place on Friday, October 13th, between Congress representatives and Premier Hepburn. Sincerely, Abe

To Leon Edel December 13th, 1939. Dr. Leo Edel, 452 West 48th Street, New York City.

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My dear Leo: – I saw the article which you contributed to the McGill paper concerning the early history of the Fortnightly Revue. I may say that the story concerning myself is only half complete. Obdurate though I was during my freshman year in refusing to change, at the advice of Messrs. Frank Scott and A.J.M. Smith, the last line of my sonnet, I eventually did come around to their viewpoint. You may be interested to know that the objection to that line was that it had the word, soul, in it, and Scott and Smith, sitting upon their Olympian heights, would not tolerate fiction in poetry. I have already read with a great deal of interest your essay on the varied versions of that palimpsest: Finnegans Wake. I may say, however, that after reading Edmund Wilson’s article in the New Republic, Padrack Column in the New York Times, and the ‘Exagimination,’ published in book form, and having spent several weeks of evenings on the book myself, I can only descry here and there a bright constellation, the rest being fog and nebula. Your essay indeed indicates a number of points which I have missed. Particularly your interpretation of the section beginning, ‘Calling all dawns.’ I impatiently await the publication of a key to this book in seven volumes; otherwise it does seem a great waste of seventeen years of genius. Perhaps someone should compile an anthology in 100 pages of the intelligible portions of Finnegans Wake. I am also happy to report that looking through my old magazines I found the copy of the Hound and Horn, which I borrowed from you perhaps five or six years ago. I am sending it on to you under separate cover, having re-read therein the article by C. Foster Damon and found it mainly balderdash. I shortly expect to be able to reciprocate your courtesy, in sending me the reprint, by forwarding to you a copy of my book which ought to go on the press any day now. It will be called ‘Hath Not the Jew’ (a collection of poetics judaic), a title which is particulary pertinent now when with Shylock’s return to basic rhetorical questions. With kindest regards to your brother Abe, I am, Sincerely yours, Abe AMK/RF

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To Samuel Abramson, Canadian Jewish Congress Jan. 6, 1940 My dear Sam Just a note to acknowledge yours of the third. Am looking forward to meeting you again, and going back to Toronto with you on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 Standard Time, arriving in Toronto at 9:30. It appears that amongst the 3 distinguished shreibers, as you call them, there is a dearth of finance. Certainly my friend Segal is not affluent enough to advance monies so as to come and receive compliments. I, being the lawyer of the crew, – ergo with money the lousiest – can feel not at all embarrassed in noting this financo-literary phenomenon. Accordingly, I suggest to you that you may suggest to the purse-strings that advance-expense money be forwarded, at least to one of the trio, and indeed, to avoid bourgeois discrimination, to all. Do attend to this before you leave. As for my picture, I hope you will pardon – in your official capacity – my arrogant modesty. I think that I’m better looking than all my photographs, and the art has not yet been developed to such a stage as to do me justice. By the way, you must have given our coming plenty of publicity, as it is. Already I have received four (4) invitations from various societies that seeing how I’m going to be in Toronto anyway, etc, etc, might I not also address their society. I said no. Looking forward to a good time beginning Friday evening, Sincerely Abe.

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To Leo Kennedy March 15th, 1940. Mr. Leo Kennedy, 1704 Victory Building, 80 Richmond St. West, Toronto, Ont. My dear Leo: – I had thought that when I would receive from you a letter dated subsequently to August 1st, 1939, that its contents would be different from those which I read in yours of March 8th. I am disappointed to discover that your naiveté knows no bounds and your evangelical marxism no limits this side of heaven. With particular reference to my poem, you ought to know me well enough to know that I will not under any circumstances submit to redpencilling. This is true even if my opinions are wrong, but a fortiori when I am right as I am in this case. If the poem has literary merit it deserves a place in the book; certainly it is not to be judged by the standard of an editorial or a polemic. I resent anyone, but most of all you, submitting to me conditions under which my poem will be published. Censorship via the political convictions of one Leo Kennedy is no more pleasing to me than censorship via the Defense of Canada Regulations. Moreover, your criticism is utterly unfounded, the excerpt from the Canadian Jewish Chronicle notwithstanding. Indeed, the manner in which you deal with that article shocks me. I hardly think it the acme of honesty – bourgeois virtue! – for you to garble passages and ignore the subsequent and preceding sentences which give the quoted matter its proper perspective. Since in your underlining activities you have evidently run out of pencil, I underline in ink the passages you so cutely over-looked. I might say that I accept your sympathies with reference to British policy in Palestine with, to use your own phrase, mixed reactions. I would have preferred if that sympathy had been extended by fellow travellers to Jews when they beheld Molotov shake the bloody hand of Ribbentrop, both wreathed in smiles. After all the British never profess

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to be saviours of the world; threatened by Hitler and Stalin, they are at the same time faced by a problem in the Near East. They therefore, adopt measures dictated solely by their self-interest. I object strenuously to these measures; I say so publicly; but I understand them. I do not understand the unholy alliance between Fascism and Communism, an alliance which seeks not merely to deprive my people of the right to purchase land but of the very elementary right to breathe and live. I have not forgotten, too, that it was the Communist Jewish press which heralded the massacres of 1929 as an ‘arab revolution.’ I had thought that time and the events of time would show you this – the feet of clay which go so lustrously shod. But you need more time. Sincerely, P.S. Would you suggest that my lines, anent Soviet Russia should be deleted and substituted by the following immortal stanzas from the pen of Tolstoi’s son: ‘Stalin, you are like the sun and moon – only better, because the sun and moon can’t think!’ AMK/RF

To Leo Kennedy April 29, 1940. My dear Leo This is just a note to let you know that you will be receiving shortly from my publisher a copy of Hath not a Jew – my forged passport to immortality. I hope that you will like it; whether you will or not, you are bound by your youthful indiscretions, for I have sent on to the publisher a copy of the article which you once wrote in The Canadian Forum about me, the which article is to be used for laudatory publicity. If you could manage to write about the volume somewhere, I, and the whole of Israel will be deeply indebted. In the meantime, do drop me a note. What do you do, think, plan to do? When shall you again be in Mtl. After all, just when I was about to

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arrange a get-together the last time you were here, presto – you vanished. I shall not perpetrate that error again. Kindest regards to your kith & kin, consanguine & allied – Sincerely Abe.

To Samuel Abramson, Canadian Jewish Congress May 6th, 1940 Mr. Sam Abramson, c/o Canadian Jewish Congress, 150 Beverley Street, Toronto, Ont. My dear Sam: Many thanks for the kind sentiments expressed in your P.S. of May 3. I think it would be not a bad idea and in harmony with your intentions to spread the gospel, for you to review the book either for the Jewish Standard or the English section of the Toronto Morning Journal. You can write a review salted with those personal touches which only your fine literary-culinary art can evoke. When are you coming to Montreal? Are you not lonesome for the fleshpots of Benny’s? How do you like your new work, and how are the Toronto crowd of Galitzianers? Sincerely, Abe. P.S. Please address your notices concerning Congress matters to Henry Broker, and not to myself. I sometimes do not come down to the Eagle for a number of days; your letter waits for me since nobody opens it with my name on the envelope, and the news is thus delayed; therefore publications address as above indicated, and personal letters address to me here.

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To Samuel Abramson, Canadian Jewish Congress May 31, 1940. Mr. S. H. Abrahamson, c/o Canadian Jewish Congress, 150 Beverley St., Toronto, Ontario. My dear Sam: Many thanks for the kind references in your recent communication, and I do hope that you will have the occasion to write upon the same subject at greater length. I would suggest a sort of ‘I saw him do it’ essay. I am happy to hear you can stand the Galitzianers of Toronto. That being so, I am surprised that the War has terrors for you. With kind regards to our Toronto friends, I am Sincerely, Abe. AMK/EG

To Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] June 7, 1940 Mr. S. Charney, 3111 East 7th Street, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. My dear Mr. Charney: For many years I have read the critical writings of one S. Niger, an individual with whom you are no doubt intimately acquainted. I have read

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these writings on Yiddish Literature with a great deal of instruction for myself, and admiration for the author who displayed so keen an understanding of true aesthetic value. I was very gratified therefore when I learned from my friend, Mr. Shloime Wiseman of the local Jewish People’s Schools, that he had drawn to the attention of the said S. Niger, a volume of mine and that the latter had evinced an interest therein. Accordingly I am forwarding under separate cover a copy of Hath Not a Jew – . With best incognical greetings, I am Sincerely yours, AMK/EG

To E.K. Brown Oct. 17th, 1940 Professor E.K. Brown, 6 Glen Edith Drive, Toronto, Ont. My dear Brown, Many thanks for your kind letter of October 11th and for the sentiments therein expressed. I really do not agree with you as to the identity of the best poet in Canada – my vote goes for A.J.M. Smith. He hasn’t published much because he is far too fastidious, but certainly he is a premier craftsman. Anyway, I would be most happy to be included in the Canadian issue of the Poetry Magazine. The last time I was published there was in 1929. The poems I am submitting, however, are Canadian only in that they are universal. I have undertaken (audacity, dubiously splendid!) to continue where my compatriot King David left off. Naturally, with a difference! And so you will find psalms 151 to 156, the whole part of a longer work. You may, of course, use any or all. I would appreciate it however if you would send back to me at your earliest convenience those that are un-

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suitable, or not good, or beyond the space limit, as I would wish to place them elsewhere. I note that neither the Canadian Forum nor Poetry Magazine nor the Toronto Quarterly have yet a review of my book. It makes me unhappy. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely, Abe Klein AMK/AF

To Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] Oct. 31st, 1940 Mr. S. Charney, 3111 E. 7th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. My dear Mr. Niger, I am sending you under separate cover another copy of Hath Not a Jew, to replace the one which caused both of us such unnecessary embarrassment. I do hope that you will enjoy reading it and should the desire prompt you, that you may write about it. One thing it is not; it is not apologetics. I make this statement still being under the influence of your powerful, although perhaps too severe, review on Roback’s book. With the main thesis of your criticism I am in perfect agreement. I would not, for example, ever think of recommending that book as a text on Yiddish literature; it is, in fact, really an addendum to his Curiosities of Yiddish literature. Personally, I resent Yiddish literature being treated as a series of curiosities and the Jewish people as a ‘peculiar’ people. In fact, it appears to me that Roback himself seems to be surprised that Yiddish literature should exist and be mit leiten gleich.

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The history of Jewish literature – as a ‘story’ or otherwise – remains yet to be written. Do drop me a note should you find the time to do so. Sincerely, A.M. Klein. AMK:AF

To Leo Kennedy Oct. 31st, 1940. Mr. Leo Kennedy, 4200 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, Mich. My dear Leo, Many thanks for your letter of the other day, and for the activities on behalf of poesy therein indicated. You seem, however, to make an error about the identity of Poetry Magazine with which Brown was associated. It is not the Canadian Magazine, it is the Chicago one which is edited by George Dillon, for which E.K. is preparing a Canadian issue. I would like to see some of your poems unpublishable this side of Paradise. Do send me as many as you can of these. I am sending you some galleys of a piece recently published in the Menorah Journal which, incidentally, gave me a very good review. At present, I am working on a book of psalms – some more escapist writing! – beginning at 151 and ending probably at 200. More than half is already done, the rest outlined, awaiting only the moving spirit. As soon as it is completed, I will send you a transcript. My practice is not such as one gets rich on, but it keeps the bailiff from the door. My son grows apace, he looks like a little arian but already he talks with an accent. Hitler should hear him – and die! Sincerely, Abe. AMK:AF

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To Seven Arts Feature Syndicate Nov. 6th, 1940 Seven Arts Feature Syndicate, 432 Fourth Ave., New York, N.Y. Gentlemen: I am informed by my publisher, Behrman’s Jewish Book House, that they sent on to you for review a copy of my book, Hath Not a Jew. Although a subscriber to your services, I have not to date noticed therein any reference to this work. I assume therefore that the book must have gone astray, and I am sending you under separate cover, a copy of same. I may say that the book has been very favourably reviewed in the Menorah Journal, and I consider notice thereof in your columns a consummation greatly to be desired. Apart from the natural promptings of vanity I do feel that the Seven Arts, which take all of Jewish effort for its realm and which is also widely read, as I know editing this journal, might issue its nod, whatever the connotations of that nod may be, in the direction of a volume of merits which I am prevented from discussing. Yours truly, Editor AMK:AF

To the Editor, OPINION Nov. 21, 1940 Opinion 122 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. Attention: the Editor Opinion

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Dear Sir, In reply to your letter of November 18th, I may say that I presume biographical requirements will be adequately fulfilled if your column, ‘among our contributions’ describes me as a frequent contributor to Opinion, the author of Hath Not a Jew, and as being at present engaged in a modern book of psalms. Yours truly, AMK:AF

To Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST Nov. 21st, 1940. Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, 15 West 86th St., New York, N.Y. U.S.A. My dear Rabbi Eisenstein, It is some time since I have been published in the columns of The Reconstructionist. I am submitting therefore for publication a number of psalms which form part of the series upon which I am presently at work. I do hope you will find space for them. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely, AMK:AF P.S. The Reconstructionist, I am sorry to remark, has not yet noted my book Hath Not a Jew. This is particularly painful to me because Mr. Behrman once told me that Rabbi Kaplan and yourself in no small measure influenced him in undertaking its publication. enc/

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To Henry Hurwitz, MENORAH JOURNAL Dec. 5th 1 9 4 0. Mr. H. Hurwitz, Menorah Journal, 63 – 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. My dear Hurwitz, Enclosed please find a series of poems for publication in the Menorah. They are part of a longer series and you may publish any or all. I am disappointed to observe that the Menorah Journal still does not issue as frequently as it did of yore. Surely even the most obtuse of our philanthropists must realize that the centre of Jewish world culture is now America, and that one of the most vital instruments of that culture – in English the most vital – is the Menorah Journal. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely, AMK:AF Enc.

To Leo Kennedy Jan. 7th, 1941 Mr. Leo Kennedy, 2253 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, Mich. My dear Leo, Going through my pending mail at the year’s beginning, I discover from your letter of November 12th the following:

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(1) That I was to see you at Christmas when you intended to be in Montreal. (2) That you were to send down to me a paper that you were contemplating writing about yours truly. (3) That you were to send on to me some ballads that you have written. Time has eliminated the first item, though time will yet correct it. The last two items I still await. How about it! Sincerely, AMK:AF

To Bernard G. Richards, Jewish Information Bureau Jan. 7th, 1941 Mr. Bernard G. Richards, Jewish Information Bureau, 103 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Richards, Many thanks for your letter of January 3rd commenting on Mr. Garber’s review of the Canadian Jewish Yearbook, the sentiments of which I have already, to his great pleasure, communicated to him. The Canadian Jewish Yearbook, which has already issued two publications, has no communal sanction whatsoever. It was conceived and brought forth with the sole purpose of earning its editor a livelihood, which is in itself a not too reprehensible raison d’être. It appeared, however, that numerous organizations did not desire to co-operate with Mr. Garber. They felt, and quite properly, that he did not qualify as the Gibbon of Canadian Jewry. He insisted, however, on writing about its decline and fall, and hence these books. Objection also is taken to his modus operandi. He approaches either organizations or individuals for financial support; if it is accorded, he grants

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the donor in his book a first-rate aliyah or even mafter. If it is not granted, he either ignores them, no matter how meritorious, or reads them the deuteronomy of malediction. I cannot but agree with Mr. Garber, therefore, that no Yearbook is better than the present creature spawned with such umbilical strings attached to it. The situation, of course, would be for the Canadian Jewish Congress itself to issue a Yearbook, that is, if a Yearbook is such a vital necessity for a Jewish population, which is that of some minor American city. We are particularly happy about our new family of Chronicle contributors, what with Garber and Bennett and Roback by proxy and Wolofsky by inspiration, it is quite a Mermaid Tavern (kosher). Wolofsky is presently in Miami. When writing to him I shall add the warmth of your greeting to that of the Florida climate. Many thanks for your cordial invitation to visit you in New York. One of these days I may avail myself of it. Do not be surprised, therefore, if suddenly you are serenading at dawn. Cordially, AMK:AP

To Ralph Gustafson Jan. 14th, 1941 Mr. Ralph Gustafson, Apt. 7a, 70 Central Park W., New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Gustafson, May I thank you for the kind sentiments expressed in your letter of January 11th and for your intention of including me in the Pelican Anthology of Canadian Poetry. I am at a loss to know as to who is the owner of the copyright of DESIGN FOR MEDIAEVAL TAPESTRY. I am under the impression that the copyright is owned by my publishers, Behrman’s Jewish Book House,

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1261 Broadway, New York, and I suppose that you ought to get in touch with them. I can merely say that insofar as I am concerned, I grant you, with pleasure, permission to publish the above-mentioned poem. Thanking you, I remain, Yours truly, A.M. Klein AMK:AF P.S. Enclosed please find the biographical note for which you asked.

To Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] Jan. 21st, 1941. Mr. S. Charney, 3821 Atlantic Ave., Seagate, N.Y. My dear Mr. Niger, I have just received your very serious letter and I hasten to reply to it because it raises questions not noted by anyone else in relationship to my poetry, except yourself – and myself. It is, in a word, the problem of synthesis between cultures. First, as to the question of language. Today English is my daily tongue. I speak it everywhere and always, except to my mother who understands only Yiddish and is in fact a Jewess of the     school. Yiddish, it may be curiously noted, is also the language in which I will read a page of gemara – when I read a page of gemara – for the Aramaic, strange as it may seem, does not translate itself in my mind into English but only into Yiddish –     etc. If I wrote to you in Yiddish you would, however, observe immediately that I think – insofar as sentence structure is concerned – not contents – in English. Naturally, therefore, if I had to write poetry – and the compulsion thereto I shall not now discuss – it had to be in English. What does, what

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should, a poet write about? Only about what he feels and what he knows. Borrowed emotions will not do. Unassimilated knowledge will not do. Rilke once made a very pertinent and indeed profound remark when he said that all poetry is an attempt to recapture one’s youth and even one’s childhood. For me that means recapturing the nostalgia and the beauty of my childhood, which was a Yiddish-speaking and Hebrew-thinking one, Mithnagid from my teachers, Chassidic from my father. The theology, I may say, has vanished but the tradition has remained. English being the language, it is its technique which is applied to the Hebrew theme. This is not any stranger than Yehuda Halevi writing   Hebrew poetry in Arabic metres or Immanuel of Rome borrowing the sonnet form from Dante. It would be a static literature indeed, which confined itself solely to the parallel construction of the Bible – our own original contribution to literary forms. As for the difficulty of the English, believe me I did not make it so on purpose. One of the chief factors in the creation of poetry is language; my mind is full of linguistic echoes from Chaucer and Shakespeare, even as it is of the thought-forms of the prophets; and if these creep into the text it is further to fulfil the definition of poetry, which suggests but does not say. You are right when you say that my book pre-supposes on the part of the reader a knowledge of the Hebrew tradition. Apart from being written because I wished to write it, the book is addressed precisely to those who have that knowledge or those who may acquire it. In English literature references to a so-called alien culture is not a novelty. Milton’s Paradise Lost pre-supposes great Biblical knowledge. A better example, – large tracts of English poetry assume on the part of the reader an intimate knowledge of Greek mythology and the close relationship between the various Gods and Goddesses of Greek lore. To amalgamate factors, therefore, of two cultures does not to me appear to be an impossiblity – it becomes a certain failure however only when the attempt is stretched to ridiculous extremes, as for example, James Joyce’s attempt – in his Finnegans Wake – to write in a language which although essentially English is a composite of all the tongues and dialects of Europe. Per contra, Joyce’s Ulysses, where every chapter has its counterpart in a similar chapter of Homer’s Odyssey is to my mind a completely successful literary merger of the values of two cultures. Nor are examples lacking in our own literature. The Talmud, than which there is nothing more typical of the Jewish spirit, is a compilation in Aramaic! Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed was originally written in Arabic. In fact, it has been admirably said that the whole Renaissance

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movement was based upon Greek texts, in the possession of Arabs, translated by Jews, and finally appearing in Latin! In Yiddish literature – is not the writing of Mani Leib a perfect example of the Slavic dressed up in Hebrew script? Moishe Leib Halpern, to my mind, was not a particularly Yiddish poet; he was essentially European and twentieth century. Yehoash attempted – although I do not think with much success – the treatment of Oriental themes in Yiddish. My friend the poet Segal tells me that Bialik’s hamathmid – of all things! – is but the circumcision of a Russian theme! Certainly in a world where one culture impinges upon another, and where time and space have been considerably constricted, it is not surprising that the synthesis should be attempted. Of course, I make all these remarks as a contribution to a theoretical discussion of the subject and not in relation to my work. Upon its success or failure I will have to let others judge. Suffice it to say that I did not set out of purpose to accomplish a tour de force; to show that Hebrew values could be translated into English terms. The above remarks too are not to be considered as an attempt by myself to draw parallels between Milton and Shakespeare and Klein. I want to thank you again for your letter and its pertinent comments, and to request you that when you do write about the book, you will drop me a note as to where your writing is appearing or send me a clipping. I presume that it will be in The Day. Cordially yours, A.M. Klein. AMK:AF

To Samuel Abramson, Canadian Jewish Congress March 24th, 1941. Mr. S. H. Abramson, c/o Canadian Jewish Congress, 150 Beverley Street, Toronto, Ont.

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My Dear Sam, Perhaps you have something on your chest which you would like to get rid of, and so I am inviting you, if you have the time and the inclination and the good will to contribute an article to the Canadian Jewish Chronicle for its Passover issue. This article should be in the early part or the first week of April. Perhaps you could write about your impressions as a sort of adjutant chaplain to Jewish soldiers in the Province of Ontario, or any other subject that may spring from your urge to write. Thanking you, I am, Sincerely, Abe. AMK:AF

To Samuel Bronfman March 24, 1941. My dear Mr. Bronfman, Enclosed please find a couple of paragraphs constituting a Passover message for the Anglo-Jewish press of Canada. It is briefer than usual because I did not think it necessary or admirable, for the formal purpose of a festival newspaper-issue, to launch upon a declaration of manifestolength; accordingly I have confined myself to emphasizing the parallel between the events which gave birth to our Passover celebration, and the events through which we are living to-day – and may these, too, have the same happy conclusion! While I am writing you, I want also to thank you again for what you did for me last week, and how you did it. I may say now that I was so overwhelmed when I took a peek at that folded cheque as you were on the telephone, that my usual fluency of speech abandoned me, and I was all heart and no tongue. Your very candid letter – which you saw should reach me early in the afternoon, made me very happy indeed, and was reward enough; at the subsequent conversation, I said: ‘My cup runneth

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over.’ I was even then sorely tempted to persist in my arrogant gesture of refusal, but your charming separation of the letter from the cheque, completely unarmed me. Moreover, I shuddered to reflect what would have happened to me had I come home that evening and told my wife that I was such a ‘knacker’ – her vocabulary would have been very picturesque, indeed. And so my wife thanks you, and my son thanks you, and most certainly I do too. Sincerely Abe.

To H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress March 26th, 1941. Mr. H. M. Caiserman, c/o Canadian Jewish Congress, 2040 Bleury St., Montreal. Dear Mr. Caiserman, Enclosed please find Passover message from Samuel Bronfman, which you will be good enough to have sent out to the Jewish and Anglo-Jewish Press, with the exception of the Canadian Jewish Magazine and the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, to whom I am communicating this message direct. Thanking you, I am, Yours truly, AMK:AF Enc. In this period of great struggle on behalf of the eternal principles of liberty and justice, the festival of Passover comes to us full of the inspiration of a similar struggle which also ended, as even the present one must and will, in victory and triumph. For the Pharaohs of history may, with the passage of time, have changed their tactics and their weapons; their objective remains the same – the enslavement of their fellowmen.

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Then as now, an arrogant tyrant sought to fling into the waters of perdition, all those not of his race, preserving even for his own race, a regimented existence subject to his own caprice and whim; then, as now, Pharaoh – his aliases are many, his identity the same – imposed upon his fellowmen his servile taskmasters, his obedient gauleiters. Then as now, a dictator attempted to build for his personal glory pyramids fashioned out of human suffering, mortared with the blood and sweat of enslaved people. And now, even as then, the nefarious attempt to reduce civilized mankind to the status of beasts of burden, serving a so-called superior race, must be thwarted and its agents destroyed! Towards this noble objective – the liberation of the human mind, the emancipation of humankind, from the bondage which the contemporary Pharaoh seeks to impose upon it – all the free forces of the world are united. Leading that union of democratic resistance against the powers of darkness, is the British Commonwealth of Nations of which we Jews are proud citizens and to the protection of which we have dedicated all our powers, all our energies, our lives – anything and everything that can stand up as a bulwark against the hard hearts of the latter-day Pharaoh and all his minions. It is a struggle in which we cannot and will not cease until, in our day, the Passover emancipation is repeated once again. It is true that many dark days may be ahead of us. The world is even now crossing its red sea. But the hope of all of us is that soon, soon, that sea will be crossed, and on the other side thereof will be found the promised land of a happier life of freedom and decency for all mankind.

To George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE August 13th, 1941 Mr. Geo. Dillon, Editor, Poetry Magazine, 232 East Erie St., Chicago, Ill. Dear Mr. Dillon: Many thanks for your letter of August 1st, and your invitation to contribute some further poems to your magazine, which I hold in the highest esteem.

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I am enclosing therefore, a number of poems, to wit: ‘Of the Friendly Silence of the Moon’ ‘Ballad of the Nursery Rhymes’ ‘Ballad of the Thwarted Axe’ ‘Upon the Heavenly Scarp’ ‘Sennet from Gheel’ any or all of which you may use. Thanking you, I am, Yours very truly, A.M. Klein. AMK:FP

To A.J.M. Smith November 28th, 1941 Mr. A.J.M. Smith, 471 West End Ave., New York, N.Y. My dear Art: Many thanks for your postcard of November 18th which just reached me the other day, after having travelled to all my previous addresses. I certainly do appreciate your mentioning my name to Mr. Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation, together with the tag of ‘best Poet.’ I do not know from your postcard whether you wanted me to fill out a regular application form for the Guggenheim Fellowship, or whether it was mere epistolary data that you were seeking for communication to Mr. Moe. If so, the following may be pertinent facts. Born in Montreal, 1909. Graduated Baron Byng High School, Silver Medallist. Graduated McGill University, Arts, 1930, winner of the Barbara Scott Scholarship in Latin and Greek. Graduated University of Montreal in law, 1933. Published in the Canadian Forum, American Caravan, Menorah Journal, Opinion, Queen’s Quarterly, Poetry Magazine, and various Anthologies. More detailed information about myself can be found in Professor Collins’ White Savannahs.

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Recently published volume of poetry Hath Not a Jew with foreword by Ludwig Lewisohn. At present preparing my next volume of poems to be published by the Jewish Publication Society of Philadelphia (subscription list of five thousand). Recently won an American Continental prize for a poem on Yehuda Halevi, medieval Hebrew poet. Have translated many poems from Yiddish and from Hebrew. Would like to devote year to the translation from Hebrew into English of the poems of Chaim Nachman Bialik, greatest poet of the Hebrew Renaissance. Presently practising law. You have of course, my unreserved permission to use any poem or poems of mine in your Anthology. I am concerned only about the rights of my publisher, who, I feel sure, that permission will be forthcoming from also. If you send me a note as to what poems you intend to use in your Anthology, I might get the permission necessary from the third parties, if any, involved. Do let me know what develops on the Guggenheim matter, and what you mean by ‘this will probably be too late for this year, but it is next year I am thinking of.’ Will you also be good enough to let me know whether any formal routine has to be gone through? With kindest personal regards, I am, Cordially yours, Abe. AMK:FP Pardon the typing, my scrawl, as you can see, is practically illegible.

To Louis E. Levinthall, Jewish Publication Society February 18th, 1942 Judge Louis E. Levinthal, Judges’ Chambers, Court of Common Pleas No. 6, City Hall, Philadelphia, Pa.

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Dear Judge Levinthal: At last my manuscript of poems is complete for submission to be included in your 1942 list of publications, and under separate cover, it is presently being sent to you. You will note that this volume, to be called ‘Poems by A.M. Klein’ consists of three main parts: (1) Psalter of Avram Haktani. Fifty Psalms, the majority of them having already been published in various periodicals. (2) Two long poems ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’ & ‘Murals for a House of God,’ already published in Menorah Journal and Opinion respectively. (3) ‘Yehuda Halevi, His Pilgrimage,’ which won the first Prize in the Zionist Organization’s contest on Yehuda Halevi, the rights of which I still retain. (4) A number of Ballads and Sonnets. Thanking you, I remain, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Ralph Gustafson April 1st, 1942 Mr. Ralph Gustafson, 70 Central Park W., New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Gustafson: I regret that I was unable to answer your letter of March 14th earlier, as I was away from my office. I am sorry that I cannot send you the Satire on the Life of Hitler, as

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I have only got about four hundred lines of it done, and I do not know when it will be finished. I am enclosing however, a number of poems which have recently been published in Poetry Magazine. Publication of these in your volume of course, must be accompanied by acknowledgment to Poetry Magazine. With best regards, I am, Very truly yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP Encls/

To Ralph Gustafson June 18th, 1942 Mr. Ralph Gustafson, 70 Central Park West, New York, N.Y. My dear Mr. Gustafson, This is just a note to congratulate you upon your Anthology of Canadian Poetry which is on sale now at the Montreal book stores. I consider it an excellent collection, and was particularly pleased to note that the emphasis in representation was upon the latter-day poets. Have you seen the pamphlet Preview which a Montreal group is putting out, original both in its format and content? I am looking forward to your Contemporary Canadian Writing Pamphlet. With best regards, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

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To Abraham G. Duker, CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RECORD June 26, 1942 Mr. Abraham G. Duker, Fifteenth Floor, 386 – 4th Ave., New York, N.Y. My dear Duker: I am not accustomed to writing letters to the editor, but I do address myself to you as the contributing editor of the Contemporary Jewish Record, to tell you what I think of the feeble and malicious squib that appears in this month’s issue of that journal. I do not, of course, hold you responsible for it, but I do think that for old lang syne, you would probably want to know what I think of literature with which you are related, if not by blood, then by alliance. As a matter of fact, I had known that the book was to be reviewed some time ago. I expected from the tone of my ‘reliable source’ that the review would be a thunder-blast. It turns out that it is only an ill-mannered belch. I say the review is malicious, because I know from the above mentioned source, that your assistant-editor was somewhat annoyed at an article written by myself, in which I chaffed the Record for its sombre format and pedantic content. As a matter of fact, after my article, the format was changed. It probably was pure coincidence; I cannot find it in me to grant your editor the capacity to learn from his betters. I must interpret the review therefore, as nothing more than an attempt at sophomoronic reprisal (and this coinage is not phoney!). The fact that a journal which calls itself contemporary, should review in June, 1942 – after its dignity had been punctured by the author – a book which it had on hand in April, 1940, strengthens the conviction that I am dealing here, not with a ‘literary critic,’ but with a spiteful nobody, constricted within his own shrivelled little ego. But what a flop Mr. Lesser is even at the infantile business of vengeance. Me, I have no respect for incompetence, even when I profit thereby. In seeking to achieve the purpose which Lesser had in mind, he failed dismally. After taking three quotations (and good ones at that!)

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with which to reveal to a wondering world his obtuseness feigned or real – he concludes by quoting the highly laudatory remarks of Mr. Ludwig Lewisohn. Really, to whose judgement does this scribe expect the reader to bow – his, or Mr. Lewisohn’s – certainly, the end he had in mind called for ignoring the comments of Mr. Lewisohn, even as he ignored all [but] the three lines of the one hundred and sixteen pages of the book. Had I not known that you were associated with this magazine, I would of course, have greeted the review with that olympian aloofness which the antics of the Lesser breeds invariably evoke from me. But as it is, I complain, if at all, only for the sake of the reputation of the journal which boasts your name. From the Contemporary Jewish Record, one expects a higher type of criticism than objections that Klein’s Jews are not six-footers, as if Klein were King Frederick of Prussia; or that Klein’s junk-men – the greasy compatriots of Allen yclept of yore in old Judaea Abie – ‘mottle’ the city lanes. Anyway, I don’t mean to make you feel bad. The book has received so many favorable reviews from literate persons, that an analphabetic stutterer, adds a note not entirely unwelcome. It’s good for my immortal soul. Bad it is only for the stutterer. Its base intention leaves me unmoved; I know that when the Record reviews will be archives, it is I who will still be contemporary. As for Mr. Lesser, extend him my forgiveness; he knows not what he does, nor how to do it. Assure him that I will keep the manner of his disgrace as secret as it presently is within the pages of the Record; and for the rest, wish him for me a ripe old age, during which he may sit at his fire, and tell his wife’s children how once, when he was young and the weather hot, he snapped at my heels. With kindest personal regards, I am, Sincerely yours, P. S. I need hardly add that this letter is not to form part of your contributions as contributing editor, unless paid for at the rate of $1.00 per word, payable to myself in American funds.

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To A.J.M. Smith July 7th, 1942 Mr. A.J.M. Smith, c/o Merrill, R.M.D. No. 3, Magog, Que. My dear Art: Sorry I could not get around to writing you earlier, but was tied up with numerous flat, stale and profitable details. I am now enclosing, as per your request, the ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’ poem, which I do adjure you not to use in substitution for ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.’ I have not had time to transcribe the Psalm which took your fancy at our last session, but will do so in due course. This letter will also serve as a memo re the Guggenheim matter. I wait to hear from you. Sincerely yours, Abe AMK:FP

To A.J.M. Smith July 22nd, 1942 Mr. A.J.M. Smith, c/o Merrill, R.M.D. 3, Magog, Que. My dear Art, Many thanks for your letter of the 17th, and for the expeditious manner in which you communicated both with Pratt and Mr. Moe.

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I have just this day received from Mr. Moe the necessary documents and forms, whereon is noted ‘sent at the suggestion of Dr. A.J.M. Smith.’ I am now truly in a dilemma, as I begin to have misgivings as to whether my project – the translation of the poetry of Chaim Nachman Bialik, will find favour in the eyes of the Committee. At any rate, I am leaving this matter in abeyance for a couple of weeks. The dead-line for the applications I note, is October 15th. I do hope that you intend to come in to town after August 2nd, so that we may get together again. I will be out of town until that date. Cordially, Abe. AMK:FP P.S. I am enclosing that ‘Bratzlaver’ poem. I do not recommend its inclusion in the Canadian Anthology.

To Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society August 7th, 1942 Judge Louis E. Levinthal, Court of Common Pleas, 606 City Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. My dear Judge Levinthal: Upon returning from my vacation, I discovered upon my desk your communication of the 21st of July, together with enclosure therein contained. It was forthwith apparent to me that our letters had crossed; yours however, serves in part as an answer, albeit an indirect one, to mine, particularly with reference to my query as to when publication would take place. Your letter also necessitates a reply from myself. I must admit frankly that I am at a loss as to where to begin in a refutation of the critical enclosure. My first impulse, motivated by that pride which is the badge of all my clan, was ‘to stand mute’ and to content myself merely with pointing at my manuscript and letting the exhibit speak

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for itself. The plain reading of your letter however, discloses a spirit – for which I am grateful – which would make such an attitude on my part appear churlish and unmannerly. The fact is that I am very happy that you resolved in the affirmative your doubts as to whether to send on to me the writing of the anonymous author of the Subway Psalm. It gives me the opportunity to make answer – and although the explication of poems, like the explanation of jokes, is a sure sign of failure somewhere – either in the author or the reader – I gladly undertake this apologia pro vita mea, out of courtesy to you and to the confounding of my critic. Because it is embarrassing for me to pick up my pearls and show them again to the critic – exclaiming ‘How flawless!’ I would that you considered the rest of this letter as being written by myself on behalf of a client, one Avram Haktani. Qui plaide sa propre cause a un fou pour client. Certainly Mr. Haktani disagrees – but vigorously, – with the strictures of your reader. The fact that he attaches his immortal name to the manuscript indicates that he cannot see eye to eye with him or her. Tot homines, tot sententiae. Your critic is entitled to the privilege of his errors. Indeed, Mr. Haktani fails to subscribe even to the general definitions with which your critic so authoritatively preludes his categorical Nay. His classification as to what in poetry is publishable, is both wide enough to include everything, and ambiguous enough to mean nothing. His first class: ‘Broad interests which will strike an immediate emotional response in the general reader’ is a perfect definition of the opera of Edgar A. Guest, – and its own condemnation. By virtue of such a definition, the J.P.S. should publish the doggerel used to advertise Lifebuoy soap – its interests are broad, its response immediate, and its readers general. His second class: ‘Books from which the discerning reader will derive inspiration and stimulation’ begs the question. Your critic is no logician. Who is the discerning reader? Mr. Haktani is of the opinion that books of poetry published by the J.P.S., should be first of all – poetry. You will agree with me that here is not the place to undertake a definition of that which has eluded definers from time immemorial. Sufficient it is for me to say, with that absence of bias which is the result of the split personality assumed for the purpose of these presents, that if poetry is ‘emotion recorded in tranquillity’ as Wordsworth said, Haktani’s poems are it; or if poetry is as Keats would have it, ‘a surprising by a fine excess’ Haktani does that job too. Or if poetry is as another has defined it, ‘thought in blossom’ then again I must say that Haktani’s are petalled and redolent. But one must have a nose to smell, and not a nose to turn up.

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But the J.P.S. is not primarily interested in competing with the Oxford Press or Alfred A. Knopf. Its volumes of poetry, if any, must harmonize with their imprimatur by being ‘Jewish.’ I know, from my intimacy with him, what Mr. Haktani’s aspirations are in this direction. The bearer of two cultures, he writes of the thoughts of one, in the language of the other. Mr. S. Niger, the Yiddish critic, has already commented upon this his dualism; and has found it not strange. He recalls – the blasphemous comparison is Niger’s, – the Arabic of Maimonides, and the German of Heine – and accepts them within the body of Jewish literature. Indeed, one has but to refer to Waxman’s Monumental Work on this subject to see the same standard applied. For further analysis of Haktani’s objectives, I refer you to Mr. Lewisohn’s introduction to Hath Not a Jew. I believe that he summarizes him well by quoting Keats’ line about ‘leaving great verse unto a little clan.’ As to your reader’s adjectives: ‘The expression is not novel.’ It is unfortunate that no illustration is offered to support this indictment. I do not agree that novelty is in itself a summum bonum, but it would be interesting if your reader could show where he has encountered the ‘un-novel expression’ before. ‘Nor the content exciting.’ That, of course, depends upon the reader’s own blood-pressure, sensitivity and training. I can hardly imagine, for example, a Goy getting worked up by a page of Gemara. ‘Or sufficiently topical.’ I am informed that ‘verse which recommends itself for its topicalness’ is anathema to Mr. Haktani. That kind of stuff is produced by newspaper columnists. I am surprised that your reader is unaware that in English literature, the word ‘Occasional’ as applied to verse, is a term of opprobrium. Haktani does not write it; his verses themselves are occasions. ‘Literary values seem derivative.’ This, every tyro in semantics knows, is one of those estimates which for their phrasing depend on the mood of the estimator. If he wishes, he says: ‘So-and-so writes in the great tradition of English literature.’ If he wishes, he says: ‘Literary values seem derivative.’ The fact is that the same thought is expressed in both instances. Haktani I may say, is at once ‘derivative’ – he does not write in a vacuum – and creative, in that he adds to the well of English, pure and undefiled, the mineral ingredients of his Semitic tradition.

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‘The imitation psalmic form is a difficult one, as the present writer knows to his sorrow.’ I regret that I am not in a position to alleviate your reader’s tragedy. But Haktani’s are not imitation psalms. Their tone and content are perhaps psalmodic in a twentieth century sort of way – but only one psalm is written in biblic style – page 8 – and of that, more anon. The suggestion of your reader that a foreword be written ‘explaining and listing which of the psalms have inspired the author’s psalms’ indicates so gross a misapprehension as to the nature of the manuscript as to leave me almost breathless. (Almost, but not quite.) The fact is that the poems were not ‘inspired’ by the psalms – Haktani has resources of his own. Certainly Haktani does not take Psalm I and say to himself: ‘Now I will write another, with all modern improvements and conveniences.’ King David’s are good enough for him. That of course, does not preclude the compilation of a series of poems into a psalter. Sir Philip Sidney wrote a Sonnet Sequence, but methinks there have been others since. No wonder your reader found it ‘confusing’ to have the numbering differing from those in the ‘Book of Psalms.’ Believe it or not, he was reading a different book. How does Marlowe say it: ‘He has committed Fornication; but that was in another country, And besides, the wench is dead.’ As to your reader’s categories of: (a) Poems acceptable in a Jewish publication with sufficient space; (b) Poems for a Book of Devotion; (c) Poems for a general magazine; (d) Poems to be thrown out. Touching the poems which the reader approves, Mr. Haktani was somewhat disturbed. For after noting the ones which had met with disapproval, Haktani hastened to check and see if there was anything wrong with the approved ones. He informs me that he was relieved to find that they were O.K., although some were certainly not as good as those about-to-be-expelled. There is nothing to be said about your reader’s category No. 2. If Haktani is to be entered into the liturgy, so be it! And may his children remember him in their devotions! Category 3, and its kosher-sign, also arouses no debate. Nor is one thrilled. But category 4 – It is well that I write for Haktani and not he for himself! Let us take this index expurgatorious, item by item. (It is to be remem-

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bered in reading the following notes, that your reader, for some reason or other, accepts the fact of publication in a magazine as an order of merit). Published in the Reconstructionist Magazine. An example of a religious attitude in a non-religious world. Page 3: Your reader has apparently not noticed that it is the same poem as page 2, or does he divide so as to have the pleasure of condemning twice? The ‘particularly bad last line’ is a reversal of Milton’s: ‘I may assert eternal Providence And justify the way of God to men.’ Or Pope: (apparently ‘derivative’) ‘But vindicate the ways of God to man.’ In the manuscript, the process is reversed. It is the ways of one man with reference to his God which are to be justified to other men. – O but this is so elementary! Page 7: ‘A Psalm of Abraham touching his green pastures.’ Published in Poetry Magazine, Chicago. (Acknowledged the best poetry magazine in the English-speaking world.) If your reader really believes that the thought of living beneath bursting bombs is ‘banal’ he is made of sterner stuff than I. How humdrum he would find exploding London! Page 8: ‘A song of degrees.’ The only imitation in the manuscript of the biblic manner. An elaboration of the evolution of weaponry – the sling, the sword, the arrow, the testudo, gas, the plane. Published in the Reconstructionist. Page 10: The second half of a poem beginning on page 9. ‘A psalm concerning the heavenly scarp.’ Published in Poetry Magazine. To be re-published in an anthology of Canadian Contemporary Writing. Page 11: ‘To the chief musician – when one sent and they watched the house to kill him.’ A malediction upon Hitler. Your reader says ‘badly expressed.’ What means this ‘badly’? I do hope it does not mean wickedly. Published in Poetry Magazine, where the heathen did not rage; also read before a Jewish audience where, despite the bad expression, Jewry understood Haktani well. Page 13: ‘A Song of Loves.’ Thanksgiving to the Lord for having created poisons – the last twelve lines enumerate some of them and Page 2:

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their blessed medicinal uses. Haktani would pluck out his eye, rather than this poem. Published in Poetry Magazine. A small thing. When Haktani knocks upon the door of immortality, he can leave this passport at home. ‘Psalm of the fruitful field.’ Published in Opinion and anthologized. ‘A Psalm to be preserved against two wicked words’ – and a damn good one at that. No David (Rex Imperator) could have written it, and no loud-mouthed proletarian, but only Haktani. Published in the Menorah Journal. Not so bad at all. Haktani does well combine the vernacular and the mystical. Perhaps the Lamed Vav’nik does not mean as much to the Christian Herald as it does to the Jewish. ‘A Psalm of a mighty hunter before the Lord.’ ‘A lame ending’ says your reader – but it walks straight to me. Remember Millay’s sonnet: ‘Country of hunchbacks – where the strong straight spine Jeered at my crooked children, makes his way.’ Well, I am not in love with this one either. But I will not jilt this one! Published in the Menorah Journal. ‘For the bridegroom coming out of his chamber.’ Published in Opinion and elsewhere. A treatment of the symbolism of the broken nuptial goblet – Io Hymen! So delete it, if you must, for hygienic reasons. ‘For the bride, a song to be sung by virgins.’ Your reader finds also virginity banal. How fortunate he! De Maupassant: ‘He always preferred a widow, because of his natural indolence.’ ‘A benediction.’ Published in Opinion. Haktani is content with the hechsher of Rabbi Stephen Wise. ‘A Psalm with trumpets for the months.’ Your reader says ‘forced rhymes.’ Your reader is very observant. However, I can live without this leaf in my laurel. ‘A Psalm of time and the firmament.’ See Rilke: ‘O wie ist alles fern Und lange vergangen Ich glaube, der stern Von welchen ich glanz empfange Ist seit Jahrtausedent tot.’

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Page 41: May be deleted. Page 42: ‘A Psalm of Abraham of that which is visited upon him.’ Haktani does most certainly insist upon the inclusion of this. Page 43: A poetic rendition of sections of the famous tale of Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlaw – ‘The Tale of the Seven Beggars’ – a most mystical piece of Yiddish literature. Page 45: Your reader does not criticize this one, but Haktani wishes it deleted. Haktani moreover informs me that when he first submitted his manuscript, he made it understood that its contents were not final, and that deletions might be agreed upon. Page 46: ‘A Psalm of the heavenly minister.’ Difficult to see what is objectionable herein, unless it be the uncomplimentary reference to the angels. Dieu me pardonnera – c’est son métier. Page 48: ‘A Psalm praying his portion with beasts.’ Haktani as you see, is discriminating in the choice of his company. Recently published in the Review of the Hebrew Union College. Pages 49–50–51–53: All themes taken from the ‘Tale of the Seven Beggars,’ the only piece of literature in Yiddish which can equal the writings of Dr. John Donne or Traherne. All previously published. Page 56: A poem inspired by the rites of Cabbala. An animadverting to the belief that a mis-pronunciation of the sacred name of God – the tetragrammaton, brings evil spirits upon the face of the earth. Page 47: ‘A Psalm to teach humility.’ Published in Opinion. A modern rendering of the benediction –    . Page 63: ‘A Psalm of resignation.’ As you will note, in most of the cases the objections of your critic must be guessed at. I should really have presented a motion for details. Here, I presume, it is the blasphemous note to which objection is being taken. If that is so, I pray that the Lord be saved from His Friends. Page 64: ‘In re Solomon Warsawer.’ Published in Menorah Journal, re-published in an American Anthology, and to be re-republished in a contemplated Canadian Anthology. It is to be noted that your critic, in his penultimate paragraph, magnanimously changes his mind about this particular poem. Page 87: ‘Yehuda Halevi, his pilgrimage.’ This happens to be the poem which won first prize last year in the Yehuda Halevi Contest. The judges of the said contest were Maurice Samuel, Dr. Sholom Spiegel and Professor Wolfson.

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Page 102: ‘Ballad of the Thwarted Axe.’ Published in the Canadian Forum. Page 104: May be deleted. Pages 71–72–74–75–79–80–82–85: The mathematical order is your critic’s, not mine. ‘Murals for a House of God.’ Published in Opinion. A poetical treatment of a German pogrom in the eleventh century in Mainz. Page 107: ‘Ballad of the Nuremberg Tower Clock.’ Published in Saturday Night, Toronto, edited by the distinguished Canadian critic, B.K. Sandwell. Page 109: May be withdrawn. Pages 111–116: Six love sonnets. Haktani does not insist upon their inclusion in this volume. Haktani can find room for them in another contemplated volume, not of particularly Jewish content. All have been published. I believe that it is now time therefore, to take a poll of the jurors. In favour of the above mentioned poems, as respectively indicated, are the following: Mr. B.K. Sandwell, Dr. Stephen S. Wise, Maurice Samuel, Ludwig Lewisohn (an editor of Opinion), Dr. Ira Eisenstein (editor of the Reconstructionist), Prof. Wolfson, Dr. Spiegel, Henry Hurwitz (of the Menorah Journal), Geo. Dillon, editor of the Poetry Magazine, distinguished American poet, Rolf Gustafson, editor of the Canadian Anthology, Earl Birney, editor of the Canadian Forum, Prof. W. E. Collins, author of White Savannahs, a book of literary criticism in which a chapter is devoted to Haktani, the which chapter discusses some of the disapproved poems, etc. Against: the author of the ‘Subway Psalm’! I do hope, my dear Judge Levinthal, that you will take these notes in the spirit in which they are written. If they are somewhat sharp, blame Haktani’s attorney; I know that you will understand the difficulties inherent in boxing a shadow. As a matter of fact, I may inform you that Haktani took the three pages of criticism in good part; it was only the pious pseudo-friendly tone in them which he resented. He was in fact, sickened by the protestations of the critic ‘that it would greatly please him to be able to recommend his book’; ‘that his natural sympathetic inclination pressed him to praise, and that it distressed him that he cannot do so.’ I, too, am wondering at the motivation of these apologies. For me, if a person has an opinion to express, he expresses it, and ruat coelum. It is the mealy-mouth which is suspicious.

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I am wondering too, as to whether your critic has any association, direct or indirect, with any of the editors of the Contemporary Jewish Record, some of whom, to Haktani, are personae non gratae, – and they know it. If his suspicion is unfounded, he apologizes, and puts the whole matter back in its proper perspective – a difference in educational background and cultural outlook. I must add by way of final note, that these remarks are not in any way to be misinterpreted as a plea for the publication of the book. The trouble I have taken with them has been entirely out of respect for yourself, and in appreciation of your interest. With kindest personal regards and Zion’s greetings, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE August 31st, 1942 Mr. Geo. Dillon, Editor, Poetry Magazine, 232 East Erie St., Chicago, Ill. Dear Mr. Dillon: Enclosed you will please find four poems: (1) Penultimate Chapter. (2) Come two, like shadows. (3) That legendary eagle, Death. (4) The Golem submitted for publication in your magazine. While I am at it, I want to congratulate you upon the consistent high

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quality of recent issues of Poetry. They are a joy forever. These fellows Nims and Shapiro are really good. Sincerely, A.M. Klein AMK:FP Encls/4 P.S. I have not seen any of your poems published recently in Poetry. Is it because find difficulty in passing the editor?

To Peter DeVries, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE September 29, 1942 My dear Mr. DeVries, I have again considered the uglyduckling adjective – pudendal, even going to the extent of conjuring up its possible ersatz. None would do; the word is le mot juste. The fact is that the entire poem is built about the contrast between the slick shave of Plato, and the erotic hirsuteness (considering his theories) – of the learned doctor. The facial contrast, moreover, serves as an apt parallel to the intellectual struggle postulated in the previous stanzas; the physiognomic from the gnomic. Obvious, as you say, it may be; so obvious, I find it irresistible. As to the propriety of the word, that does not seem to concern you. It did, it does, concern me, – but it still, to my mind, is the word. I am preparing the necessary apologies to my wife and sisters. In the meantime, upon my head, the blushes. Sincerely Abe Klein

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To Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society October 6th, 1942 Judge Louis E. Levinthal, Court of Common Pleas, 606 City Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. My dear Judge Levinthal: No doubt by now you have had time to finish reading the twelve-page letter which I sent you on August 7th, in reply to a piece of criticism forwarded to me on July 22nd. From your letter of June 18th, I gathered that the Publication Committee of your Society approved the manuscript, with a recommendation to the Board of Trustees that it be published as soon as your schedule would permit. Since that time, I understand the matter has been referred to a sub-committee. I am now wondering whether any progress has been made towards a decision. With kindest personal regards, I am, Very truly yours, AMK:FP

To James Laughlin, New Directions Press November 3, 1942. The Editor, New Directions, Norfolk, Conn.

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Sir: I do not know what method you employ in selecting your ‘Poets of the Month,’ – whether it is that the bards themselves volunteer their lunar immortalities, or whether your agents and observers seek out the calendar’d elect. I assume that it is not the latter; else long ere this I should have been a moon. Accordingly, herein enclosed please find. The poems speak for themselves. A word is required, if at all required, only about the ‘new directional’ ones – ‘Variation on a Theme,’ ‘Sennet from Gheel,’ ‘Spring Exhibit.’ The wild direction is Joyce’s, but the careful walk is mine. I believe that Finnegans Wake has uncovered a marvellous technique, marvellous in that it approaches the virtues of music, not by mere echolalia, but by releasing simultaneously a swarm of concordant melodies. But it is a technique for poetry, and not for prose. Certainly it is not adapted to long narrative or detailed exposition: Poe’s poetic principle here receives its best illustration. Someone should prepare – you may pass this on to your editorial board which has done so much – and so worthily – for Joyce – an anthology of discrete passages from the book: Purple Patches in the Wake of Finnegan. It would be a collection of pearls beyond price, although still, perhaps margaritae ante porcos. ‘Variations on a Theme’ has been published in Preview, ‘Sennet from Gheel’ in Poetry. The other poems are comparatively comprehensible (sic). The figures of ‘Desideratum’ are taken from Hebrew tradition. You may accept or reject these offerings in part or in toto, or do with them as you please – always with polite reservations. I imagine that you have enough for the size of the usual booklet, if not there’s more where that came from. Of myself: I am a lawyer – mais il faut vivre! – the author of a volume of poems Hath Not a Jew, and – I proceed climactically – the father of two sons. Have appeared in Poetry, American Caravan, Canadian Anthology, Canadian Forum, Menorah Journal, etc. Have never been a hobo, soda-fountain-jerker, expatriate (save as all Jews are), boxer, bull-fighter, tinker, tailor, – but some of my best friends have. Yours truly A.M. Klein.

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To Peter DeVries, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE Nov. 20, 1942. Dear Mr. DeVries, I do not like to do reviews of the work of people whom I know unless I am comparatively certain that the reviews will be favorable. Courage I have, but not that courage which can brave the outraged sensitivities of the poet whose hand tomorrow I may have to shake. From such tasks, as we say in the argot of the courts, I recuse myself. Gustafson’s work I know and esteem. I am prepared, therefore, fearless and unafraid, to put that esteem to the test of reading and reviewing his latest work: fiat justitia, ruat coelum. But Birney, some of whose poems I have read in periodicals, is not in that class at all. To review them together would be to lead myself into perpetrating odious comparisons. As the Yiddish proverb rhymes it: Why go with a healthy head into a sick bed? (This is not to prejudge Birney’s book, which may be very good. But if it isn’t, it is not I who would want to hurt his feelings.) So, if it’s alright with you, I would prefer to review only Gustafson’s volume. I may add that if you have on hand some really bad versebooks which you wish to be manhandled, I would be delighted; I make this addendum so as to eliminate any suspicion of an assumed saintliness. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society November 25, 1942. My dear Judge Levinthal: I am at a loss to understand why my letters to you remain unanswered. I am beginning to wonder whether there is a psychological writ of prohibition enjoining you from corresponding with me, and if so, on what

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grounds. Argument unheard, I assure you that such a writ is unfounded in fact and in law. I do hope that you will not deem me too importunate. It is quite a while now since my mss. has been hanging fire, and my curiosity as to its fate is, to say the least, pardonable. The truth is that your silence after my last long letter has me worried, not because of its relation to the mss. but because of my relation to yourself. It was a purely personal communication to yourself, and I trust it caused you no embarrassment with reference to your readers or your committee. Certainly for your committee I would have written a different letter, the same in content, but not in tone. Or am I reading things into your silence which are not there? I would appreciate hearing from you. Sincerely, A.M. KLEIN

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press Jan. 4, 1943. The Editor, New Directions, Norfolk, Conn. Dear Sir, Several months ago I sent on to you a mss. of poetry, submitted for your ‘Poet of the Month’ series. To date I have in the interim not heard from you, although I have written in the interim to your circulation department on other matters and been answered. Which goes to show that your circulation hand is more expeditious than your editorial one. Which is as it should be. But – quousque tandem?

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I hope you will pardon this straining at the leash. I have immortal yearnings. Yours truly A.M. Klein.

To A.J.M. Smith January 21st, 1943 Dr. A.J.M. Smith, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich. My dear Arthur: I hope that you will pardon my delay in answering, as I was ill for about a week. Realizing the importance of promptness, seeing that your deadline is February first, I hasten to answer your queries. I do not however, intend to give you ‘a brief statement of my attitude towards my art, etc.’ I am surprised that you ask it. You know that such questions elicit only the sheerest of arrogant balderdash. What shall I say in reply: ‘I sing because I must!’ – How phoney! Or that I wish to improve the world with me rhyme! – How ridiculous! Or that I seek to express the standards of my age, etc. Me, I will have none of that cant. Simply expressed, I write poetry only to reveal my civilization, my sensitivities, my craftsmanship. This however, is not to be quoted. And now to the writing of notes to my own verses. (Your request shows that your choice of my poems somewhat overemphasizes the Judaica). On the heavenly scarp. Angels of Sodom: – Angels specially assigned to works of destruction. cf. Genesis, Chapter 19. Autobiographical. Sabbath-Goy: – A Gentile employed by Jews to kindle their fires on the Sabbath, such labor being prohibited on that day to the children of Israel. Goy = Gentile.

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Torah-escorting band: – The Torah is the scroll of the Law, written on parchment. When such a scroll is donated to a synagogue by a rich knave who seeks with his piety to atone for the wretchedness of his soul, the said scroll is customarily carried from the home of the donor through the streets leading to the synagogue, the whole to the accompaniment of music, to wit, a couple of violins and a flute. Again they ring their little bells, those doors, etc: – The impression of my childhood days is that the only people who kept groceries were widows, who always had little bells over their doors, so that they might hear the entering customer, even from the remoteness of the back kitchen, the emporium usually being located in the front double-parlor. Aleph: – The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. cf. Alpha. Called ‘running’ because written  with four legs, like a swastika. Angel pennies: – If I knew my lesson well, my father would, unseen, drop a penny on my book, and then proclaim it the reward of angels for good study. Warsovian perruque: – Jewesses (married and pious) wear perruques. The custom has died out in America; but not for my mother. Baal Shem Tov: – Literally, the Master of the Good Name – a saintly rabbi of the eighteenth century, founder of the movement known as Chassidism; he placed good works above scholarship. He was a simple good man, a St. Francis of Assisi, without birds or flowers. Maariv: – The evening prayer. I will not say ‘vespers.’ Volhynia: – A province formerly belonging to Russia, subsequently to Poland, and now in German hands. The Burrs: – The Ninth of Ab (a month of the Jewish calendar) commemorates the destruction of the Temple. It is a day of mourning and fasting. It is customary on that day for youngsters to gather burrs and thistles, bring them to the synagogue, and throw them – not always with impunity – into the beards of the mourning elders – so as to give a touch of realism to their historic weeping. For the kids, this is a lot of fun. The Haman-rattle: – Haman is the villain of the Book of Esther. On Purim, which is the festival commemorating its events, the Book of Esther is read in the synagogue. Every time the name of Haman is uttered by the reader of the scroll, the youngsters, armed with rattles, make a furious noise, so as to drown out those unspeakable syllables. There will be a day when they will be called Hitler-rattles!

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In re Solomon Warshawer. This poem is based, among other things, upon a legend that King Solomon was for a time, ousted from his throne by the demon Asmodeus. The King in despair wandered over the country-side crying ‘Ani-Shlomo – I am Solomon!’ He was taken for a madman. The implications of the poem are that the contemporary Jew has also been ousted from his position in society by Hitler, the Asmodeus of to-day. Solomon Warshawer therefore, is the immortal Solomon, still seeking to prove his identity to the world. Nalewkas: – Polish for ‘streets’ – the slum district of Warsaw. By that lone star that sentries Pharaoh’s tomb: – The architecture of the pyramids is such, that its principal doorway or entrance is so placed, that the light of a star – name forgotten – always falls upon it. cf. Hogben’s Mathematics for the Million. Master of the worm, pernicious, that cleaves rocks: – According to legend, Asmodeus was the master of the worm called Shani. It could cleave rocks, and was very important in the construction of the Temple, since it was prohibited to put iron to Temple-stone. Hitler in his concentration camps is also such a master. Bestiary. Elusive unicorn: – Job 39:10. pygarg: – A kind of antelope – literally, the white-rumped animal. The beast Nebuchadnezzar: – This wicked King is reputed to have ended his days as a grass-eating animal. The golden mice the five: – 1 Samuel – Chap. 6 – verse 4. Heirloom. Yahrzeit: – Literally anniversary. It is customary to inscribe the date of the passing of an ancestor on the fly-leaf of some sacred book. Special prayers are said on that anniversary date. Though no pictures on them: – Hebrew prayer books are never illustrated. The only drawings that appear in the liturgy are the signs of the Zodiac illustrating the prayers for rain and fertility. And now you may call me pedant! I do hope that you will use a minimum of these notes. They are written mainly for your edification. I am looking forward to the publication of the book. When do you

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think it will appear in the market-place? It should be more than merely a handsome volume. With all best wishes, Sincerely yours, Abe. AMK:FP

To Ralph Gustafson Feb. 16, 1943 My dear Gustafson, This is to acknowledge your letter of Feb. 2, requesting poems for Voices. I am sorry that you find me at a moment when I have no available unpublished verse; such of it as I have being now on circuit in various editorial offices. I do not think that the rejections will come back in time for your purposes. Many regrets – but everything else is being rationed, too. With best wishes. Sincerely Abe Klein.

To Margedant Peters, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE

April 10th, 1943 Miss Margedant Peters, Poetry Magazine, 232 East Erie St., Chicago, Ill.

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Dear Miss Peters: I am awfully sorry that I have been unable to review for Poetry the two books that were sent to me some time ago. I have been unwell, and was not quite up to it. I do not know whether it is my state of health, or Gustafson who is responsible, but I cannot manage to write a review of his books with which I should be satisfied. Accordingly, I am returning them. Please convey my kindest regards to Hak. Very truly yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Ralph Gustafson May 17th, 1943 Mr. R. Gustafson, 70 Central Park W., New York, N.Y. Dear Sir, Many thanks for the copy of Voices which you were kind enough to send to me, the appearance and contents of which only served to deepen my regret at not having been able to make some contribution to it. I am also very glad to hear that the Canadian Poets 1943 (New Directions) is being gone ahead with. Your selection of my poems to be included therein is perfectly O.K. with me. With kindest regards, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

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To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press June 16th, 1943 New Directions, Norfolk, Conn. Attention: Mr. James Laughlin Dear Mr. Laughlin: I take the opportunity of writing you again with reference to the manuscript of poems which I submitted to you early in November of last year, and about which you answered that you were trying to decide; that you liked them, but were handicapped by the fullness of your schedule. Is it possible for you now to give me any further information about the fate and destiny of the ms. Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein. P.S. I gather from Ralph Gustafson that he is putting out, under your imprimatur, a Canadian Anthology in which he is including some of my poems from my volume Hath Not a Jew. I hope that this will not exhaust your sponsorship of Canadian poets.

To Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society July 1st, 1943 Judge Louis E. Levinthal, Court of Common Pleas, No. 6, City Hall, Philadelphia, Pa.

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My dear Judge Levinthal: This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of June 25th, plus enclosures from Rabbi Milton Steinberg and Dr. Grayzel’s report, all of which I have very carefully read. And so I am properly purged! Yet the suggestions for omissions contained in the report and in Rabbi Steinberg’s letter, I believe, will, under two aspects, make a better book. I note, for example, that the disapproval of certain poems is based upon one of two considerations: (a) That the poem is either too vigorous in its criticism of Jews, and accordingly, the J.P.S. which knows not who its eavesdroppers are, cannot afford to give its imprimatur to something which the enemies of Israel might use against us. We have indeed come to a sorry pass when we cannot even afford the luxury of self-criticism, lest the foe seek to confound us out of our own mouths. This viewpoint I can understand, occupying as I do in the local Jewish community some positions which entail a responsibility greater than that usually felt by the skylark poet. (b) The second category is obviously of poems which are not as good as those which remain. Accordingly, I accept all the suggested deletions indicated in Dr. Grayzel’s letter. I would make a plea only for one. It is suggested that the Psalm on pages 13 and 14, Psalm 10, ‘A Song of Loves’ which is a benediction upon the Lord’s poisonous chemicals, be deleted. I pray that you see your way clear to preserving it from limbo. It is a good poem; it is a sincere poem, and though it makes the blessing for poisons, believe me it is not a bracha l’vatala. I do not know whether the motivation against this poem was due to the fact that in the last four lines, morphine is spoken of in flattering terms, – but note, it is morphine for medicinal purposes. I myself have on several occasions received the blessing of its effects, and they are precisely as described in the last lines of the poem. He would be a churl who would not be grateful for this piece of the Lord’s creativeness. I may point out in addition that this poem has appeared in Poetry Magazine, Chicago, and has been considerably anthologized. Dr. Grayzel speaks of obscurity with reference to certain poems. I do not know whether the poem under consideration falls under this charge – but I am taking no chances. ‘The hemp of India – and paradise! – The monk’s hood, cooling against fever, – The nightshade: death unpetalled before widened eyes; – And blossom of the heart, the purple foxglove!’ –

cannabis aconite belladonna digitalis

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These lines refer to – see above. I note that some one suggests that the line ‘To praise thee for the poisons thou hast brayed,’ might be ‘brewed.’ Specifically the word is bray, as in ‘bray in a mortar.’ With reference to the poems which remain, I make the following notes on Dr. Grayzel’s report, of which I presume a copy is in his possession. Psalm 2, pages 2 and 3. Have deleted the lines with offending rhymes. Their omission from the poem does not in any way affect it. I cannot however, change the last stanza. It is one of the principal points of the poem, a variation of the Miltonic verse concerning ‘justifying the ways of God to man.’ In this poem, the reverse is prayed for, the justification to other men of the poet’s religious ways. Page 4. I have deleted this poem entirely. It is not in the spirit of the rest of the Psalms. Page 8. Here, revision is suggested. I note from the markings on the poem itself what is the nature of the suggested revision, but I cannot agree. The rhythm of biblical utterance is as I have indicated, and not as the marginal notes would amend it. Page 9. Objection is made to the fact that certain lines are not clear. Which lines these are I can only surmise by the markings on the poem. ‘Who had geniuses unmanned.’ Obviously a reference to the German procedure of sterilization. In stanza 4, the word ‘gutter’ is underlined, and your reader suggests ‘wall or street,’ – but no; the correct word is ‘gutter’ which is more picturesque and which emphasizes the extent of the humiliation of the ‘gentle violinist.’ Your reader further suggests a transposition of words in the second of the last line, so that the line would read ‘and the Lord nothing said,’ but this would be a crude and unreasonable inversion, justly satirized by Matthew Arnold when he laughed at the phrase ‘I you thank.’ Page 11. I am glad that you decided to keep this poem in. It is a right juicy malediction upon the Fuehrer and has its place in my book. I note two annotations on that poem. A mark opposite the second line – I still think that the line is correct, its particular form being born of the Latin way of saying the same thing, ‘multi sunt illi …’ The other note appears to lift an eyebrow at the use of the word ‘privy.’ It is not a pleasant word, but in its context, in association with Hitler, it is as Flaubert would say, ‘le mot juste.’ Besides, what other name is there for a ‘privy wall’ except a ‘privy wall’? Pages 13 & 14. I have already discussed and pleaded for. Page 17. I note the marking beside the word ‘explicate.’ This is an Eng-

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lish word used in its Latin connotation, a technique frequently adopted by Tennyson for the purpose of freshening the English tongue. Thus, it means literally, as in Latin, to unfold, and gives full meaning to the phrase which follows it, ‘the folded present.’ In other words, ‘explicate’ is here charged with two meanings, (a) to explain, (b) to unfold. Page 18. The questioned lines are deleted. Page 19. It is suggested that the line ‘that set on his shoulderblades two wings’ be changed to ‘that set upon his shoulders wings.’ This suggestion is not an improvement. In the context, the phrase ‘shoulderblade’ is the much more appropriate word. Grown up men have shoulders; little boys have only shoulderblades. Page 21. Some one suggests the use of the word ‘plead’ instead of ‘grovel.’ I cannot see this. To plead is not necessarily an ignoble undertaking. To grovel is. I consent to the deletion of the word ‘O’ before ‘Lord’ in the third stanza. The omission improves the rhythm and gives that line a tone of finality. Page 22. The word ‘fuss’ admittedly a vernacular, almost a colloquial word, enhances the sense of the sentence. It reduces the Saints in their desire to do honour to the name, to the helplessness and excitement of excited housewives. Page 23. I have changed ‘lassoo’ to ‘lariat.’ I would prefer that the word ‘rotted arrow’ stay ‘rotted.’ Obviously the suggestion is that the arrow is rotted from long disuse. The word ‘crooked’ however, would not be pertinent. Page 26. The phrase ‘a-blowing’ is suggested. Unacceptable. It is a phoney phrase. A word that landlubbers think sailors use. Page 27. Correct as is. Page 30. Correct as is. Page 31. The effect of this poem lies in its short simple sentences. Page 32. Correct as is. I see that the word ‘nine months’ is marked out. I do not understand the meaning of this correction. I am informed by my wife and by the Civil Code of the Province of Quebec that the period of gestation is nine months. Page 34. I have thrown out two lines herein as indicated, because these lines now appear to me to be more expository than poetic. The rest of the poem should remain as is. Repetition of the phrase ‘lift up’ is to be preferred, to the use of synonyms. In the last line, the word is definitely ‘open writ’ and not ‘holy writ.’ The word ‘open’ is no accident. It is intended as per contrast to a writ specifically addressed. The moon is indicated in the poem as open to all, and to each according to his lights.

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Certainly the use of the word ‘holy’ would hardly be applicable, to something which earlier in the poem is described as that ‘newly minted coin.’ Page 35. As is. Cannot accept the suggestions for the change of the last line on page 36. The point of the poem lies in the use of the phrase ‘the full death-quiver.’ All other ailments are single arrows of the quiver of the Lord. The prayer consists in asking, in lieu of madness, the ‘works.’ Page 47. I would not think of using the word ‘chanticleer’ nor the word ‘cock’ in a translation of the benediction     It is much better rendered: ‘Who givest to the rooster wit To know the movements of the turning day.’ Page 48. There are two question marks beside the phrase ‘lion’s honeyed fells.’ ‘Fells’ of course, means skins. See Judges, Chapter 15, verse 18. Page 50. Last line changed. Original version baldly platitudinous. Page 53. Divide into sections. I would like to know why the word ‘filth’ is underlined. Page 55. As is. Page 58. Deletion of word accepted. Page 60. The word ‘spiral’ is OK. To my mind the word is most aptly chosen. Nothing better describes the form of logic known as ‘pilpul’ than to picture it as a ‘spiral splendid staircase’ on which one rises ever upward, as in the Hegelian dialectic, upon the compatibility of contradictions. Page 64. It is suggested that there be some changes in the obscure lines. The obscure lines however, are not indicated. Naturally, I did not write anything that I knew to be obscure. Page 87. The word is ‘essay’ meaning to attempt. The word is ‘eke’ used by Chaucer and Coleridge, and easily comprehensible to Jews to whom it means  . ‘Leet’ is the medieval word for a medieval court. Page 89. Alcorans may be bad Arabic grammar inasmuch as Al is the singular article, but in English literature, Alcoran is one word, and its plural is alcorans. Page 93. ‘Forelore’ is a legitimate English form of ‘forlorn.’ It is to be noted that archaic medieval words are frequently used in this poem, obviously for the purpose of bringing out the Eleventh Century atmosphere in which it is set. Page 95. ‘Alnath, Alpherd, Alferoz, Ald’baran’ – Arabic names for the constellations. Beautiful words for beautiful things.

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Page 97. If the word ‘she’ is preferred, O.K. A somewhat pedantic correction, since popular usage justifies the other. However, I recoil before the exclamation mark which follows the correction. Page 101. ‘Is still for no head but her lovely head.’ Must remain as is. The effect of the line lies in the repetition of the word ‘head’ with change of accent; in the first place, no is accented and head unaccented. In the second ly of lovely is unaccented, and head is. I want to draw to your attention the fact that in addition to the omissions suggested by Dr. Grayzel, all of which are acceptable to me, with the exception of Psalm 10 on pages 13 and 14, I have myself deleted Psalm 3 on page 4, Psalm 15 on page 20, Psalm 18 on page 23, Psalm 33 on page 40, Psalm 50 on page 63, and pages 113, 115 and 116. There remain in the book 77 full pages, which, when set out in book form will probably run to 90 or 100 pages, which is by a slight margin somewhat longer than the usual book of poetry. I would like moreover, to have this book divided into three parts: (1) The Psalter of Avram Haktani (the Psalms of course, will have to be renumbered in sequence). (2) Series of single poems. (3) Yehuda Halevi His Pilgrimage. I hope that the way now lies clear for the book to go to press. With kindest regards, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP P.S. It may be, that for some technical reasons, you may want a somewhat longer book than the 100 printed pages. I have just finished a long poem – an indictment against the Fuehrer – ‘The Hitleriad.’ I have not yet had it published anywhere. I hesitate to submit it as part of the J.P.S. book, lest much time be lost in submitting it to readers. It is, definitely, not characterized by feebleness or delicacy of expression. But I think it is one of the best things I have written, and for me personally a satisfying exercise in righteous hate. I am sending it along, primarily, so that you may read it; and only secondarily, so that you may include it in the book if a quick decision can be made and I have not made other arrangements for it. My dilemma is this: I must have the Hitleriad published before the dog dies; yet I wish his death daily.

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To Joe Dainow Aug. 27, 1943 My dear Joe, Good old Joe, always having in mind ‘the one increasing purpose.’ And losing no time to write me that I am a shlemiel! Which I am! The fact is that even as I write I am still suffering from that semi-retracted tooth. My doctor tells me that the pain will last for two weeks, or for six – nothing in between. As final and irrefutable juris et de jure – as a pregnancy. I am keeping my teeth crossed until the two weeks expire, which is this coming Tuesday. I was really anxious to see Dr. Dushkin, and so sallied forth, as he no doubt told you, with a lop-sided cheek, and a mouth redolent of iodoform. I was very glad I did so. Your Dushkin is a splendid man – a pedagogue who is not a melamed. I look forward to renew our acquaintance sometime in the future, my teeth willing. Now, I am puzzled about an obiter dictum of yours. You speak of there not having been a chance to discuss personal matters. That there wasn’t. But what personal matters do you think one ought to have discussed? Or what ‘favorable conditions to conceive, deliver and nurture my contributions to posterity,’ could Dr. Dushkin give me. After all, as I told you on many an occasion, I am not interested or fitted for Jewish pedagogy, in its technical sense. All I am really interested in, above everything, is writing poetry. Everything else in my life is mere adjunct, a means to that end. In this, how could Dushkin help me? He can’t; and still, he’s a very very nice guy whom in thirty minutes I learned to like and admire. With me, nothing very exciting is happening. Of the present war, all I can say is what Talleyrand said of his achievement during the French Revolution: ‘I managed to survive.’ Actually I am, from a medical point of view in category 3. But that is a long story. If, however, the pen is really mightier than the sword, I am striking my blow. I have just completed a long poem ‘The Hitleriad’ – 700 lines, a prosecution peroration against Adolf. I think it’s pretty good (sic, sic) and it’s now going the round of the publishers whom I would persuade to publish it in book form. You are on my list – select – for a copy as soon

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as it sees the light of day. No, seeing you are in the Judge Advocate General Department, I enclose a copy of the mss. forthwith. Otherwise, everything as per usual. I labour at my daily tasks, and unlike a poet, support my wife and children. With kindest regards to all from all Sincerely Abe.

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press September 10th, 1943 Mr. J. Laughlin, Alta Lodge, Sandy, Utah. My dear Mr. Laughlin: I was most elated to read that you have decided to include in your year-book the following poems: Variation On A Theme Desideratum Sennet From Gheel Spring Exhibit Upon the Heavenly Scarp Shoshannim Bratzlavar Al-taschith Love-Love-Love I have read those year-books regularly in the past. Their standard has been very high, and I deem it a distinction to be included in one of them. I do hope that I will be given an opportunity to proof-read the poems; ordinarily it would not matter very much, but so many of the words in

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at least three of the poems are manufactured ones, and I would like to make sure that they are correct. Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein. AMK:FP P.S. I believe I informed you that ‘Sennet from Gheel’ & ‘Upon the heavenly scarp’ have both been published in Poetry

To John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Fellowship Application [October 1943] 1944 Group: LETTERS Poetry NAME: ADDRESS: OCCUPATION: PLAN: NOTES:

Klein, Abraham M. (Mr.) 4857 Hutchison Street, Montreal, Quebec Barrister Creative work in poetry Born Canada, 1909. McGill University, B.A. 1930; University of Montreal, LL. M., 1933. Married; two minor children.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The record of my entire career as a writer can be best spoken for by my published work, and by the reactions which that work has evoked. My poems have been published throughout the last decade in the Canadian Forum, the Menorah Journal, the American Caravan, Opinion, the Dalhousie Review, Poetry Magazine and others. Most of these poems published during the thirties are included in my volume Hath Not a Jew Behrman’s Jewish Book House, 1940, and in New Provinces Macmillan’s in 1936.

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A long poem on ‘Yehuda Halevi’ which was judged by Maurice Samuel, Professor Harry Wolfsohn, and Dr. Samuel Spiegel, was awarded an international prize in 1941. This, together with psalms, published in the Menorah Journal, Autumn, 1941, and in Opinion of the same year, and ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’ included in Smith’s anthology, are to form part of the volume of poetry to be published shortly by The Jewish Publication Society. I have also translated from the Yiddish many folk-songs and some classical authors. From the Hebrew, I have translated a great deal of the poetry of Chaim Nachman Bialik, much of it published in the Jewish Frontier, 1941, 1942, also some poems of Rahel, distinguished Palestinian poetess. The following quotations indicate some of the reactions which my work has evoked. I submit them objectively; they are not to be taken, merely because I indicate them, as reflecting my own opinion. With a good number of them, I disagree, mildly. ‘Klein’s soul, without a doubt, is an ardent symbol of the spiritual rebirth of the Jewish people; the resounding anger and the prophetic vision, the impassioned lyricism of his poetry witness to the depth and intensity of Israel’s awakening to a realization of her ancient and splendid destiny, yet one of the rare qualities his poetry possesses is the tone, the mature, the gentle tone acquired through intimate association with the literatures of Europe.’ Prof. W.E. Collin, in White Savannahs. Macmillan’s 1936, Chap. pp. 206–231. ‘It is this note, of eloquent rebellion, combined characteristically with resignation and pride, that gives dignity and moral significance to the more recent ‘In re Solomon Warshawer,’ one of the greatest, though most specialized ‘war poems’ to have come out of Canada during the second World War. It is necessary to mention the presence in Klein’s poetry of other qualities than any that have been named: humour, ranging from the boisterous and broad to the tenderest and most subtle; a lightness and grace of fancy; and a sympathy and love for whatever in humanity is innocent and helpless – children, simpletons, and old people.’ Dr. A.J.M. Smith (Fellow), Book of Canadian Poetry. University of Chicago Press, 1943, pp. 309–310.

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‘Klein’s poetry springs from the roots of a consciousness where Hebrew and legal lore have become strangely and exotically intermingled with Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot … Klein, heir to an authentic Jewish tradition, reflects that tradition in every line he writes. His verses are declamatory because far back the prophets too spoke as from the rooftops and because down the centuries Jews have … lectured to God.’ Dr. Leon Edel (Fellow), in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, Apr. 1941. ‘Such writing touches eternal verities, and is far from the Jewish apologetics which can be understood only by Jews, or are too superficial to be of any value to Gentiles. It is worth a thousand confessions and analyses.’ Libby Benedict, reviewing Hath Not a Jew, in Menorah Journal, Summer, 1940. ‘Klein’s poems are at once unconventional and traditional. They are unconventional in his experimentation with forms, in his use of old and new words, in his selection of subject matter. And yet they are traditional in their sense of cultural continuity.’ Dr. Israel Knox, reviewing Hath Not a Jew in The Call, December, 1940. ‘Klein has that substance and power of passionate meaning within him which has given us some of the most exciting poetry of our day. Into his poems, even to the wild wit and sparkle of his rhyme, he has transfused the sufferings, the ardour, the dream of the Jew … He is the first Jew to contribute authentic poetry to the literature of English speech.’ Ludwig Lewisohn, Foreword to Hath Not a Jew. ‘Klein has blended a unique old-world folk tradition with the pulsating life of our continent and thereby brought new richness to our literature. His verse is packed with humour and compassion and irony and indignation.’ Leo W. Schwartz, reviewing Hath Not a Jew. ‘No Jewish poet since Isaac Rosenberg has written such distinctive

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Jewish poetry and has such power and drive in his work. His use of English is superb, and his verse, attuned to strange music, can be playful and muscled.’ John Cournos. ‘His use of Jewish material has not been a limiting but rather an enlarging influence: he has made for himself a world of characters, images and ideas which give a solidity and an intensity to his poetry very rare in our literature.’ Prof. E.K. Brown, Poetry Magazine, April, 1941.

PLANS FOR WORK: Unless one is in a position to undertake the writing of a XXth century Paradise Lost, or of a contemporary Inferno, it is presumptuous for a poet to speak of his intended creative enterprise as a ‘Project.’ All that I can undertake to do, should I be awarded a Guggenheim Scholarship, is, for the period of its tenure, to devote myself exclusively to the composition of verse. Beyond the singleness and cohesion which my work may manifest as emanating from a single personality, it will not, I must admit, constitute a single and cohesive project. Moreover, no one poem that I presently contemplate will take an entire year in the writing. There are, however, a number of themes which have been clamouring within me for utterance; those, for want of time and lack of that peace which comes only after the routine economic obligations have been fulfilled, I have hitherto been unable to attempt. Thus, I would like undisturbed to focus my imagination and skill upon the following items: a. A long poem of homage to James Joyce, rhymed, and employing the linguistic technique of Finnegans Wake. I believe that Joyce, having invented the contrapuntal literary method – productive of effects hitherto known only to music – was misguided in seeking, over a period of seventeen years, to apply it to what was essentially a narrative or expository task. Joyce’s paragraphs of double-and-triple entendre, taken separately and without relation to the whole book, would make a splendid anthology of original verse. His method is primarily a poetic one. I would now like to pour his unconventional language into

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d.

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conventional forms; and already I have attempted this technique in ‘Variations on a Theme,’ published in Preview (Montreal) and to be re-published in the forthcoming New Directions Annual. A satiric poem (approximately 600 lines): An Essay on Law. An emendation of the fourth act of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, with additional dialogue, supplied by an additional character: a contemporary lineal descendent of Shylock, viewing and interrupting the trial scene from amidst the audience. A poetic one-act play, set in Prague at the time of the Nazi invasion, and revolving about latter-day attempts, both by scientific effort and religious incantation, to revive, – so that he may fight the foe, the golem, according to legend still resting in the ‘Old Synagogue.’ The attempts, needless to say, prove futile. The duty of contemporary society is to destroy the golem, not to resuscitate competitors for him. An exercise in symbolism. An Askenazate Anthology – a series of poems, portraits of anonymous Jews – a cross-section of Jewish life. Poems, divers and sundry, unknown and unspecifiable, born as the spirit moveth.

On these self-assigned tasks, I would prefer to work both in New York and Chicago, the one chosen, among other reasons, for its libraries, general and Hebraic, and the other because Poetry Magazine – and its group – are there located. Should the war end, and should the rules of the Guggenheim Foundation permit it, I would like to visit then, as military exemption prevents me from now visiting, liberated Europe, and Palestine. Perhaps the contemporary Inferno and Paradise Regained will there materialize. As to my plans for publication of my work, I presume that what has happened in the past with reference thereto, will occur again – publication in periodicals, followed by publication in a single volume. My ultimate purpose as a writer? To express myself; and thus, being in all essential things, save in expression, like my fellows, to express mankind; myself in Time, as centrepoint between ancestry and posterity; and in Space, myself in relation to my environment, animate and inanimate, seen and Unseen. More particularly, I have sought to bring to the well of English that mineral

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content – the wrath of righteousness – which is my heritage from my biblical forefathers.

REFERENCES: E.K. Brown, Cornell University W.E. Collin, University of Western Ontario E.J. Pratt, University of Toronto A.J.M. Smith, Michigan State College Rabbi Stephen S. Wise

To A.J.M. Smith November 5th, 1943 Prof. A.J.M. Smith, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich. My dear Arthur: When you were last in Montreal, and were good enough to give me a copy of Canadian Poetry with the very touching, much appreciated and sincerely reciprocated inscription, I could only inarticulate my thanks. Since that time, I have had the opportunity of examining the teeth of the gift-horse. A most splendid set! I think you have done for Canadian poetry what Palgrave did for English – you have prepared the classic anthology. Not that I compare your standards of criticism with those of Palgrave; he was no slouch, it is true, but he could not escape the Victorianism of his time. By dint of ancestral restraint, you, of a later age, have the advantage over him. The parallel is, however, true insofar as the classical nature of both volumes is concerned. After your anthology, all other Canadian ‘flower-collections,’ hitherto intrinsically suspect, now become comparatively valueless. What I was particularly pleased about is that your approach to your subject, as so admirably illustrated in your well-thought-out and fundamentally sound preface, was eclectic. You did not come to your work with the fixed

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ideas of a single school, even of a school of seven. You did not, merely because you stole into this century, damn with one devastating gesture, all the fathers that begat us. In every period, you found something worth while remembering; in some, you even resurrected the dead, as you did for me in the case of Heavysege. This is a tribute to your good taste; the peasant can stomach only one diet; the epicure enjoys all delicacies. I do not mean to send you a book review, but a number of thoughts struck me on first looking into Smith’s Homeriana. I take them seriatim, as I turn the leaves of your volume and note my incorrigible markings. I do not think that Sangster’s lines quoted on page 8, are particularly musical. Looking at the other exhibits of his poetry, I find, technically speaking, that the trouble with him lay in the fact that he had too great a penchant for feminine rhymes. He was the lady-killer of prosody. Page 9: ‘Her bosom-gourds swelled chastely.’ You deserve a medal for taking the veil of oblivion from off that priceless quotation. It is in itself an indictment of the kind of anthologizing, if not poetry-writing, which went on heretofore. That Campbell should accept ‘bosom-gourds’ and rattle or finger them, whichever is the right word, in an Oxford anthology – Page 10: I agree with your appreciation of Mair. ‘Yet always seemed The rustle of the leaves like falling rain,’ is good. I would almost say, as the Queen of Spain said about the copulations of the proletariat – it’s too good for him. Page 17: 2nd Par. Re Carman’s devotees – ‘willing victims’ – a perfect epithet, and a gentleman’s withal. Page 25: Your quotation – ‘God must be fascinated etc.’ is also attributed to Abe Lincoln, who, when jibed about his ugly face, answered in the same vein. Page 35 et seq.: A thousand thanks for your Indian poems. They are idea-provoking. Perhaps what we need in Canada is a little interlude of primitivism. Page 55: So Oliver Goldsmith was a cockney. Section 4 – ‘morn-lawn.’ Page 56: Mr. Mountain read too much Pope. Line 7 – ‘Lo, the poor Indian!’ Page 57: A misprint to memorialize the first edition. ‘Innured.’ Page 8:

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Page 58: ‘With sanguine sash and eke with Indian’s mogs Let Frenchmen feed on fricassees and frogs.’ That’s what I like about this book. Smith reads all the dull volumes, picks out the good sections for my delight – and I get the pleasure while he has the pain. Page 76–80: Your re-discovery of Heavysege is a gift to Canadian writing. The man had a Shakespearean scope. The Talmud says that he who quotes something in the name of its author brings salvation to the quoted. You have done that for Heavysege. With all their faults, his sonnets are splendid things. I know of no other sonneteer who has the faculty of so illuminating his fourteenth line. Only Don José Maria de Heredia wrote sonnets of the same kind, where the fourteenth line flips open like a fan, revealing the complete design. But how in the world did you come to include on page 78, a poem with this: ‘Upon the doleful region of the dumps.’ Page 83: I am sorry you included ‘Gee Buck Gee,’ but I suppose a proletarian poet like McLachlan enjoys privileges, and an anthologist like Smith has no other alternative but to take what the market provides. Page 92: The best thing of Sangster’s, as you indicated in your preface, is the ‘Brock Poem.’ For the rest – ‘Her flocks of panting islets on the breast’ ‘love-wild’ ‘a fair community’ ‘to catch a look at the strange streamer.’ Rightly do you say ‘old-fashioned, artificial,’ but wrongly do you say ‘charm.’ Page 110: Duvar is also new to me. And in his way, O.K. ‘An average sample of the belle sauvage Twould be no task to populate the land.’ How did that ever pass the censor, and he a Dominion Inspector of Fisheries! I skip the new nationalism and the whole period of the pundits, the foster-fathers of Confederation. I cannot read them as carefully as the other poets in the anthology. They have upon me a narcotic effect. They produce in me not only that suspension of disbelief of which Coleridge spoke, but what is worse, a total suspension of all my reacting faculties. Page 232: I liked very much MacInnes’ first stanza of ‘Zalinka.’ It has a strange Lewis Carroll or Edward Lear quality.

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Page 240: ‘The Foreigner’ – line 3, ‘gray, gray skies.’ For a banker poet, that duplication constitutes an N.S.F. cheque. And didn’t he realize the ridiculousness of ‘And little pines Also’ or of ‘when we lifted him up, he would fain have pursued, but grew dizzy instead.’ Page 252: Despite that snobbism which would keep Robert W. Service out of the canon of Canadian poetry, I am very glad you included him. I believe that the same defence can be made for him as T.S. Eliot has just made for Kipling – that K. and in a lesser degree, S. were folk-balladists, naturally, not balladists like the unknown author of Sir Patrick Spence, but balladists nonetheless à la Woolworth. Page 259: Gallant Smith omits from his biographical sketches the ages of women. Page 291: Your tribute to Pratt and the extensive space you give him is 100% justified. He is a very good poet – it is a pity that he should now undergo the ignominy of being praised by W.R. Benét. Page 308: I still cannot appreciate W.W. Ross. Page 321: I was wrong in our last conversation in underestimating Birney. ‘David’ is a fine thing; I got a great deal of pleasure out of the reading of ‘Anglo-Saxon Street.’ Page 361: ‘The Canadian Authors Meeting’ is still the best satirical poem in Canadian letters. I never understood ‘Hardest It Is.’ Now I fear that I do understand it. Could it be that these eight lines are a refined description of the sexual act? Page 373: The impeccable artist. Il fabro meglior. But you did not give yourself enough space. I suppose you felt – fastidious man – that if you included one more poem, you would have exhausted your collected works. Page 391 et seq.: You most certainly have done me justice, and more. Naturally your introductory note pleased me, but nothing so warmed the cockles of my heart as the very last clause of the very last sentence – brother and friend! Your selections from Wreford, Anderson, Page and Avison are typical, and should go far to advance the reputations of the deserving. Hambleton I have not yet learned to appreciate, but ‘Perhaps I will get up when It rains.’

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Congratulations again upon a very splendid piece of work. The Guggenheims, whose fortune is from copper, have re-invested in gold. I am now looking forward to the publication of your own volume of verse. When do you expect that will be? With kindest regards to yourself and your wife, I am, Sincerely yours, [Abe.] P.S. When do you plan to be in Montreal again? P.P.S. Pardon the rudeness of a dictated letter. I began by writing it by hand, but found I could not reread it.

To Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society Nov. 30, 1943 Dear Dr. Grayzel, Since the receipt of your letter of October 7th, promising a further communication in about two weeks, I have not heard from you. Is there anything new, or does your committee insist that the book be published posthumously? ‘The travail of creation is nothing compared to the travail of waiting,’ said the father pacing the maternity ward. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press Nov. 30, 1943 Dear Mr. Laughlin: On September 28th, I addressed to you a mss. ‘The Hitleriad’ which was sent on to Alta Lodge, Sandy, Utah.

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Since that time I have not heard from you, and am now writing to enquire as to whether the mss. reached you, and if so, as to whether you have arrived at any decision about it. I may say that the mss. is being printed – practically privately, and in a very limited edition, 400 copies, – here in Montreal; I am, however, free to dispose of it as I please. I have made moreover, certain changes, and I believe improvements in the mss. since it was sent to you. When do you expect the New Directions Annual to be out? I note that I have not yet seen any proofs thereof – Shall I? Sincerely yours A.M. Klein.

To A.J.M. Smith Nov. 30, 1943 My dear Arthur, Many thanks for your letter of Nov. 17, together with the very engrossing report about the fate and destiny of ‘the Book’ to date. The single impression I get, both from your facts and from general reaction elsewhere, is that the Canadian Authors Association and people of that ilk now know definitely that their day is done. In the reviews their spokesmen go through a resisting, a pantomime; but these are only the gestures of the moribund. The beauty of the situation is that you did the job without cruelty, but rather with kindness. In fact, an aggressive attack would have worked the other way. The C.A.A. perished under a Smith’s suave anesthesia; the groans we hear are from ether. I do not know whether you have seen P.D.R.’s follow-up of Nov. 13. Someone sent it to the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, no doubt to add to the gaiety of nations. It speaks for itself, in short words. It can be answered only in short words, Anglo-Saxon. P.D.R. seems to be unconscious. I defy him to show me any free verse I ever wrote, let alone ‘the greatest.’ For a moment I thought that P.D.R. was being subtle, and implying that the greatest free verse was the free verse that was never written. But such reaches of ratiocination are beyond him. And then he cites ‘Autobio-

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graphical’ – rhymed. And furthermore calls him a ‘Sabbath-guy.’ Souls of my ancestors, pray for him! I enclose for your edification this essay in literary mensuration and statistics. Morgan-Powell, so far has not reviewed the book. He’s probably still checking the index to see if he’s included. He’s a poet, too, uno! Northrop Frye, in the Canadian Forum, wrote a good essay. But was it a review? I like these fellows who use another fellow’s book as a pulpit for their pontifical irrelevancies. Discussion, however, is good, and the book is certainly being talked about. As I wrote you in my last letter, all other anthologies have been not only outmoded; they have been de-standardized. I have received this morning a letter from Creighton of the C.F. informing me that News of the Phoenix is arriving under separate cover, and that I am to review it – before Dec. 14th. It will be a pleasure; I look forward to it. As a matter of fact, I tried to lay my hands on a copy ere this, but as yet, the News has not reached Montreal book-stores. By the way – this is a peculiar question – is there anything in particular about any particular poem you would want me to say? Often I have wanted to write my own review of my own book. If you share, even partially, such inclination, let me know, I’ll be your mouthpiece. If so, let me hear from you before deadline the 14th. I have seen E.K. Brown’s book which I presume is dedicated to you. He has some very shrewd things to say about the state of Canadian letters, but I don’t think his proportions are quite right. I think, for example, that he doesn’t do you justice, and does Kennedy justice with mercy. With most of the strictures which he finds in my poetry, I may ignore; but Lord, O Lord, why must both he and Collins go flaunting my circumcision? I am not a poet because I’m a Jew; ask Mr. Itzcovitch of ‘Better Cloaks Req’d’ whether the two are synonymous. It’s an adolescent trick – this whimsical opening of another man’s fly. I hope that E.K. Brown, whose name I gave to the Guggenheim people, together with Pratt’s, impresses them with more than the fact that I am a Jew. Advice, please? Do you think I should write to Pratt and Brown. I feel embarrassed about sending them a letter instructing them to speak good of me. I think they will, anyway. What do you suggest? Beyond doubt, they have probably answered the G. communication long ago. I do hope that you will be able to get to Montreal for Christmas. You owe it to yourself, what with two Canadian books appearing at one time on the scene of your former haunts.

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With kindest regards to yourself & your wife As ever Abe. P.S. I do not remember whether I saw a short 1 paragraph review of ‘Book’ in the Nation or in New Republic. I think that Rolfe Humphries could do a good job on it.

To Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society December 15th, 1943 Dr. Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society of America, 225 South 15th St., Philadelphia 2, Pa. My dear Dr. Grayzel: Many thanks for your letter of December 3rd, containing your definite declaration that the manuscript shall be taken, and arousing in me the enthusiasm of imminence of publication. With reference to the suggestions which you make touching certain changes, I want to assure you that I have taken them in the spirit in which they were made, and that I fully understand their motivation. Psalm 2 – page 3: The last two lines are changed as per your suggestion. They now read: ‘And with Thy sacred stratagem Do justify my ways to them.’ Page 10: The word ‘gutter’ is changed to ‘pavement.’ Page 12: The word ‘privy’ cannot be changed. Please delete the poem. Psalm 10 – pages 13 and 14: The omission of poem agreed to. Page 19: Suggestion agreed to. Psalm 20 – page 26: Settle for 50%. Agree to change ‘nor of travelled roads’ to ‘not of travelled roads,’ but cannot agree to change the word ‘that’ in the last line to ‘for it,’ first, because ‘for it’ definitely states reason, while ‘that’ constitutes apposition, im-

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plying reason. In poetry, implication is to be preferred above statement. Secondly, the last line must be short, heavy and final. The words ‘for it’ instead of ‘that’ change the line to a tripping, hastening one. Psalm 21 – page 27: Suggestion accepted. Psalm 44 – page 54: To be changed to: ‘God save me from the ugly words I heard.’ Psalm 45 – page 55: I believe that you have misread the script, although the fault is that of stenography. The line reads: ‘The ship leaves.’ Even in my most courageous of moments I would not dare to coin a word like ‘leaved.’ Page 82: Suggestion agreed to. I would change the title to read: ‘Rabbi Yom-Tob Petitions his God.’ Page 93, Verse 19: As per your suggestion, the lines have been changed. They read: ‘It shall not ever be – alack-a-day! – Ransom shall not be mine, not ever more, And perish I shall surely on this stony floor.’ In addition, I would like to have the last lines on page 25, Psalm 19, changed to read as follows: ‘I did not see this dance, but men Have praised its grace; but I Still cannot fathom how they danced, Or why.’ Also on page 37, Psalm 30, I would have lines 2 and 3 changed, and the first four lines would read as follows: ‘One day the signal shall be given me; I shall break in and enter heaven, and Remembering who, below, held upper hand, And who was trodden into misery.’ Also page 27, Psalm 21, the last three lines should read: ‘Not sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, his freight, One brings his heart for pawning with his fate He, surely, he shall come within the Gate!’ Now as to order of the poems, I would like to have the volume called ‘Poems: by A.M. Klein’ divided into three sections. 1. The Psalter of Avram Haktani. 2. Series of single poems. 3. Yehuda Halevi, His Pilgrimage.

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The order of the Psalms should be as at present, with the exception that Psalms 4 on page 5, and 13 on page 17, should follow Psalm 30 on page 37. I would prefer also that Psalm 48 on page 58 be put as the last Psalm of the series. After these changes have been made, the Psalms can be numbered accordingly, preserving the original titles. No specific order is suggested for the isolated single poems. I believe that with all the changes and deletions, there remains in the book about seventy-five full pages, which, when set up in book form, will probably run to ninety or ninety-five pages, which is substantial for a book of poetry. If however, some additional poems are required, let me know, and I will be glad to send on to you a sufficient number which have already been published in various publications, and whose contents harmonize with those of the volume. By the way, I think you have a copy of ‘The Hitleriad.’ Seeing that it is not going into the volume – on second reflection, I do not think it should – will you be good enough to have it mailed to me. I want to mention also that I would like to have in its proper place, the dedication of the volume: Dedicated to the Memory of My Father. In the opening leaf too, credit should be given for permission to republish poems in the volume to The Menorah Journal; Poetry, A Magazine of Verse; Opinion; The Reconstructionist; The Jewish Frontier; The Canadian Forum, and others. With kindest personal regards, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society December 16th, 1943 Mr. Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society of America, 225 South 15th St., Philadelphia 2, Pa.

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My dear Mr. Jacobs: I was very happy to receive your letter and to behold your letterhead entering the picture bearing honorarium. Since you asked me to let you know frankly what I had in mind, on the business end, frankly, I must say that I assumed that the usual contract would be given me. As for the choice of alternatives between outright sale of the manuscript and royalty arrangement, I must unequivocally choose the latter. As for other details, I will be happy to hear from you. Yours very truly, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To A.J.M. Smith Epiphany, 1944 My dear Arthur, The date-line must be the result, no doubt, of your metaphysical influence. I have just finished reviewing your book – copy of review enclosed – and am still enjoying its double pleasures – first, for the intrinsic merit of the poems themselves, and secondly, for the associative happiness which came with the recollection of the bright days when first I read most of them. As you know, the review should have been ready for the January issue of the C.F., but I fell sick – another victim of the Falangist flu – and have only now air-mailed the paean to Creighton with a request that he publish it as a full-page article, rather than as but another detonation among the Forum’s critical salvos. To you personally, I want to say how thrilled I was to see at last your carefully modelled thirty-nine steps – that’s the number of your poems, you know – erected into a permanent staircase leading to the heights. What I think of them, I have already said publicly – I have no doubt but that now appearing in book-format they will inevitably invite imitation,

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and as inevitably defy it. For hotel-registers to the contrary notwithstanding, not everybody is Smith. My felicitations – and my best wishes for still more news from the phoenix, long may he think and please himself and ecstasize! Cordially Abe.

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions 1/12 1944 From Klein – Montreal, Canada Gratified by your decision Hitleriad – Montreal Group have undertaken private printing Hitleriad. 500 copies distribution Canada only. Have you objection. If so can halt their work but at financial loss to myself. All American rights yours of course. Canadian market open to you. Please wire reaction collect. Will then airmail amended copy poem. Time Essence. Hitler may die. K.

To A.J.M. Smith Jan 14, 1944. My dear Arthur, I didn’t mind your suggestions about the review at all, – on the contrary I was grateful, for the changes you suggested, seeing that the review is a signed one, were really in my interest. Wherefore, I have already despatched, airmail, a note to Creighton requesting him to substitute the dignity of bards by the efficiency of writers of verse, and asking him

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to delete the sentence about Keats & Landor, whom, as I wrote to Creighton, it is not necessary to denigrate, even for Smith’s sake. I don’t think that my review was too generous; the fact is that while writing it, I felt myself cramped for space, as you probably surmised from the rather abrupt ending. I did see the Shaw manifesto in Preview, and felt the same way about it as you, and this despite the disarming comment on myself, and told both Page and Anderson so. The truth is that that kind of criticism both sickens and enrages me; those people think that having discovered that bread is vital, they have found the last word in human thought. It’s only the first word, and so elementary that its proof lies only in the rumblings of the stomach, and not the cerebrations of the brain. What particularly galls me is the superciliousness that accompanies their insistence that rice ought to be shared and shared alike; they know something I don’t know! My only consolation lies in watching them jump through the hoop – every time the party changes its line. The punishment is Dantesque. The Manchester Guardian Review I have not seen. I still note that S.M.P. has not reviewed the Book of Canadian Poetry. We certainly have some highly literate analphabets in our fair Dominion! In the New Directions Annual, I have a series dubbed ‘Nine Poems’ unconnected in theme, the proofs of which I just read yesterday. The Joycean ‘Variation of a theme’ is included, as also ‘Sennet from Gheel’ which appeared in Poetry. Also the two poems – psalms – one on poisons, and the other a malediction on Hitler, which appeared in the Canadian Issue of Poetry some time ago. Also there are two Bratzlaver poems, both of which you have seen. A poem on Love – ‘half-angel and half-slut’ you may have seen, and a poem on the Cabbala, which you saw, and to which you suggested a correction, duly made. The pièce de resistance, however, is that New Directions has also accepted for ‘Poets of the Year’ my long poem ‘The Hitleriad,’ the first hundred lines of which I read to you two years ago. It now is a poem of 30 typewritten pages, about 200 lines, and, in its genre, satisfying to me; by that I mean that it is Augustan verse, – but not entirely written in heroic couplets – you will remember that that technical problem bothered me for a long time – it has also hudibrastic lines, terza rima, concealed sonnets, etc. I am having an amended copy typed now, and shall try to send a carbon on to you. I have already received Gustafson’s Little Anthology – a beautiful printing job, but I am not very happy either about my selections or yours.

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They are only superficially typical. However, an anthology of that small size is really a difficult thing to undertake. Best regards As always Abe.

To Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society January 15th, 1944 Dr. Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society of America, 225 South 15th St., Philadelphia 2, Pa. My dear Dr. Grayzel: This is to acknowledge your letter of December 30th, together with ‘The Hitleriad’ which was therein enclosed. I think that your comments about the poem are very sound, and as a matter of fact, the poem has now been revised, and instead of being one breathless mass of eight hundred lines, is now divided into sections; so that we both, in different places and at different times, arrived at the same conclusions. You will be interested to know that ‘The Hitleriad’ has been accepted for publication by New Directions, a publishing house which has published some of the best poetry of the last decade. Now, as to your dissatisfaction with the title for the middle section of the book, ‘A Series of Single Poems,’ I am sorry that I was apparently misunderstood. The phrase ‘Series of Single Poems’ was intended rather as a direction to the printer, than as a title for the series. Of course, I agree with you that that title would be a most prosaic one. I would suggest therefore, that for the isolated poems appearing between ‘The Psalter of Avram Haktani’ and ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ the generic heading be ‘A Voice was heard in Ramah.’ As you will note, the poems under that heading, ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’; ‘Rabbi Yom Tov’; etc., all refer to the Jewish tragedy. I think therefore, that this citation from Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 15, is a good class description.

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I do hope that you are about to begin, or already working on the manuscript. Very sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions January 17th, 1944 Mr. J. Laughlin, Alta, Utah. My dear Mr. Laughlin: Enclosed please find the amended version of ‘The Hitleriad,’ the original whereof I have already dispatched to Samuel Marcus, 19 Arrow St., Cambridge, Mass., together with the pertinent excerpt from your letter. I must state frankly that I appreciate your view-point in not wanting to have a competitive edition in Canada. The suggestions for solution which you make, indicative as they are of your good will, do not answer the problem. The group with whom I had this understanding, though endowed with many virtues, is not particularly distinguished for efficiency. Under the circumstances, I would not care to have you rely upon them for the putting out of the book, and for the numerous details which would be entailed in the scheme of bi-national publication. However, since I last communicated with you, I have come to an understanding with the group which in no way involves yourself, and which reduces my out-of-pocket money to a negligible minimum, particularly in view of the fact that all that they had done to date was to get the type and run off a couple of pages. Under the circumstances, you may now proceed as if no difficulty had ever arisen. I was most pleased to note from your letter that you instructed me to send the amended version forthwith to the printer. Although in the writ-

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ing of ‘The Hitleriad’ I may have been moved by immortal longings in the distribution of same, I am primarily concerned with timely publication. Best wishes. Very truly yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP P.S. The length of ‘The Hitleriad’ is not altered at all in its amended version. Where lines have been thrown out, only an equal number have been substituted; most of the revisions however, are concerned with epithets, emphasis and le mot juste. P.P.S. I was wondering how many author’s copies you usually grant, and what your discount is to authors for copies over and above the number accorded. My copies of course, would not be intended for resale, but for distribution solely as gifts.

To Samuel Bronfman January 20th, 1944 Mr. Samuel Bronfman, 1430 Peel St., City. My dear Mr. Bronfman: Reporting to you upon my reading, from a public-relations point of view, of the French translation of Stephen Leacock’s Canada, The Foundation of its Future, I wish to inform you that I have had a long interview with the translator, during the course of which I have drawn to his attention various passages to which I have suggested alternative translations. These were passages which permitted of two versions, and in all instances, I preferred and recommended a rendering which would eliminate any possible controversy and offence, or ambiguity – and yet not be false to the original.

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I may say that in all of these instances, isolated ones it is true, the translator was very co-operative and understanding, and promised to make the necessary amendments. Insofar as Dr. Leacock is concerned, I may add that none of these versions will constitute mistranslations. There still remain, however, certain sections of the translated version which do trouble me, having regard to the unpredictable nature of national sensitivities. I still recall how concerned you were during the editing of the English version, that nothing should appear in the book which might offend anybody’s feelings; it is a tribute to your influence and sense of human relations that when the book was finally published, it elicited unanimous approval. It was seen then that all the pitfalls which usually attend the writing of history – intrinsically a controversial subject – had been successfully avoided. For once, the writing of Canadian history had succeeded in cementing friendships, rather than in emphasizing differences. Significantly enough, it was a history sponsored by yourself. It would seem, in the light of the foregoing, that all that is required in the French version is a faithful translation. I cannot help but feel however, that even a greater degree of care than was exercised before, is necessary in dealing with the contemplated edition, written in French for French distribution. I am for example, disturbed about Dr. Leacock’s opinions touching large scale immigration, in which the emphasis seems to be upon British immigration (pages 244, 45, 46). These are opinions, I believe, which are unpopular with the Province of Quebec. His treatment of Louis Riel (pages 166, 189, 190) though obviously restrained, might perhaps also offend the ultra ultra sensitive. I know of course, that among the great mass of intelligent readers, it will be understood that the history is Leacock’s, and only the sponsorship is The House of Seagram’s. I would not care however, to build good will upon so nice a distinction. For obvious reasons, deletion of the above mentioned section is out of the question. I would suggest therefore, that the difficulty be overcome via the French preface to the forthcoming edition. It may be that this difficulty is an imaginary one, but we ought to make assurance doubly sure. Whoever writes the French preface therefore, ought, I think, to include in his remarks the following facts: That the English version has already elicited unanimous applause and was highly praised in the entire French-Canadian press, regardless of the reviewers’ party or other affiliations; that the French version is a laudable

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gesture on the part of the House of Seagram, motivated by the thoughts indicated in the preface of its President, to make this history which is at once a mine of information and a medium of good will, available to an even larger French public than hitherto had it; that unlike other historians, Leacock is not inflamed with the quarrels of the past, but only with the common prospects of the future; that among these prospects, he considers French Canada a corner-stone; that although his personal opinions on immigration may perhaps be controversial, they manifest the outspokenness of an honest man, and serve to enhance the integrity of the rest of the volume; that it is gratifying to know that great numbers of English Canadians can now see ‘through Dr. Leacock’s history,’ the contribution of French Canada in its proper light, etc. I believe that the French preface should run to about one thousand words. Very truly yours,

AMK:FP

To Ralph Gustafson Feb 3, 1944 My dear Mr. Gustafson, This is just a note to acknowledge the receipt of payment for my poems, and the copy of the ‘Little Anthology,’ for both of which please accept my thanks. The anthology is a beautiful little thing, well got up, and with choice selections. The New Directions always do a good job with their printing, and Gustafson with his editing. You may perhaps be interested to learn that New Directions are publishing my ‘Hitleriad’ in their Poet of the Month Series. I will send you a copy as soon as it appears. Sincerely A.M. Klein

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To James Laughlin IV, New Directions February 24th, 1944 Mr. James Laughlin, Alta Lodge, Alta, Utah. My dear Mr. Laughlin: This is to acknowledge your letter of February 10th, from which I was saddened to learn that our printer has spurned my skinny manuscript for plumper stuff. Now we, at least, know what makes Sammy run. So your decision to rely upon the Profile, failing the Plumpton Press, is a good one. I do hope that Mr. Reichl is wedded only to literature, and is now hectically pursuing his honeymoon with ‘The Hitleriad.’ I do not think that a formal contract, mellifluous or not, is now necessary. Our correspondence covers all the important items and constitutes by both American and Canadian law, the contract between the parties. Whatever has been omitted, if anything, is covered by the custom of the trade. As for the jacket blurb, I am afraid I am a poor blurber, particularly with regard to my own work. For the descriptive phraseology to be used in connection with the poem, I refer you to my letter to you of September 28th, 1943, and as to myself, I am enclosing a set of statements which have been made about my work by various persons, from which you may glean the more applicable and least flattering epithets. With kindest regards, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein. AMK:FP From Dr. A. J. M. Smith’s Book of Canadian Poetry – University of Chicago Press, 1943, pages 309–10, which contains complete biographical data. ‘It is this note of eloquent rebellion, combined characteristically with resignation and pride, that gives definite and moral signifi-

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cance to the more recent ‘In re Solomon Warshawer,’ one of the greatest, though most specialized ‘War Poems’ to come out of Canada during the Second World War. It is necessary to mention the presence in Klein’s poetry of other qualities than any that have been named: humour, ranging from the boisterous and broad to the tenderest and most subtle; lightness and grace of fancy; and a sympathy and love for whatever in humanity is innocent and helpless – children, simpletons and old people.’ Dr. Leon Edel, in Poetry, April, 1941. ‘Klein’s poetry springs from the roots of a consciousness where Hebrew and legal lore have become strangely and exotically intermingled with Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot. His verses are declamatory because far back the prophets too spoke as from the roof-tops, and because down the centuries, the Jews have lectured to God.’ Ludwig Lewisohn, Foreword to Hath Not a Jew. ‘Klein has that substance and power of passionate meaning within him, which has given us some of the most exciting poetry of our day. Into his poems, even to the wild wit and sparkle of his rhymes, he has transfused the sufferings, the ardor, the dream of the Jew … He is the first Jew to contribute authentic poetry to the literature of English speech.’ John Cournos. ‘No Jewish poet since Isaac Rosenberg has written such distinctive Jewish poetry and has such power and drive in his work.’ As you will notice, most of these comments place emphasis upon the Hebrew influence in my writing. I need hardly say that in the blurb for the present work, such emphasis is entirely out of place. ‘The Hitleriad,’ I flatter myself to believe, is of universal import, and the only thing Hebraic about it is perhaps its indignation and compassion. I hope you will forgive me for not having sat down to write the blurb myself. I did try, but never succeeded. These things I think, should be written by a person other than the author. Moreover, I think you underestimated the quality of your own blurbs.

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I checked with those which appeared on the previous issues of the ‘Poet of the Month,’ and certainly found nothing to be critical about.

To David Lewis March 13, 1944 My dear Dave, I was very glad to hear from you and to hear that the address which I delivered ten days ago found favour in many eyes. Despite the misgivings which I entertained about it, and which I communicated to you, it turned out highly satisfactory, indeed. It was originally intended that I speak last, but after the first speaker Gretski had begun his talk, – by calling the Communists traitors – and then seeking a climax! – several areas of infection were apparent among the odd eight hundred who crowded the hall. I felt, therefore, that the moment called for some kind of interlude between our guest and the first fine careless rapturer. I provided it, and it was not bad. I must say that in the short time that I spent with MacInnis, I got to like him very much. The honest man, par excellence. One of those whom my Talmudic jargon would call of the       – the saints of the gentiles, in case you have forgotten. I readily understood your affection for him – a great guy. The meeting, moreover, has struck home. I have already received numerous inquiries from fellow-travelers as to whether I intend to run – in the provincial election against M. Hartt. Crafty-like, I have invariably answered that I am gunning for Alderman Louis Bass. Crafty-crafty-like. I am sure that they are confused; because thus far, they have stayed their hand from me in their press. The real affect of the meeting, however, took place in another direction. I saw Dickstein Friday afternoon when he came in from Toronto. I had previously seen Stuchen in at my office but he was not au courant having been ill for the last three weeks. You were most certainly right about Dickstein – in spades. In fact, he made a clean breast of it, and admitted that he had been in contact with Heaps, was still in contact with him, and that on the very same day he was supposed to have had a meeting with Zavalkov and Rubinstein, presumably to advance Heaps’ inter-

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ests. He had not attended the meeting because he was now convinced that neither his people or the others would accept Heaps. There seems to be a general preference for me; the antagonism to Heaps I personally corroborated at the local P.Z. headquarters. Accordingly, Dickstein in my presence phoned Heaps long distance to Toronto, the home of Miss MacPhail, and told him his chances here were hopeless, and that he should go get back his job with his previous employers. Heaps apparently replied that he had a chance at Hamilton, and would decide within the next few days. I must add, for your sake, that both these gentlemen are not your friends. Nor mine, either – particularly Dickstein who already told me that he could not appear on a C.C.F. platform because of his insurance associations. I was so sad. I only hope he keeps to his determination, regardless of who the candidate may be. I understand you are coming into town on the twenty-first. We should be able to get together this time; if not, on the twenty-third when I will be in Ottawa to talk to the Jewish People’s League, as you are already aware, having been in touch with Stuchen, whom I met yesterday to discuss the topic of my talk. Another nice guy – Ottawa seems to be full of them. The choice seemed to be between the White Paper (Jerusalem) and the Davies book (Moscow). I hope he picks the latter, which I have discussed only once before; the former I seem to have talked about all my life. With love to the Lewises, senior and junior Abe.

To Guy Sylvestre March 17th, 1944 Mr. Eugene Sylvestre, c/o Le Droit, 98 George St., Ottawa, Ont. Dear Mr. Sylvestre: This is to acknowledge your letter of the 13th instant, in which I was

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very happy to read that you are contemplating an article in French on Pratt, Smith and myself. I do not think that you can get Hath Not a Jew, in Canada, it having been published in the United States, and its sale mainly confined there. I am happy however, to send on to you a copy, with my compliments. Yours very truly, A.M. Klein AMK:FP P.S. Please be good enough to let me see the article when it is published.

To H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress March 22, 1944 My dear Mr. Caiserman Enclosed please find Mr. Bronfman’s Passover message which you will be good enough to send out to the Yiddish and Anglo-Jewish press of the country. Since the Passover issues of these journals are now in preparation, time is of the essence. Thanking you, I am With comradely greetings Abe Klein

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions March 29th, 1944 Mr. James Laughlin, 2490 Walker Lane, Holladay, Utah.

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Dear Mr. Laughlin: Honestly, I have tried, and tried, and tried to write that much required blurb. It seems that my language comes easier to me when I write of Hitler than when I write of myself. The sentiments are different. I have hunted up that letter in which I indicated the intentions of ‘The Hitleriad,’ and herewith quote the pertinent paragraphs. ‘“The Hitleriad” is neither lyrical, nor cerebral, nor pure poetry. It is a latter-day attempt to revive (and modify) an old technique, and apply it to the contemporary event. Augustan verse I know, has long been out of fashion. When lately used, it has almost invariably concerned itself with the merely literary squabble. Two centuries ago, Pope employed it to devastate his dunces; a century later, Byron used it to scotch his reviewers. But to-day, the poetry of wit and wrath finds mightier themes. Systems and ideologies, not rhyme-schemes and bardlings, fight for survival. Let the scop X hunt down his rival minstrel Y; I have sweeter quarry.’ ‘Baldly, “The Hitleriad” is intended as a prosecutor’s indictment against “that wicked man.” Of necessity, it indicates the source and origin of his power. It postulates the moral issues involved. For the rest, it speaks for itself.’ ‘I have felt that the best technique suited to this subject was the heroic couplet – that cat-o-two-tails, and the second knotted. But the heroic couplet, if persisted in for too many lines, eventually ceases to sting and becomes an anaesthetic. Accordingly, the meter and rhyme are varied – terza rima, Hudibrastic tetrameter, blank verse, concealed sonnets; all serve their several ends to make the prosecutor’s case.’ As for myself, may I modestly say that I am considered one of the leading of the younger Canadian poets; that my work, as I have indicated to you by supplying you with the necessary panegyrical quotations, has met with favorable notice, and that until ‘The Hitleriad,’ my major concern was with the traditions, reactions and aspirations of my own race. Hath Not a Jew is thus a book entirely in the Hebraic spirit. Other poems of mine, particularly those published in the Canadian Forum, have for the most part been intended as satire. In ‘The Hitleriad,’ I flatter myself to think that the prophetic indignations of my ancestors and the typical cerebralities of my co-religionists, stand combined. I do hope that the blurb will not prove to be too much of a nuisance to you. But I just can’t write my own blurb. I have tried, as I have said before,

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and the results have been either that I have soared upward in unspeakable arrogance, or crawled abysmally in mock humility. Very sincerely yours, A.M. Klein. AMK:FP P.S. How is the printer getting along with the copy? Shall I read proofs? ‘And at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near.’ P.P.S. But I shan’t complain. On account of the nail the battle was lost, on account of the blurb, the poem delayed. P3S. – Well then, just write, ‘The author of “The Hitleriad,” A.M. Klein was born in 1909 and is not dead yet.’

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions April 10th, 1944 Mr. James Laughlin, 2490 Walker Lane, Holladay, Utah. Dear Mr. Laughlin: Many thanks for your letter of April 7th. I certainly was elated to see at last the proofs of ‘The Hitleriad,’ although my elation was somewhat dampened by the fact that from the corrections I had to make, I realized that Marcus had used the first draft, and not the revised version which I had sent on to him on January 18th, 1944. However, I do not think that the corrections will cause him too great inconvenience. I think that your blurb is perfectly O.K., only I have taken the liberty, as per your suggestion, to make an amendment here and there. I enclose, together with your original, the amended version.

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I gather that you have established agencies in Toronto and in Montreal. I think that ‘The Hitleriad,’ in both these cities, should have a good sale. With kindest regards, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein. AMK:FP

To David Lewis April 14, 1944 My dear Dave, This is just a hurried note to request from you, in the following order of urgency, these three things. (a) The text of the MacInnis Amendment on Antisemitism; with any comments you may have to make. (b) The time-table, day book, of the last election in Cartier, together with copies, if you have them, of material, literature and general propaganda therein released. (c) Statement of receipts and expenses made to the Returning Officer in accordance with the Dominion Election Act. With reference to (a) We are having a meeting here on the 25th to discuss the subject of race discrimination, as per your suggestion at the convention. As you predicted, the L.P’s already have had their meeting on the twelfth for the purpose of telling the Jews in Cartier – but not the members of the House of Commons – how hateful Antisemitism is to them. The speakers were Fred Rose and Salsberg; Pomerance of the L.P’s has since told me that the meeting was on ‘a very high plane’ – from which I gather it must have been excessively dull. We plan to have R.L. Calder, somebody of the Paole Zion, and myself as the speakers. MacInnis was suggested, I would myself like to have him, particularly since he’s the sponsor of the

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legislation; but I hesitate to ask for him lest we impose upon him too often. What do you think? It is planned that at the end of the meeting a resolution will be drawn up in support of the MacInnis ‘Bill’ (sic) – since it is not really a bill – and wired to the Prime Minister. (b) This material will be very useful, for obvious reasons. (c) Ditto. Saw Frank Scott last night; he tells me the Ontario Convention was azoins vi azelecks – crème de la crème – ne plus ultra. Regards. Yours Abe.

To E.K. Brown April 21, 1944. My dear Brown, Many thanks for your very thoughtful and considerate note of the fifteenth. It was very kind of you to suggest that my failure with the Guggenheims was due to the fact ‘that the committee is not very favourable to creative projects.’ Certainly I know that it was not due to the lack of enthusiasm of my sponsors, not the least of whom was yourself. And for the said sponsorship – my gratitude. The last thing I ever expected to do was to run for office. My political commitment – tell it not in Gath – was partly a rebound from the Gugg. rebuff. For politics, or rather for political campaigning in the particular division in which I am to run, I have certain talents; these talents, as all political talents, I never esteemed highly. Under ordinary circumstances, albeit I cherish certain desiderata in the social order, I would never have thought to fling myself into a type of battle which is repugnant to me. Even now I would much rather hold a minor lectureship in a university which would provide me with a minimum of congenial work and a maximum of leisure to work upon the hundred ‘projects’ which agitate me, than be an M.P., let alone a would-be M.P. This attitude is one, I

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know, that you, out of your own experience can understand. However, since things are not as I would have wished them to be, I intend to fight the good fight on the field that has been chosen for me. My sole regret is that every one of my political speeches – and in Cartier you have to make plenty, and in three languages – will cost me at least three poems aere perennius. For I certainly do not intend to stop writing. Hell, no! Not even a revolution could make me do that, not to speak of a quinquennial election. In fact, a long poem of mine ‘The Hitleriad’ (900 lines – sic – ) is about to be published by the New Directions Press. I have just finished reading the proofs, and you may be sure that you will receive a copy, hot from the press; I hope it will still your doubts about my future as a poet. Of my future as a ‘politician’ I am not much concerned. I have also a series of 12 poems in the New Directions Annual for this year, copy which I have not yet seen. The Jewish Publication Society of Philadelphia, a venerable publishing house of Judaica, also has for spring publication a ‘Book of Psalms’ several of which you saw in connection with the Poetry Magazine Issue which you edited. But enough of apologia pro vita mea. May I add here also my congratulations to the many you no doubt have received upon your getting the Governor General’s Award for your book on Canadian Poetry. It is high tribute indeed – for when was a prophet with honour in his own country? Merit there is, however, which even official inertia can’t resist; and such merit your shrewd, sound, and often provocative analysis of the state of poetry in the Confederation assuredly had. What with you and Smith getting vice-regal honours, the Vanguard is coming into its own. I am looking forward to reading your article in the S. R. of L. With all good wishes and profound appreciation Sincerely A.M. Klein P.S. Forgive the scrawl. I just had an infected cuticle withdrawn. That comes no doubt from sticking one’s finger in the political pie.

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To Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society July 11th, 1944 Mr. Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society of America, 225 South 15th St., Philadelphia 2, Pa. My dear Mr. Jacobs: This is to acknowledge your letter of June 19th, together with the page-proofs and manuscript of my book, which I received here while I was away on vacation, and which I have taken the first opportunity of reading. On the page opposite the title page, I would like to have noted that I am the author of: Hath Not a Jew – Behrman’s, N.Y. ‘The Hitleriad’ – New Directions, N.Y. I would also like to have on page 4 an indication of acknowledgments which I am hereto appending. With reference to the title page, I prefer the one with the hollow lettering, the which I am returning. I would like to make no further additions, except to add a poem called ‘Autobiographical’ as the last poem in the book, following ‘Yehuda Halevi His Pilgrimage.’ I would also appreciate it greatly if Psalm 8 and Psalm 11 be deleted. Psalm 8 is to be substituted by a ‘Psalm of that which is remembered at the moment of drowning’ and Psalm 11 is to be deleted. Psalm 11 is to be substituted by a ‘Psalm for the breaking of Bread.’ I am enclosing also a short Psalm of eight lines, a Psalm touching genealogy, to be Psalm 36. Thanking you, I am, Very truly yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

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To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Aug. 4, 1944 My dear Laughlin, I have just received my copies of ‘The Hitleriad’ and they certainly look swell. A fine job has been done, and I now look forward to a wide circulation. I had, as a matter of fact, a bad moment about the book a couple of weeks ago; had Hitler died of the wounds (sic) received from the bomb which burst right in the Fuehrer’s face, our book would have lost a good deal of its timeliness. As it is, Providence saved him – and us – for a better fate. I have already been in touch with your local agency – the Jonathan David Co. – or rather its owner came to see me – and we have together planned a number of steps for the promotion of the H. He is arranging for displays at leading book-stores, getting the mailing-lists of the Canadian publications with which I am associated, and contacting some local organizations which might be interested in its distribution. He is also sending review-copies to designated persons, and putting some ads in various periodicals. I am myself ordering 100 copies from your office for personal distribution to friends and colleagues; but before I send them out, I would like to know from you how many review copies you are sending out, and to whom. It may be my vanity which impels me – it certainly cannot be my greed – but I do think that apart from poetic merit, perhaps because of poetic demerit, ‘The Hitleriad’ has great potentialities for large-sale distribution. What is essentially required are a couple of proper blurby reviews in the right places. The ‘little magazine’ reviews are good for one’s immortal soul, but for one’s mortal needs, give me a good spread in Time Magazine, or a proper accolade in the New York Times. They set the tone, and all the bookstore registers echo their melody. A proper radio-comment could help things too, but I don’t know how to reach Clifton Fadiman. A public benediction from some well-placed political figure – the Democrats might want to use my lines on Roosevelt, the Republicans my lines on – Churchill – could do no harm. Even the Book of the Month Club, which might think the volume far too frail for one of their regular

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remittances, might consider it as a sort of extra promotional premium. But how does one bell the cat? I know, I know very well that the above remarks read brash, crass, vulgar, and meretricious, but I feel no longer involved as an author – beyond the claims of royalties, of course. Once a book is published, I can completely disengage myself from the personality of the poet to consider the author and publisher as but a couple of new clients. I would like very much to hear from you on these matters, and particularly touching the periodicals which are to receive review copies. And finally, may I again thank you – for everything. Very sincerely yours Abe Klein

To Guy Sylvestre Aug. 30, 1944 Dear Mr. Sylvestre Many thanks for your letter of Aug. 26. In reply I regret to say that I have not available at hand a list of all my published poems, and where and when they were published. Insofar as the Psalms are concerned, however, they will shortly – in about two months, I expect; I have already read proofs – be published by the Jewish Publication Society of America; I shall be glad to send you a copy when it comes out. I have just had published a long poem on Hitler – by the New Directions Press – a copy of which I am happy to send on to you under separate cover. I do not think there is any Hebrew Dictionary in the English language which could help you with your problem as to the Judaic references in my work. The Jewish Encyclopedia – in English – to be found in any good library should make everything clear. If, however, you still are left in the dark touching certain passages, I would be glad to hear from you and explain them to you. Sincerely yours Abe Klein

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To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Sept. 9, 1944. My dear Laughlin: Many thanks for your last envelope containing ads, copies of reviews, and Fadiman’s Folly. I certainly do not think that ‘The Hitleriad’ has been kept a secret; doubtlessly we have led the horses to water, but not all of them will drink. Here in Montreal, the reception of the book has been quite good. How good – financially – Shapiro of the Jonathan David can tell; but, sale or no sale, it’s being talked about. The Montreal Gazette devoted the leading space to a review of thing – I am enclosing it – by Dr. Woodhead of McGill. Last week I read excerpts from the poem on the radio under the auspices of a local library. The bookstores are displaying it. Shapiro is publishing ads and printing circulars for it. There was another review in The Ottawa Citizen which Shapiro, I understand, has sent or is sending you. It sets out to scoff and remains to pray. That goddam little squib in the N.Y. Times (Sept. 2) by a don called Duckworth or Cudsworth Flint, did annoy me. It annoyed me because it criticized the poem for the wrong reasons. If he had said ‘this poem is not my style’ – like Kip said – I would be sorry but could have no quarrel with the man. But to deny to the Thing the very qualities it does have! Against Hitler, I display no malice, he says. Would that he were himself more important, – he would then have seen an example of malice. As it is, I leave the stercoraceous coprophagous creature to the merde he prefers. Unfortunately, the N.Y. Times exercises considerable influence upon the lazy non-reading reviewers. Shapiro, I must tell you before I forget – is attempting to get a write-up in Time Magazine, if not through the dignified portals of the Book Review Section, then, through the side-door of the Canadian pages: Canada at War. For the moment, his effort is confined to an attempt to discover who here in Montreal acts as Time’s Canadian correspondent. Have you thought – a suggestion for the time when your own circulation possibilities have been fully exploited – of contacting Reader’s Digest to sell them the right to reprint in one of their issues? They have never done this for verse before, but ‘The Hitleriad,’ I discover, is most acceptable to the non-poetry reading layman. (Dubious compliment; but

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as you know, I have no illusions about the high poetic qualities of the poem; it is satire, and as such must, by definition, exclude, the softer nuances, the subtler sensibilities.) By the way, I sent copies of the book to both Roosevelt and Churchill drawing attention in the complimentary autograph to the references to them which occur in ‘The Hitleriad.’ Roosevelt’s book apparently reached the White House while he was away, and so I got a letter – a receipt – from the American Consul in Montreal. God bless protocol! From Churchill or his 22nd secretary, I have not yet heard. But these gentlemen, I gather by the papers, are soon to meet in Quebec. Ah, if we could only elicit from either of them – I rub my hands – even a snort of approval! Could be. We’ll see. Sincerely Abe Klein

To DeWitt Wallace, R EADER ’ S D IGEST October 7th, 1944 Mr. DeWitt Wallace, Readers Digest, Pleasantville, N.Y. Dear Sir: I do not know whether it is quite orthodox for a poet to make business propositions to a publisher. That is usually done through the medium of a third party, called an agent, with the author attentively eavesdropping and excitedly prompting. In view of the fact however, that I earn my daily bread by preparing briefs, and only in my inspired leisure devote myself to rhyme, – a Jekyll and Hyde existence which is somewhat confusing both to me and spectators – I take the liberty of writing you myself concerning my book ‘The Hitleriad’ which has just been published by New Directions, has with few exceptions received very favorable reviews, and is presently enjoying a sale both in Canada and in the United States, which, for poetry, is eminently satisfactory. What I have in mind is the publication of this poem, or excerpts therefrom, in a condensed form in the Readers Digest. A complimentary copy

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of ‘The Hitleriad’ is here enclosed, and you will note at once that it is not one of those esoteric productions which require notes and commentaries, and that it is from a magazine point of view, extremely timely. I write you with some diffidence, inasmuch as I know that (a) you have never published lengthy verse in a Digest before, and (b) that even if you did, it is a matter which does not easily lend itself to condensation. I do not think however, that this last objection could apply to ‘The Hitleriad.’ That I am writing to you along these lines is of course, being communicated to Mr. Laughlin, owner and publisher of New Directions, which holds the copyright and whose agreement to your terms, if any, would be necessary. Very truly yours, AMK:FP

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Oct. 10, 1944. My dear Laughlin Many thanks for the clippings that you have been sending me. I presume that Shapiro has already sent you copies of The Canadian Forum in which E.J. Pratt reviews ‘The Hitleriad,’ and a copy of Dr. A.W. Trueman’s radio (trans-Canada) address on ‘The Hitleriad.’ Both praise. Please note that E.J. Pratt’s review erroneously states that the volume was first published by First Statement. Only about a hundred lines were published in its magazine. The heading of the review indicates N.D. I am enclosing the First Statement review of ‘The Hitleriad’ – the best that has yet appeared. Following your suggestion to write to Robinson of the Reader’s Digest, I have decided to take the bull by the horns and write directly to DeWitt Wallace, the editor in chief. It is a brash letter – enclosed – but such, I felt, was the only kind which might do the trick. I have also written in the same tone to Life Magazine: Mr. Jessup, but here I did not speak of any terms.

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I have your note from Pollinger. His optimism about the allies being in Berlin any day now, it presently appears, was somewhat unwarranted. Thanking you again Sincerely Abe Klein

To E.K. Brown October 13th, 1944 Dr. E.K. Brown, Department of English, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. My dear E.K. Brown: This is to acknowledge your letter of October 8th, which I received after I had already read your review of ‘The Hitleriad’ in Poetry Magazine. It pleased me immensely, despite the one point that you make against it, the which point was not entirely hidden from my view as I wrote the poem. As a matter of fact, realizing the objection you raise, I altered in the very course of composition, you will note, the tone of the poem at about section 20, so that whereas the first part is vituperative and satiric, the last half is pure, practically humorless indictment. The result has been that I eventually found myself upon the horns of a dilemma: some critics quoting from the last half, have proved ‘The Hitleriad’ not a satire; others quoting from the first half, have insisted that I do not treat my subject seriously enough. By and large however, the reception of the book has been very good, your review being probably the most reasoned of the lot. Your remarks about the C.A.A. awards interest me. Which awards are you referring to? Is it the Governor General’s? I always wondered who gave them. To whom does one send a copy of the book. I would appreciate hearing from you on this, and will then instruct either J. Laughlin, the American publisher or the Jonathan David Company, the Canadian distributor, to submit the volume.

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Another volume of my Psalms is to appear shortly, and I look forward to sending you a copy. You will recall that some of these Psalms you saw in connection with the Poetry issue which you edited. With all good wishes, I am, Sincerely yours, Abe Klein. AMK:FP

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions October 18, 1944. My dear Laughlin You are right, right, full-face, dead-centre, bullseye right! Myself I never would have volunteered that analysis of the Fadiman, Untermyer, Cerf, Keimberg attitude – you may think of this junta as the composite of their initials – myself, I had deluded myself into believing that this phenomenon was a social, a family secret – but if you, a non-Jew have observed it, have noted it, have written about it, – well, then the shame is out! Let it be discussed. At first I had thought: Perhaps they haven’t got around to it, perhaps they haven’t had time to write about it, perhaps they haven’t seen it, perhaps, perhaps, the poem is not quite the opus I had thought it was. This last was a doubt entertained only in my moments most unnerved; for after all, I was not deaf, I was not blind: others had found laudable things in it, and had so deposed, others had heard it read and were visibly and audibly affected. A crowd’s laughter, its gloating, is not a studied thing. Critics, moreover, had complained that modern verse was too esoteric; here was poetry composite of newspaper headlines; – that it was too remote, ivory-tower’d, for social significance; here was the thing, with a vengeance. Yet these four good men and true, said nothing. More than that, even those who did not approve, felt constrained to seek reasons, – lest they be not believed. But these four gentlemen, these sweet kinsmen of mine could not even bring their lips to say yea or nay. ‘Kip,’ it is true had said,‘They are not my kind.’ If he had said that about the poems you

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published in … the Annual, I could well believe him; but the H. – that assuredly was of his kind, only better, and without benefit of rooster-crow. Then, I realized that they were, indeed, landsliet, foreigners who were deemed loyal only if they betrayed their own. No Jew, it is well known, ever laughs at the joke of another Jew: first, he has heard it before, second, it is not such a hot joke, and third: this is not the way to tell it … The truth in our instance, however, is not quite so innocent and folksy as all that. These arbiters of public taste – together with the lesser marranos – maintained their silence about the H. – not because it was written by a Jew, but by a Jew not of their ilk. A Jew who admits it! A Jew who is no way embarrassed by his nativity, who, in fact is defiantly grateful that his lot is with the persecuted, and his heritage of the Talmudic, the prophetic, the biblic. All their lives this gentry has been making its living out of parading as what it is not; even when they lifted their voices, commissioned or royaltied – against the persecution of Jews, it was because the Jews were humans – really! – and not because they were relatives. Their business, they felt, would be hurt by a confession – yes, they think of it as a confession – that their ancestors did not stowaway on the Mayflower. Let me make myself clear. I am myself not one of those I-am-proudto-be-a-Jew Jews. A Jew I am; the whole world knows it, and I accept that fact like the fact that I have two arms. I don’t go about envying and simulating octopi. I am the possessor, because of the education which my bearded father gave me, of a rich legacy. The burden of Jewry, for me, is not all sorrow; I own – and I am not being arrogant or literary – vast stores of cultural wealth. My grandfather may have been a peddler; but my great-great grandfather was a prophet. As for myself, I believe I still have a contribution to make as a Jew, a contribution to the culture of the group – the whole group – in which I dwell. To my country Canada I am bound by a thousand bonds, infancy, habit, nostalgia, association, paysage – all the little things that constitute true patriotism. Other cultures, therefore, I meet as an equal, not as an interloper. I travel on my own passport. It is to be noted, in this connection, that in the H. I did not make any special point touching the suffering of Jews. That suffering was merely one aspect of a many-sided phenomenon. No, I wasn’t displaying my Jewishness in the show-case; but neither was I hiding it under the counter, like contraceptives. But this crew; more American than even Benét, – dousing their Ellis Island smell with true New England spice, are not content unless they

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don starspangled thimbles upon their circumcised penises. Your desire to descrotize them, therefore, will never be fulfilled. They have themselves anticipated you. For they are also castrati. And I pity them: whom are they deceiving? A Jew was for many years friendly with Alexander Pope. At a given moment the Jew said: You know, Mr. Pope, I have a deep secret to reveal to you. Speak, said Pope. Said his friend: I am a Jew! Ah, answered Pope, since we are exchanging confidences, I, too, have a secret to reveal. Yes? said the Jew. Yes, said Pope, I am a hunchback! At the same time I think these crypto-Jews deserve a good swift kick in the ass for their feigned unconcern. (Note: The Yiddish press, wherever it got a copy of ‘The Hitleriad’ responded warmly, gratefully, proudly. It may not have caught the allusions to Blake & Marlowe, but it knew damn well when I alluded to its own flesh.) I am tempted, in fact, to try the method of ‘The Hitleriad’ upon the persons of Fadiman et al.; their unconcern, in such case, would be something to watch. But really I haven’t got the time, and my wrath is not greater than my laziness. Besides, as the Queen of Spain said when she discovered that also the poor copulated, it’s too good for them! Why should I take those rod-riders on my train? Twenty years from now the mention of their names will require footnotes: ‘Fadiman, – a radio comic, contemporary of Ed Wynne –,’ ‘Cerf – a gallicized Hirsch,’ etc. So let them go to hell. I have more important work to do. I leave Kip to his ketchup, Cerf to his mergers, and Untermeyer – well, his wives have already paid him for me. – I have reread this letter and must say that I am by no means as apoplectic as it sounds. I am sorry only that the attitude of these gentlemen handicaps the finances of the book and prejudices the prestige of N.D. The last item really does not worry me; long after these men have been forgotten, even by their testamentary legatees, the contribution of ND and of its publisher to American letters will be remembered & cherished. The lackeys blow their bugles, the dogs bark, but it is the rider who takes the quarry. – At least that’s the impression that Abe who ain’t no fox-hunting man, has. Regards Klein P.S. Both Reader’s Digest and Life very charmingly said No. P.P.S. I am enjoying New Directions No 8; but the supercilious reviews an-

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noy me. What’s wrong with Delmore Schwartz? A poet whom I greatly admire, he writes a review in the Nation in which he spends all his time to make one point – that the experimental in technique must also have significance and meaning in content – and then pointedly omits the name that best illustrates his thesis – mine. But he also has his tough luck. After inventing a form and manner original to himself – the Shakespearean play in modern dress with speeches as entr’actes – behold Auden – in ‘For the Time Being’ – imitating him, hailed innovator-genius. There just ain’t no justice!

To Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society Jan. 5, 1945 Dear Dr. Grayzel, I have just received my author’s copies, and write you, from the first elation of the parturitive poet, to congratulate and thank you for the fine job which has been done. It is a very good-looking volume, finely printed, and without even a single typographical error to identify the first edition. (sic) And – mirabilé dictu – even the fastidious editing, against which I sometime struggled, is in the totality now justified and confirmed. Thanks, and all good wishes Sincerely Abe Klein

To Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society January 5, 1945. Dear Judge Levinthal: I have just received my first copies of the volume of poems published

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by The Jewish Publication Society. I am naturally greatly pleased that the thing has now seen the light of day. It has been produced in a highly satisfactory manner, and is particularly cherished by me in that it bears the imprimatur of the J.P.S. For that you are responsible, and I write you now again to thank you for the interest and understanding which you have manifested throughout our correspondence. At times no doubt you must have thought me another one of those cantankerous prima donna writing-fellows. But a man has to fight for his convictions, whether they be political or only literary. At any rate, that belongs to the past, and here is the volume, bright and shining, a prized token of our collaboration. With kindest regards, A.M. KLEIN

To W.D. Woodhead Jan. 10, 1945 Dear Dr. Woodhead, My cup runneth over, and here is yet another volume, some time in preparation, which now sees the light of day. I am pleased that it should make its appearance now, hard on the heels of the ‘Hitleriad,’ because it is in an entirely different vein, and destroys the impression, which the last volume might have given, that I am all gall and vinegar. Here, if ichor be not found, some plasma, may; some plasma, as you will gather from the form and manner, exsanguinated out of King David’s veins. Quaere: Can it keep that long? With kindest personal regards Abe Klein.

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To Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society January 26th, 1945. Mr. Maurice Jacobs, Executive Vice-Pres., The Jewish Publication Society of America, 225 S. Fifteenth St., Philadelphia, Penn. Dear Mr. Jacobs: – This is to acknowledge your letter of January 2, and to tell you how gratified I am that Ludwig Lewisohn is to syndicate a review of my book. I do not know which papers and magazines receive review copies but I would like, if it is at all possible, that the following periodicals be placed on your list for that purpose. No doubt I will be duplicating some that you already have. Poetry Magazine, The Canadian Forum, The Nation, The New Republic, Contemporary Jewish Record, The Chicago Jewish Forum, The Reconstructionist, The Menorah Journal, The Opinion,

232 E. Erie St. Chicago, Ill. 28 Wellington St. W., Toronto. New York, N.Y. " " 176 W. Adam St., Chicago, Ill. 15 W. 86th St., New York, N.Y. New York, N.Y. "

I do hope that these additions, if they are additions, do not constitute an imposition upon you. Thanking you, I am, Cordially yours, A.M. Klein AMK/FR

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To Leo Kennedy Feb. 8, 1945 My dear Leo I had been hunting high and low for your address and at long last I have discovered it. I discovered it, in fact, by doing eventually that obvious thing which I should have done in the first place – that is, communicate with Miriam. It only goes to show that too often when I should be acting like a lawyer I act like a poet, and who knows? – perhaps even vice versa. The truth is that I should never have had to look for your address. I should always have had it in my possession. You have been to Montreal, I know, on several occasions; not once did I hear from you. Does – to put it at its most minimal estimate – does auld lang syne count for nothing at all? We talk of you often here in Montreal. As you know there is quite a literary ‘renaissance’ taking place in the old town, what with the Preview group, and in small measure, the First Statement group. It reminds me of the good old days of ’28, and ’29; you would like the goings-on, too, I know, if only for its juvenescent effect. Do let me hear from you. I have forgotten what brought about the long silence between us, if anything more than accident; I only know that it is an abhorable vacuum. Cordially Abe. P.S. Did you see my ‘Hitleriad.’ If not, I shall be glad to send you a copy.

To Meyer W. Weisgal February 26th, 1945 Mr. Meyer W. Weisgal, 342 Madison Ave., New York 17, N.Y.

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My dear Meyer: Fearing an explosion of those expletives which add so much vigor and forthrightness to your personality, I find it extremely difficult to put down on paper that which I am about to write you. Certainly, you may be sure that since my arrival in New York, my mind has been like nothing so much as like a pendulum. Attracted by the nature of the work which was offered to me, and by the character of the people with whom I would have to co-operate, that pendulum moved affirmatively. Other considerations, however, – purely personal ones, – have driven the pendulum back in the other direction. Until I returned to Montreal, indeed, I was like the donkey between the two bales of hay, unable to turn either right or left, paralyzed into a useless immobility. Discussions of the matter with my wife and with friends here, however, have resolved the problem, and I am afraid that I shall most reluctantly have to deprive myself of the great opportunity extended to me. I trust that I have not caused either you or your associates too much inconvenience by my hesitations and final refusal. As you know, the objective that I primarily seek is the life academic, and not the life political; and despite the usefulness and the rewards of the work which you discussed, and despite the fact that I have talents which could advance that work, I must stick to my original decision – to devote myself to those creative undertakings which are to me the summum bonum. I am fully aware of the fact that I am revealing to you no reason for my attitude which could not have been seen while I was still in Montreal; I did want, however, to put myself in the very midst of temptation before I arrived at my decision. Under the circumstances, of course, my New York trip has been an entirely private undertaking, for the expense of which neither you nor your committee are in any way responsible. Should it be possible, however, for me to be of any service to you, either in the preparation of any specific document here, or in some single speaking trip to one or two centres, I would be glad to hear from you as such occasions arise. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the courtesy extended

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to me, and to convey through you my best regards to our mutual friends in New York. Sincerely, Abe. P.S. The Weizmann review is on my agenda; I shall try to have it ready for the Passover issue of the Frontier, and shall send you a duplicate.

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions March 12, 1945 Dear Mr. Laughlin This is just a note to thank you for the apostolic benediction of F.X. Maynard, o.f.m. It was very elevating, instructing me, as it did, to turn the other cheek. I turn him all four. Your letter, however, was important in that it gave us news of your intended visit to Montreal, and points north. We are all looking forward to meeting you. I phoned Shapiro, he will be in town, too. So, welcome to our fair city. Sincerely Klein

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions April 2, 1945 Dear Mr. Laughlin, Many thanks for your kind note of the 23rd. I was very glad, indeed, to learn that you like the Poems. To tell you the truth, I did have some misgivings about them, and their directness. I am beginning to realize, however, more and more, that to say what you mean so that you are understood is not necessarily an aesthetic liability.

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The book has been sent to The Nation, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, but as yet not a sound, not an echo. They must have put it beside ‘The Hitleriad.’ But then, this book, too, admits, does most unseemly revel in the fact that its author is a Jew. Can you imagine – a whole volume, and not a reference to the American way of life?!! I do think it most considerate – not to say unprofessional – of you to offer to mention the volume to some of your editor friends. Maybe it will be ‘somebody’s turkey’ albeit slaughtered kosher. We all enjoyed your visit to our house immensely. We regretted only that you couldn’t stay over so that we might have gathered the local nest of singing birds – your game. As it was, your presence to me was therapeutic; after you left, I found that my grippe or cold or whatever it was, had disappeared. The wizard Dr. Laughlin! With kindest regards Abe Klein. P.S. Under separate cover I am sending on to you my first volume Hath Not a Jew, published four years ago.

To Guy Sylvestre April 2, 1945 Dear Mr. Sylvestre This is just a note to tell you how much I appreciated your reference to my poetry in your review of The Book of Canadian Poetry which appeared in Le Devoir of Feb. 17. I note also your proclamation of intention to comment again upon my work. For the purpose of completing your library, therefore, and in fulfilment of my promise, I am sending on to you, under separate cover, a copy of The Psalms about which I wrote you; and which has just been published. Sincerely yours A.M. Klein

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To H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress April 10, 1945 My dear Chaver H.M. Caiserman, This is just a note to thank you for the very warm and appreciative article which you were kind enough to write about my last book. I appreciated it, not only as an act of literary criticism, but also as an act of friendship. It was really very, very decent of you. Thanking you again, I am very sincerely yours Abe. P.S. You may be interested to know – and I would want you in Toronto, to know first – that I have withdrawn from the electoral campaign in Cartier. I know now, what I should have been wise enough to know a year ago – namely, that politics is not my meat. It gives me indigestion. I am consoled – if consolation is necessary – by the reflection that many are the doors that are open to worthwhile service; but for me, politics is not one of those doors. For me, it is the swinging door of creative endeavour which turns on smoother hinges.

To C IRCLE M AGAZINE May 14, 1945 The Editors Circle Dear Sirs: No doubt you have noticed that the position of the poet in contemporary society is exactly nowhere. What with our magazines, big or little,

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quarterly or hebdomadal, we delude ourselves for a sweet moment into believing that perhaps some importance is attached to our function. But it is mirage, sheer and Saharan. The writers of detective yarns command more attention, more respect, and of course, more gratitude palpable. Nor do those sentiments spring from genius spurned, and talent turned out of doors – the single case. Myself, I have received mine, as such things go; as a leading Canadian poet (sic) I have been anthologized, publicized, criticized; as a writer on Jewish themes, re-circumcized. I have not been curtly ignored; I have been nodded at, and then ignored. And it is this case, the case of the entire craft, including that of practitioners better known or better endowed than I – that prompts my tears. Hence, ‘The Portrait of the Poet as a Nobody.’ But really, this note was unnecessary. The poem blubbers for itself. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone] May 15, 1945 My dear Gladstone This is just a note to tell you how pleased and thrilled I was by your very warm-hearted and brotherly appreciation of my work. It made me happy, not only because it was praise, and praise from a source esteemed, but also because it was praise which revealed an awareness of my literary intentions. I was particularly touched by the passer-aller – through Jewish and Hebrew literature which you granted me – an honour, indeed, – and by your reference to the noble anonymous man to whom the book is dedicated. When moreover, you spoke of the Untermeyers et al, and their barren frustrate rhyming – the false gesticulations of crypto-Jews – it did my heart good, for I was mirror to your sensitivity. The review here is the talk of the town, and all the more valued since it comes from you, and the impression that you made here is still vivid. I only wish that some of the marranos of the New York Times who shudder at the Hebrew accent except it come from the goy Milton had read your essay, too – an apologie pro vita mea, indeed, pro vita nostra, if that is the proper Latin.

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Anyway, please accept this letter as my clumsy way of saying Thank you. Very sincerely yours Abe Klein

To Marion Strobel, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE

May 29, 1945 Dear Marion Strobel Many thanks for your note of May 11, which I have delayed answering until now in the hope that I might be able to reconcile myself to the notion of seeing ‘the portrait of the poet as a nobody’ zerofied still further to twelve protesting lines. I can, of course, see the point of the poem being too long; at the same time I think that one page thereof would make it too short. Compared to this, Procrustes’ was a bed of roses. So let’s forget about it for the while. As for other poems, I am at present at work on a batch of Quebec poems. I expect to be finished with all the necessary caresses in about a fortnight, and shall be happy to send them on to you. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Guy Sylvestre May 29, 1945 My dear Mr. Sylvestre I sincerely regret my delay in replying to your first letter. The questions and requests you made in that letter demanded of me some time for consideration. I now proceed to deal with them. (1) As for an article on some Canadian writer, I must admit that I do not enjoy very much the writing of literary criticism. It is really not my

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métier. I did, however publish in The Canadian Forum, on the occasion of the appearance of his News of the Phoenix, an appreciation of the general contribution which A.J.M. Smith has made to Canadian letters. I could let you have that for Gants du Ciel. I do not imagine that there should be any serious objection to the fact that the thing has already been published, inasmuch as the languages are different. (2) As for particular poems to be translated into French for your accompanying anthology, I am afraid that ‘Autobiographical’ is not a good choice – there are too many allusions in it to things Jewish which, except to the readers of les Tharaud frères, must be incomprehensible. I would prefer if Mr. Wahl would pick some of the psalms in my last book, such as No 1, 4, 6, 22, 26, 28, 36, not all of course, but from among them. (3) I am looking forward to the review in La Revue Dominicaine. I trust that you will be good enough to obtain a copy for me. (4) Please do not fail to get in touch with me when you are next in Montreal. I am very anxious to meet you. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Guy Sylvestre July 6th, 1945 Mr. Guy Sylvestre, 355 Wilbrod Ave., Ottawa, Ont. My dear Sylvestre: I had been looking forward to hearing from you about the 15th of June, as you had intimated in your previous letter to me, but apparently your trip to Montreal did not materialize. I want to thank you for sending on to me the copies of your review of ‘The Hitleriad.’ I was extremely pleased by its contents, which I thought constituted a most gratifying estimate of ‘The Hitleriad.’ I was not a little impressed by the fact that it appeared in the Revue Dominicaine. Your review, as you no doubt know, also had its repercussions in Le

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Canada, where an editorial appeared which argued with you on one of the points, to me purely incidental, but to Le Canada, no doubt vital. I trust that your trip to Montreal has not been cancelled, but only postponed, and that our much looked-for meeting will yet take place. Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Marion Strobel, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE

[14 July 1945] The payment of the governmental allowance to Indian women upon reservations is made conditional on their wearing of the black shawl. Cf. the yellow badge – grassy ghetto, indeed! A.M. Klein

To Marion Strobel, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE

[20 July 1945] Dear Marion Strobel No, I am not Eliot nor was meant to be, providing poems to illustrate a footnote. I do see your point, however; also I would not want to give the impression that things are so bad on the reservation that shawls are part of a latter day Indian diet. How about: ‘Beneath the sufferance of their shawls’? The originally intended connotation would still remain, yet would not be necessary for intelligibility. The grassy ghetto notion, too, would be conveniently preluded – sufferance as a badge is an inevitable evocation. And in any

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event, – associations, evocations, and legal allusions all ignored – nobody looks happy in a black shawl. Sincerely Abe Klein P.S. If you have any volumes of poetry wanting a reviewer, I would be glad to do the job. But not the works of Canadians; friendship corrupts my judgement and cramps my style.

To Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone] Sept. 21, 1945 My dear Gladstone, Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in sending on to me the clipping from Davar. It gave me a considerable ‘kick’ and I was even willing to forgive the cold lead which left a number of sentences mystical and incomplete. I gathered from our friend Segal that you were in these northern parts this summer. I am sorry I missed you. When do you plan to visit us again, and not incognito? I was thinking of you the other day as I was going over an M.A. Thesis sent to me by Wayne University, of Detroit. A Miss Zweig has done forty translations from contemporary Yiddish poetry, and a number of your poems are included. Her translations, given the standard of translation which she sets herself, (and with which I in my conservatism do not entirely agree) are not bad. With best wishes for the New Year Cordially Abe Klein

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To Isadore Goldstick Jan 30, 1946 Dear Dr. Goldstick It will not be difficult for you to imagine the feelings with which I read your rejoinder to Jarrell in the current issue of Commentary. The fact that you took the trouble to sit down and declare your dissent already indicates to me that you well understood my reactions to that unjustified and unwarranted diatribe which was levelled against me. For I admit frankly that I was deeply hurt by the Commentary squib, and this for a number of reasons (1) The editor, Elliott Cohen, used to be a friend of mine. Or does that explain all? (2) A book like mine – with whatever deficiencies it may have – should not have been given to a goy to review. Certainly it requires a double apparatus – Jewish & English – for its appreciation, or even for its proper denigration. To ask the goy to pass – as you have indicated – upon poems rich with Hebraic allusions, was like having Balaam pass judgement on the tents of Israel. But I – I didn’t even have that good fortune: I got Balaam’s ass. (3) The main criticism of Jarrall was that I couldn’t possibly be sincere – because ‘I wasn’t there.’ Consider how much of accepted literature would have to be, by that standard, discarded. But the truth is, of course, that I was there. Every Jew, during the past six years, has been at Belsen – if only through the terrors of anticipation. But I need not go on. The review definitely struck me as an attempted ‘job.’ The review characterizes me personally in a fashion which only those who know me would choose – ‘pleasant’ – not always – ‘well-adjusted’ halvai volt dos emes gevehn – and ‘civilized’ – as if that were a disgrace. Now Jarrall does not know me. But there are some of the crew of the American Jewish Committee who do, and who do not like my intransigent Zionism. So – and this is traditional – they use a goy to heat a fire to make their Sabbath. But I am writing not to grieve, but to tell you how deeply I appreciated your defense of me, and how I was moved and touched thereby. And this is not because you said nice things about me, but because, when I was waylaid and beset by enemies, you came to my aid. (I say ‘enemies’ for if Commentary should stand for anything, and encourage & advance it, it

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should be my poetry, which is Commentary in more than a philological sense.) So thanks again, and best wishes. Cordially Abe Klein

To Ephraim Broido March 14, 1946 Mr. Ephraim Broido, 4 Korolenko St., Tel Aviv, Palestine. My dear Ephraim: Many thanks for your kind note dispatched to me from London before your departure for Eretz Israel. It was good to hear from you and to know that now at least, you may have some time to complete the Bialik Essay, to which I am looking forward with a great deal of anticipation. I was pleased to learn that you had picked up my last book (Poems, published by the Jewish Publication Society) and that you liked it. I do not know whether you have seen my ‘Hitleriad’ – a pièce d’occasion – and so I am sending a copy of it to you. I regret that I have not had time, what with my many occupations and pre-occupations – in addition to maintaining law and order in our community, I am also Visiting Lecturer in Poetry at McGill University – to do any more Bialik translations. Your question as to when I shall make my journey to Eretz Israel embarrasses me. It is with shame, regret and bitterness that I reflect on the fact that having already attained the age of thirty-six, I have not yet beheld or sojourned in that land so dear to me. But by the living God! one of these days I shall make it. With kindest regards, I am, A.M. Klein

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To the Editors, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

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The Editors Poetry Magazine I do hope that you will forgive me for imposing upon you, in one fell swoop, the reading of eleven poems from my ‘Suite Canadienne.’ But I did want to afford you, through the longitude (sic) of mss. a latitude of choice. I need hardly offer any comments on the subject matter except to say that for an interval I have abdicated from the Hebrew theme which is my prime mover to look upon the French-Canadian in this province: we have many things in common: a minority position; ancient memories; and a desire for group survival. Moreover the French Canadian enjoys much – a continuing and distinctive culture, solidarity, land – which I would wish for my own people. So maybe I’ve not abdicated, but am only travelling incognito, disguised as a Frenchman. Also, forgive the carbon copies. The originals, due to the jumping of my typewriter – as double-roled as their manipulator, came out half-red, half-black. Is that bad? I don’t know, but it certainly makes for effects unintended in my prosody. Yours truly A.M. Klein

To Earle Birney October 16, 1946 Mr. Earle Birney, Canadian Poetry Magazine, Acadia Camp, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.

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My dear Earle: I want first of all to congratulate you upon assuming the editorship of the Canadian Poetry Magazine. I am certainly happy to hear of a new policy being instituted there by you. I was sorry that your letter to me was addressed to McGill University, because being away for the summer, I did not get it until the beginning of this month. I am sending on to you therefore, two poems which you may use. Wishing you the best of luck, and with kindest personal regards, I am, Very truly yours, Abe Klein. AMK:FP Encls/

To Earle Birney October 24th, 1946 Mr. Earle Birney, Canadian Poetry Magazine, Acadia Camp, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Dear Sir: I want first of all to apologize for the error that occurred with reference to ‘Frigidaire.’ I had forgotten that it had been included in a set of poems intended for Poetry Magazine and had been accepted by them. I am sending you instead ‘The Spinning Wheel.’ With kindest personal regards, I am, Yours very truly, Abe. AK:FP Encl/1

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To Marion Strobel, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE

October 24th, 1946 Miss Marion Strobel, Poetry Magazine, 232 East Erie St., Chicago, Ill. Dear Miss Strobel: Many thanks for your letter of October 18th, which greatly relieved me touching the fate of the series of poems which I sent on to you. Some of them I realize now were lost – no matter – I have copies; the others which you have accepted are definitely won. I have tried to think of some title for the group which would suggest, as you say, ‘my interest and feeling about the poems as a study of a minority group,’ but can think of nothing satisfactory. Please do christen them for me, even if you have to fall back upon ‘Seven Poems.’ Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To the Editor, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE Jan. 10, 1947

The Editor, Poetry Magazine. Dear Sir, This is just a note to inquire (a) as to what evil influences have compassed it that I should not re-

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ceive my copies of Poetry Magazine for December and January. Is my subscription overdue? Are the mails at fault? Or – this alternative permits only of the most euphemistic of articulations – have the patrons withheld their patronage? Tell me, and I’ll sue them! and (b) My poems – not my ducats, – just my poems. When will they appear? Perhaps (a) has answered (b); send me, then, the answer to (a). With anxiety, A.M. Klein P.S. I enclose the exam paper on Twentieth Century poetry which I set this mid-term – so that you may see how my one-man campaign for subscribers to Poetry is being conducted.

To Samuel Abramson Feb. 6, 1947 My dear Sam, Bravo! Bravissimo! Encore! I always knew you had it in you, Sammy m’boyo, and it was but a matter of time – in this case, scientifically ascertainable time, for the truth to out. That truth, I now note, is being bruited, as well it may be, across the length and breadth of the land. And believe me, everywhere there is universal felicitation, not the least part of which comes from myself and my wife. As for myself, if this is your point de départ, beginning with two and rising in geometric proportion, I must soon look to my laurels. (It’s a topsy-turvy world: see where I wear my laurels!) Here I was, smug and self-satisfied in the lead I enjoyed – three – and behold – in one swell swoop – you cut my majority to one. And who knows what the morrow may bring. I say, let it bring more and more. We need numbers, and better numbers than those issuing from clan Abramson, there are not. Clan Abramson joined with Evelyn’s clan – super – super – de – luxe!

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So accept our congratulations, and our very best wishes to all four of you. Cordially Abe. P.S. Do not imagine, since I have not emphasized it, that I have not taken note of the fact that it is two boys. And how beautifully named – David, for excellence artistic & worldly, and Jonathan for friendship and as the gift of God. The Victor, of course, is the father in the son, and the Daniel – companion and tamer of lions. Good omens. Good luck.

To the Editor, K ENYON R EVIEW Feb. 7, 1947 The Editor Kenyon Review Gambier, Ohio Dear sir: Enclosed please find two poems submitted for publication in your quarterly. I know that to accompany a poem with its annotation is already to prejudge a failure of communication. Nonetheless in the particular case before me I cannot resist the temptation of talking about my own verses, insisting, at the same time that they can be understood and appreciated (+ or –) without this superfluous benefit of commentary. Sestina on the Dialectic: It is the form, here, which particularly engaged my attention. Desiring correspondences, I sought that form which would be best suited to the already intended Hegelian content. I came to the conclusion that it was the sestina, and this because its end-wordscheme is the perfect analogue of the dialectical syllogisms. Thus the first six lines afford the key-words 1 2 3 4 5 6. The next stanza arranges these words 615243

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This is not arbitrary. It is the result of a folding pleating accordion process, thus: 123456 give 615243 The third stanza repeats the mathematical technique, No. 2 being 6 1 5 2 4 3, no. 3, becomes 364125 and so on, and so on. (It is no wonder that Dante placed the inventor of the sestina, Arnaut Daniel – in hell!) The sestina, however, is a very monotonous form. The examples in our literature – Swinburne’s, Kipling, Sir Philip Sidney, Ezra Pound – tend, because of the obvious recurrence of the same end-words, to degenerate into a performance (which, of course, it is). The pattern, which should be the submerged basis of the poem springs to the fore, imposes itself as total pattern, the result – the content is lost; the thing is read only for its end-words. To obviate this difficulty, while still preserving the pattern, I decided to use as end-words, words that were in themselves insignificant; with, a, to, out, so, still; and to construct the whole, as befitted the exposition of a historic law, in paragraph form. Only the title remained to draw attention to the fact that behind these paragraphs, as behind history, there was a pattern. A lot of trouble for a small point? Perhaps; but so is the sonnet, or the Spenserian stanza, etc. Either form counts, or it doesn’t. 2. The second poem, which perhaps would be better titled: ‘Portrait of the Poet as Landscape,’ is pretty obvious in form. It is an effusion about the status of the poet in contemporary society; on the nature of form; on the usurpers who have ousted the poet from his earlier social preeminence, etc. Again, I am aware that I do myself injustice by thus reducing a poem to its theme, my remarks are to be considered conversation, not criticism. I may add that this poem has already been published in a local parochial magazine (circulation 150) therefore I do still don it virgin. Since I have not submitted anything to Kenyon Review before, I ought perhaps to introduce myself. A lawyer for livelihood, poetry is my profession (sweet ambiguity!). I am the author of (a) Hath Not a Jew, 19.. (b) Poems (c) The Hitleriad, and am presently Visiting Lecturer in Poetry at McGill. Yours truly

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To Jacob Glatstein [Goldstone] February 12th, 1947 Mr. Jacob Gladstone, c/o Morning Journal, 77 Bowery, New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Gladstone: This is a somewhat belated acknowledgement and expression of thanks for the last volume of your poems which you were kind enough to have sent on to me. I think it an impeccable volume, full of a thousand felicities – if that word can be applied to the expression of themes so somber as yours – as ours. I waited with the acknowledgement of your book because I wanted to accompany my appreciation with some translations of your poems. These I have now accomplished, and am very happy to send them on to you. I do hope that you will like them. For my part, I enjoyed very much doing them, inasmuch as the originals were so like poems which I would have wanted to write were I writing in Yiddish. With kindest regards, I am, Yours very truly, Abe Klein AMK:FP

To Duell, Sloan and Pearce 4857 Hutchison St., Montreal, Que. April 28th, 1947. Messrs. Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 270 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y.

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Dear Sirs: Herewith – ‘Comes the Revolution!’ I do not know how to characterize this book. It is not intended, although the central theme of its action is espionage, as merely a spy story. It is not, although political attitudes are implicit in its conflicts, a propaganda piece. It is not, although its facts are based on the lowdown about the recent Soviet spying activities in Canada, simple reportage. The book, I think, can best be described as a necessarily fictionalized account of what actually happened in the Russo-Canadian affaire célèbre centred about the disclosures of Igor Gouzenko. But Gouzenko didn’t tell the whole story. My intimate knowledge of Canadian Communism together with my long-term acquaintance with the now convicted leaders of the spy-ring naturally facilitated my writing; the novel, as a novel, however, seeks to present the larger issues through the personality of one of the spies, in this instance, a person who appreciates all prices, but no values. Since for the promotion of this book timeliness is of the essence, I would appreciate it greatly if you could let me know in the shortest possible time, whether you would be interested in its publication. Should it as a whole be acceptable, please do not hesitate to make whatever suggestions for changes that may occur to you. Yours truly, [Dan Mosher] DM:BK P.S. This being an unsolicited manuscript, I shall – if you find it unacceptable – of course, send on to you the necessary counter-revolutionary postage!

To Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE May 16, 1947 Mr. Alan Crawley, Caulfield, B.C.

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My dear Mr. Crawley: This is just a note to tell you how much I enjoyed and how greatly I appreciated your talk and recital of my poems Wednesday evening. You were very kind indeed, and it was most gratifying for me to know that the poems which you were reading were being heard across Canada. I think too that you are to be congratulated upon the very impressive delivery which you gave to these verses, and I particularly was touched by the poems that you chose. Concluding your reading with ‘Jerusalem Next Year, Next Year Jerusalem’ was to my mind a particularly effective gesture. Many thanks, and I shall be looking forward to listening to you again in the forthcoming weeks. Good luck. With kindest personal regards to yourself and Mrs. Crawley, I am, Yours very truly, Abe Klein AMK:FP

To John Sutherland June 27th, 1947 Mr. John Sutherland, 3575 Durocher Ave., City. My dear John: I am writing you this letter on my behalf, and on behalf of F.R. Scott, Neufville Shaw, Patrick Anderson, and A.J.M. Smith, to inform you that if you and the group which signed the recent letter addressed to us, intend to put out another issue of the magazine, you are to omit our names from the editorial masthead. I wish further to draw to your attention that the Northern Review is a common possession of the composite groups of First Statement and Pre-

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view, and that therefore, you are not to use this name in any further publications. There are also other assets which are owned in common, and we ought to get together shortly for the purpose of disposing of these. And do you govern yourself accordingly. Yours truly, A.M. Klein AMK: FP Registered

To Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons July 11th 1947. Dr. A.J. Tresidder, c/o Seagram’s Ltd., Louisville, Kentucky. Dear Dr. Tresidder: – This is just a note to inquire as to how you are getting on with the preparations for the plans which we discussed when you were in Montreal more than a fortnight ago. I am hoping that it will be possible for you to set in motion the collection of those items which you think suitable for the contemplated book, so that before the time the summer is over we might have here a substantial manuscript. Please drop me a line and if you already have any of the material transcribed please be good enough to send it north. Thanking you I am with kindest personal regards, Yours very truly, AMK:AB

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To Leon Edel July 16, 1947 My dear Leon This is by way of being a friend-and-fan letter. I have just finished reading your moving book on the posthumity of Joyce, and worshipping the man, as you know, this side idolatry, and counting the author among my friends, I must sit down to pen this hasty note of congratulation. You have done a beautiful, a touching job. I hate these feminine adjectives, they reveal rather the uncontrollable temper of my admiration, than the true nature of your achievement – which, in its restraint and subtle communicativeness, is masculine, – but I am excited about it, and I want to say that it is good. It is an essay suffused through and through with a love and an understanding of the man; its moments of subdued pathos are overwhelming. What I particularly admired was the style of the thing; – distinguished, and without precocity. So much of contemporary writing seeks its effects either through being slipshod and devil-may-care, or through a daintiness of cerebration that it is a relief, a pleasure, to come upon something which combines elegance with virtues (the Roman). In fact, you have handled an adventure essentially romantic in a style truly classic. Bravo! With kindest personal regards to you and yours Sincerely Abe.

To Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons August 5th, 1947 Jos. E. Seagram & Sons, 7th Street Road, Louisville, Kentucky. Attention Dr. Argus Tresidder

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Dear Dr. Tresidder: This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of July 16th, together with chapters 6 and 7 of your manuscript on the History of Distillation. I have just finished reading the History, and find it very interesting. Your chapter 3: on the evolution of a science, is the best and most readable account of the distilling process that I have yet encountered, and is just the kind of chapter that might be included in the book we were talking about when you were here. I have waited this fortnight before replying to your letter, in the hope that I might receive more mail, such as the selection from Neil Gunn’s Book on Whiskies. I presume that by now your secretarial arrangements have been made, and we should shortly be getting the suggested excerpts in one continuous transmission. I was sorry to read that you are again unenthusiastic about what you call, the idea of an Anthology, firstly, because it was not a mere anthology that we spoke about, but rather a collection of varied material which could eventually be woven into a coherent and interesting whole, and secondly, because a lack of enthusiasm is bound to show in the work which we do. Certainly, I do not think we are wasting our time. In any event, I do of course, assume more or all of the responsibility – as you wish – and am awaiting the selections. I feel sure that once we get into the stride of things and the form of the book comes to shape, your enthusiasm will return. Yours very truly, AMK:FP P.S. As this letter goes ready for mailing, I acknowledge receipt of – and look forward to reading – the following which I have just received: Early & Later History of Whiskies Bottles Humourous and Comic Tavern Signboards Corn Medieval Alcoholic Beverages Technique of Wine Drinking

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To Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE September 5th, 1947 Mr. Alan J. Crawley, Caulfield, B.C. Dear Mr. Crawley: Many thanks for your kind letter of August 14th. I was glad to read that you liked the set of poems in Poetry. I quite agree with you that it is high time that I put out a book of poetry in Canada, and, as a matter of fact, I now have sufficient manuscript ready for such a book. I enclose for publication in C.V., three of these poems: ‘Monsieur Gaston’; ‘O God! O Montreal!,’ and ‘Dress Manufacturer: Fisherman.’ I do not think much of Sutherland’s book. That the volume contains some good poems is, or course, not his fault. They were written by others. But the literary standards, the lack of logic and the sheer malice which characterizes the introduction, makes one rage where it does not make one laugh. With kindest regards to yourself and to your wife, I am, Sincerely yours, Abe Klein AMK:FP

To Earle Birney October 3rd, 1947 Mr. Earle Birney, Acadia Camp, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.

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My dear Earle: Many thanks for your letter of the 25th of September. I regret that I have not any poetry which is not already committed to other magazines, to give you for selection for inclusion in the Canadian issue of Outposts. Perhaps you can make your selection from poems already published either in the Canadian Poetry Magazine, or Northern Review, or Poetry, Chicago, or The Canadian Forum which you no doubt have at hand. With kindest regards, I am, Yours very truly, Abe Klein. AMK:FP

To Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons October 17th, 1947 Dr. Argus Tresidder, c/o Jos. E. Seagram & Sons, Louisville, Kentucky. Dear Dr. Tresidder: I have now had a chance to read through the batch of manuscript which you sent me, consisting of excerpts from Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Wilkie & Blankmeyer, An Outline for Industry, Jillson, Early Kentucky Distillers, Maynard’s A Tankard of Ale, Gregory’s Old Country Inns of England, Taussig, Rum, Romance & Revelation, Jellinek, Alcohol Explored, Harrison Hall, The Distiller, Hewson, Americana Ebrietatis, Helwig, Liquor, the Servant of Man, and Saintsbury, Notes on a Cellar Book. I found them all very interesting, though not all particulary relevant to the kind of thing we have in mind. Certainly, all of the excerpts cannot be used. I do not think that Saintsbury’s sneers at the expense of Canadian and American whiskies (with the exception of Walker’s well-known Canadian Club!), is the kind of thing we are interested in for this book.

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The additional chapters of your book on the story of distillation have also been read. They contain much information that I am sure has hitherto not been available except to scholars in the field. Nonetheless, I frankly question whether it is wise in a book, presumably to be published under the auspices of the House of Seagram, and at any rate, written by an associate of the House of Seagram, that there should appear a reconsideration – at this late date – of the sordid details of the activities of the Whisky Ring and the Whiskey Trust, the which story should culminate with a statement that the heritage of the Whiskey Trust is now part of the holdings of Jos. E. Seagram & Sons (page 151). As I conclude these paragraphs, I receive your letter of October 15th, in which you inform me that Dr. Kolachov checked as to whether the additional two chapters of your book had been brought to Mr. Bronfman’s attention. I was never under the impression that I was to bring every chapter, as it arrived, to Mr. Bronfman for editorial opinion. He is too busily engaged for me to add this additional function to his many duties. However, seeing that you contemplate a conference with Mr. Bronfman on your book, I shall, of course, at the earliest opportunity, communicate to him my reaction to its contents. I am awaiting further excerpts for what I note, you carefully call ‘your anthology.’ Yours very truly, AMK:FP

To Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press October 24th, 1947 The Ryerson Press, 299 Queen St., W., Toronto, Ont. Attention Dr. Lorne Pierce

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My dear Dr. Pierce: Herewith I submit for publication by The Ryerson Press, upon terms to be agreed, the enclosed volume: The Rocking Chair and Other Poems. I have wanted for a long time to be published in Canada, but hitherto, the subject matter of my verse has been such, that American publication recommended itself; the present volume however, is concerned almost entirely with the Quebec scene and the Canadian outlook. Our mutual friend, Dr. A.J.M. Smith, having seen a number of these poems – the majority of them have already received magazine publication – wrote in Les Gants du Ciel: ‘Ces poèmes sont les premiers essais d’une interprètation de la province de Québec en regard desquels ceux de tout autre écrivain anglais semblent fades et faibles. Dans l’entité patriarchale, traditionnelle et ecclésiastique qu’est le Canada français, Klein a trouvé un univers que sa sensibilité juive lui permet de comprendre et d’aimer.’ Of course, I am not led by this criticism into placing an exaggerated value upon my work. What I am primarily interested in is that the volume should be nicely turned out, in a proper type, and should enjoy a good circulation. I feel that should you accept this volume, these consummations are very likely to be achieved. I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Yours very truly, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE December 11th, 1947 Mr. Alan Crawley, Caulfield, B.C.

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Dear Crawley: Many thanks for your very kind note of December 2nd. I certainly appreciate both its contents, and the spirit which prompted you to write it. I do think however, that a collection of select verse is for the time being premature, although I am certainly taken by the idea. At this moment, the Ryerson press has a volume called ‘The Rocking Chair and Other Poems’ (all Canadiana) about which I expect to hear from them shortly. Once I get that behind me, and some time elapses, I think that an edition of select verse (with explanatory notes), might be in place. Please remember me to Mrs. Crawley. With kindest regards, I am, Cordially yours, Abe Klein AMK:FP

To Leon Edel December 24th, 1947 Dr. Leon Edel, 58 West 83rd St., New York, N.Y. My dear Leon: From a remark in Mary Colum’s recent book, and from other sources, I gather that in Joyce’s Ulysses, apart from the personae who appear under their own names, even the aliases are reflections of real characters. Have you in your reading, encountered any suggestion as to the identity of Leopold Bloom. His address, 7 Eccles St. in 1904, was an unoccupied house; some have said that there is in Bloom not a little of Italo Svevo; others – and not without supporting evidence, affect to see in Bloom a picture of Joyce himself at the age of 38.

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Can you throw any further light on this subject, either from your knowledge of relevant apocrypha, or from published analyses. I watch the catalogues for your next work. Your Joyce article, as I already told you, has whetted my appetite. It is a crime that you do not commit to print oftener. Console me therefore with a note. With kindest regards to yourself and your family, I am, Sincerely yours, Abe.

To Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press December 24th, 1947 Dr. Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press, 299 Queen St., W., Toronto, Ont. Dear Dr. Pierce: Many thanks for your letter of December 15th. I was indeed sorry to hear about your difficulties with the market and the labor situation. In the light of the facts which you communicated to me, I am at a loss as to what to do. If you could assure me that the book will be published some time this coming spring, I would be delighted that it should have the Ryerson imprint. If, however, due to the above indicated circumstances, you are not in a position to make any such commitment, I would appreciate it if you would return the manuscript to me. Thanking you for your courtesy herein, and with kindest personal regards, I am, Very truly yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

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To John J. Slocum December 24th, 1947 Mr. John Slocum, Tuxedo Park, New York. Dear Mr. Slocum: Our mutual friend Mr. James Laughlin, when it came to his attention that I was preparing an annotation on Ulysses, was prompted to give me your name as an authority on James Joyce. Subsequently, I learned from Dr. Harry Levin that you were working on an authoritative bibliography, and that you had communicated to him the fact that critical or scholarly books which are wholly devoted to Joyce, now extend to more than thirty volumes – including several German doctoral dissertations. I am writing you therefore, to inquire whether your bibliography has been published, and if so, where? I would appreciate it also if you could direct me to where I could obtain a list of the thirty books, or at least those which are not included in Levin’s bibliography. I do hope you will not deem this inquiry an imposition. Thanking you, I am, Yours very truly, A.M. Klein

To George Dillon, P OETR Y : A M AGAZINE

OF

V ERSE Dec. 28, 1947

Dear Mr. Dillon, This is a belated – illness has kept me away from my office the last several weeks – but nonetheless deeply felt acknowledgment of the honour your editorial board has conferred upon me, with the award of The

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Edward Bland Memorial Fellowship Prize. Any distinction from Poetry would have pleased me; that it was this one – the prize of the coloured given to the Jew – covered me with the sweet inundating pleasures of shared denigration, touched me with the mystique of pity. It was all like a re-living of my bible-childhood: the good Japhet bringing Ham’s gift to Shem – here is an intoxication for father Noah from which he will not speedily recover! Thanking you again, Very sincerely yours Abe Klein

To Grosset and Dunlop 4857 Hutchison St., Montreal, Que. January 8th, 1948. Messrs. Grosset & Dunlop Inc., 1107 Broadway, New York 10, N.Y. Dear Sirs: Enclosed please find manuscript ‘Comes the Revolution,’ which is being submitted for publication by your house. Inasmuch as the subject mater of this novel is of current interest, I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest possible convenience. Yours truly, DAN MOSHER DM:BK

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To Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press January 15th, 1948 The Ryerson Press, 299 Queen St., W., Toronto, Ont. Dear Dr. Pierce: Many thanks for your very kind letter of January 9th. I certainly do appreciate, in the light of the problems that face you, your undertaking to publish this book some time before the end of June. I cannot think of any revisions that I would wish to make in the manuscript, and therefore, it may as well remain with you for the compositors. The only doubt I entertain is about the title of the book; should a better title suggest itself to me, I will forthwith communicate with you. Very sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Leon Edel Jan 22, 1948 My dear Leon, Many thanks for your letter of Jan. 4, and for the address of O’Hegarty. It should come in handy as I progress in my work. What I am engaged on is a line-by-line, or rather page by page, commentary on Ulysses, tracking down all the allusions, indicating in the abstruser stream-of-consciousness paragraphs the mental associations and sequence, explicating text, and relating the parts to the whole, etc. etc. I have found that the books on Ulysses, illuminating as some are, do all too frequently shy away from the really difficult. My method makes such evasiveness impossible: my

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method is that of the glossators, – no more, but no less; only with embarrassment to myself can I skip the cryptic. Already I have completed the general spade work – since the time when you first drew the existence of this book to my attention – circa 1929 – I have reread it on an average of once every two years (and always found fresh novelties in it); and now I am ready for the task. Commenting on the first hundred pages has taken exactly – one hundred pages and the commentary is neither diffuse nor ‘literary.’ I have, moreover, been fortunate – and this is the thing which keeps up my interest in something which, after all, is mere hobby – in stumbling upon some apocalyptic discoveries. I am having a good time. A thousand pardons for my ignorance of your critical writings. Until the reception of your letter, I was not a reader of P.M. But now – all is changed. I shall watch your judgements with the vigilance of a member of the Supreme Court. And when are you coming to Montreal? Ever Abe (father of three – 2 sons & 1 daughter)

To Shonie Levi Jan. 22, 1948 My dear Shonie, Many thanks for your letter, it was pleasant to hear from you. I regretted only that it contained so little information about you and Gershon et al. And may I also congratulate National Hadassah on its new Education Consultant. They could not have found a better – see whom she seeks out as a speaker! I would very much like to lecture in the States. But unfortunately I do not think that I could undertake any such engagements before May when the college term ends. I lecture at the university every day and it is impossible for me to leave without casting a pall of ignorance over the student body. But in May I shall be free, and free ever thereafter. I do not intend to renew my association with McGill – although I was offered a promotion – because all of the excitement and novelty of the thing has gone out. This year I am teaching the same thing I taught three years

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ago – such a psittaceous existence is not for me. I could, of course, give new courses every year – but who wants to work like a horse even if the horse is Pegasus? So I am returning to the practise of law where the duties are less onerous and the rewards – when they come – more generous. This means that then I shall surely have time for peripatetic lecturing. But this does not mean that you are not to write until then. Bess and I would greatly appreciate hearing from you and Gershon and what you are doing. With kindest regards Sincerely Abe

To John J. Slocum January 26, 1948 Dear Mr. Slocum, The attitude of your letter of January nineteenth is entirely justified. I am astonished at the thought that, given the reticent nature of my own communication to you – and on legal letterhead! – I did not, as I should have done, anticipate it and take measures to avoid it. I proceed now to fill in the yawning lacuna of my own letter. My sole interest in the bibliography is to discover whether there is anything published about Joyce which I have not read; and if so, to get it and read it. This I wish to do not only for the pleasure which I may derive from such reading – to me Joyce stands this side idolatry – but also because such material may perhaps be of use to me in the work upon which I am presently engaged, to wit, an annotation of Ulysses. All of the books on Joyce with which I am familiar, – and their number is considerable, although perhaps not exhaustive: hinc illae lachrymae – comment on Ulysses in a partial manner and in the most general of terms. Let me not be misconstrued – some of the volumes are extremely useful, but only so far as they go. After they are finished, there still remain many passages and allusions which to many readers are inscrutable. What I am at work on (the research all finished, save for your bibliography and what it may

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lead to, and one hundred pages of notes on one hundred pages, text already written) is a paragraph by paragraph gloss, much in the manner of the commentaries to the Greek and Latin classics. Sequence of thought, literary allusion, biographical reference, philology, prosodic technique – whatever is dark, I propose to illumine. In a word, I am attempting to treat Ulysses like Vinty – quantacumque in mihi est – treated Milton. I see, as I re-read the above paragraph, that what began as an explanation has turned into a confession; and a boastful one at that. Put the boast down to enthusiasm and credit me only with love for my subject; and don’t – please do not – tell me that you saw, by your bibliography, that this has already been done! Of course I submit myself entirely to your restrictions. Your feelings I completely understand; they are also mine; I could tear limb from limb that churl who would dare filch from me, or use without my consent, so much as a footnote of my centi-centipede commentary. I pray you, therefore, to let me have the bibliography as, I for my part, formally undertake not to publish it, or make it available to any one else, or to use it in any way – save as above indicated – other than with your consent and permission. Thanking you I am Very sincerely yours A.M. Klein

To David Rome Feb. 7, 1948 My dear Rome, Many thanks for the communications you have been sending me. They have pleased me very much, and illustrate again and again what an excellent job you have done. I am enclosing for your own delectation (sic) my latest experimental poem, published this month in the Canadian Forum. As you may gather from its post-publication proofreading, the poem certainly baffled the

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linotype man. But some of our French Canadian friends should esteem it as an ingenious and complimentary curiosity, if for nothing else. Cordially Abe.

To Samuel Bronfman Montreal. To Samuel Bronfman, Esq., On the Occasion of his Fifty-seventh Birthday 4th March, 1948 Dear Sam, Our presence here today on the occasion of your fifty-seventh birthday calls to mind the fact that in days of old the ancient Greeks were given to the practice of numerology which, under the stimulus and leadership of Pythagoras, grew and developed into what was known as the Pythagorean School. Ever since, and down to the present day, the significance of numbers has continued to attract the interest and imagination of thoughtful people. The component numbers of this anniversary of yours lend themselves to many highly illuminating observations but we shall confine ourselves to mentioning only a few which are particularly applicable. The number five recalls the fingers of the hand as well as of the foot. The hand represents that which shows the way and gives direction, and is a symbol in your case of the direction and leadership which you have given to a family and to the building and development of a great industrial enterprise. In this sense, and relating the same numeral to the feet, one must regard the fact that that industrial enterprise has been built on a sound and solid foundation and in doing so give credit and pay tribute to the high standards and principles by which you have been actuated throughout and which are in such large measure responsible for that soundness and solidity. We come now to the second numeral – 7, a mystical number associated with divinity, – God made the world in seven days – a symbol of cre-

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ation. In relating this other half of today’s number to your own person we pay tribute to a creativeness which is well known to be one of your chief characteristics and a quality which has been and is such an underlying and integral basis of your accomplishments. Seven, being God’s number, is often referred to as a lucky number and in applying the word ‘lucky’ to your accomplishments one is reminded of the well known story concerning Henry Ford who, in answer to the imputation of luck as being responsible for his success, replied that that might be so, but added that he found as he went through life that the harder he worked the luckier he got. Adding together these two numerals we have the number twelve, which reminds us of the twelve months which complete the year, – the full calendar. This we take as a symbol of completion, and relating the symbolic feature of this numeral to yourself we think of the characteristics we have mentioned within these brief limits, and adding to them your many other qualities of heart and mind – your generous devotion to worthwhile causes, your participation and leadership in so many objectives for the benefit of your fellow men and embracing humanity the world over – we think of you as a complete personality, possessed of those attributes which make of you a good husband, a devoted father, a sincere and energetic leader and, above all, a good friend. Those of us who are assembled here today are proud to count ourselves among those who are nearest to you – bound to you by the ties of blood and the ties of friendship. We count it a privilege to be with you here in your home and in presenting you with this token of our warm affection and regard we express the hope that you may long continue in the path which has guided you thus far in health and happiness with your dear wife and children, and in the great and spreading influence for good in so many and diversified directions to which your life is dedicated may you go from strength to strength. And in conclusion may we say how fond is the hope of all of us that we may be privileged to gather again on many more such occasions until the time when today’s numerals may change their places, and for many years thereafter.

[. . .....] Abe Klein [. . ......]

Sincerely yours, H. Bronfman B. Aaron Allan Laz. Phillips D.G. Gorman Allen Walker

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To Frank Flemington, The Ryerson press March 6, 1948 Dear Mr. Flemington Many thanks for your friendly and very acute letter of February 26th; a man could not wish to have a better reader. I was particularly startled by your discovery that so many O’s rolled exclamatory through the poems. I had not previously observed that I was so addicted to the vocative: a single O in an isolated poem is tolerable; in a rhetorical one, even two – oh! oh! – may be suffered; but this promenade of ovals, I quite agree, is overdone. Accordingly, I have sought, wherever that was possible, to eliminate them. A good number still remain; it can’t be helped; is it my fault if I’m ‘intense’? 1. Will you be good enough, therefore, to change: a) In Frigidaire, first line, last stanza, to read: And there on the heights the storm’s electric. b) In The Provinces: O where shall one find it? to ‘Yet when shall one find it?’ c) In Krieghoff, first line, second stanza, to read: And any signs will do d) In Portrait of the Poet as Landscape: Section IV, 2nd stanza, 4th line to read, Wigged with his laurel that other, and faked with his face Section IV, 4th stanza, 4th line, to read: the chemist death built up? Pride, lost impostor’d pride, Section VI, 2nd stanza, 3rd line, to read: has not been. Item by exciting item e) Sire Alexandre Grandmaison, 2nd stanza, delete O, and read: paid off at six per cent: pious ceremony reduced to legal tender at a banker’s wicket. f ) In Lone Bather – 3rd stanza, to read: Plashes and plays alone the deserted pool g) In Les Filles Majeures, 2nd stanza, fourth line, delete O and read: It is baby talk and precocity that is their topic, their event. and last stanza, first line, to read: For them, for them the world lacks symmetry!

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2. Capitals: Yes, I do wish to have the words you enumerate uncapitalized. The preference, perhaps, is purely personal, – the result of some optic peculiarity, that I do feel that a sudden capital letter, rising on its toes in the middle of a line of uniform minuscules, upsets proportion: like Frederick II’s six-foot giants marching among the ranks of pygmy patagonians. In the titles, however, please retain the capitals. Here all are sergeants. The title you ask about, therefore, should read: The Green Old Age 3. Ninetynine. Unhyphenated. The word is thus a longer word, and its n’s – in my mind – simulate steps: n-i: n-e: ni: ne: treads and risers. 4. Is people d is a typing error. The words, of course, should read Is peopled. 5. I agree that the line in Lone Bathers is grammatically awkward. But I think it is psychologically correct. Like the protagonist, the syntax, too, is introverted; preoccupied with self, and where one should expect as those are free, reads, solipsistically as those, is free, who think themselves alone. 6. Krieghoff: If the usual spelling is Krieghoff, why, that is what it should be. I spelled Krieghof because I didn’t know any better. 7. I do not know whether the following corrections have been made on my mss. a) In The Sugaring, 2nd stanza, 5th line, the phrase is ‘the carving auger runs spiral the round stigmata through each limb’ b) In The Provinces, 2nd stanza, delete the word and, and read Then, the three flat-faced blond-haired husky ones c) Annual Banquet: Chambre de Commerce, I would prefer if the first stanza read And as the orators, reworded wars, scored, soared, bored – The man of capital: You certainly have a wonderful country. Why don’t you Exploit it? 8. If the book is long enough as it is, I would prefer if you omitted the Parade of St. Jean Baptiste. I now think it altogether too long, and one experimental poem: Montreal – is enough. I am enclosing a copy of a reprint of the poems in Poetry Magazine which were circulated in several thousand copies throughout the province by the Canadian Jewish Congress as part of its public relations work. The response was highly satisfactory. The La Presse of Montreal devoted an entire column to an appreciation of this work. I believe that when our book is published, Quebec will be found to be in a most receptive mood.

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At that time, perhaps, some further arrangements may be made with the Canadian Jewish Congress for distribution. And finally, may I thank you once more for the trouble you are taking with this mss. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Earle Birney April 11, 1948 Dear Birney Many thanks for the transcript of the radio talk on Joyce which you were kind enough to send me. I enjoyed reading it, and regretted only that I had not heard it on the air. It was a good job, and may perhaps succeed in persuading the authorities to change their attitude on Ulysses. I say, perhaps, because I am not very hopeful. The Commissioner of Excise, I feel, does not think that there is something missing in his life. He has gotten along splendidly without it all these years, and other Canadians, he is convinced, can make just as great a success of their lives without benefit of Ulysses. But I agree that it was worth trying, and trying again – and this you have done valiantly. Bravo! With kindest regards Abe Klein

To A.J.M. Smith May 1st, 1948 Dr. A.J.M. Smith, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich.

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Dear Arthur: This is to acknowledge your letter of April 26th. I will be glad to act as judge of your annual Undergraduate Poetry Contest. Send the material on to me – after screening it well – and we will issue our Olympian award. It is a strange thing that your letter reached me just as I was about to write you. The Ryerson Press is readying my book to be called THE ROCKING CHAIR & OTHER POEMS, and they are looking for material to trumpet the jacket. I would like to use several paragraphs from the article you wrote about me in Gants du Ciel; particularly the paragraph beginning ‘For the last two or three years’ … and going down as far as ‘un univers que sa sensibilité juive lui permet de comprèndre et d’aimer.’ I can of course, translate the French myself, but I would prefer to have your original English text, if it is still in your possession. The Montreal scene here is quiet. The Northern Review has folded up, and no other substitute has appeared. I, as you know, have resigned from the teaching staff of McGill. Patrick, I think, is to take my place. There was some question of his Communistic affiliations, but he wrote, I am told, a complete letter of recantation, informing the authorities that he is no longer a Communist sympathizer, that he never really was, and that as a matter of fact, he is now writing several poems and a short story to prove this. I am telling you this because I want you to laugh too. Frank Scott I have not seen for some time. As for myself, I am head over heels in my commentary on Joyce. Kindest regards, Sincerely, AMK:FP

To Ellsworth Mason June 8, 1948 Dear Mr. Mason, Many thanks for your very interesting letter of the second of June, so

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interesting to me, in fact, that although under ordinary circumstances I might have waited with my reply until June 16 (for correspondence’s sake!), I do hasten now to tell you how intrigued I am by the title of your dissertation. In the long course of my exhaustive study of Ulysses, I have been amazed again and again by the mutations to which Joyce has subjected Viconian ideas, but I have not, I must confess, descried those equations between Odyssean chapters and Vico’s cycles to which your letter refers. Indeed, I had considerable difficulty with Vico; I do not read Italian; there is as yet no English translation of his ‘New Science’ (although such a translation, I am given to understand, is now in the making); I was compelled therefore to read him in French; and the only French version I could lay my hands on – but not take away – was one entitled La Science Nouvelle pour Vico; traduite par l’auteur de l’essai sur la formation Du Dogma Catholique (Paris, 1844). These circumstances put me to much trouble; but it was worth it; my annotation was thereby illuminated in an untold number of instances. I do linger thus on my circuitings of the Vico road merely to point up my reaction to your thesis; certainly I would consider it – if I agreed with its conclusions – in the nature of treasure trove. You would oblige me greatly if you sent it on to me. I need hardly say – in the shadow of the above letterhead – that all your discourses will be deemed, scrupulously, your own property. As for my own annotation, it is now more than three quarters finished and has been one of the most rewarding avocations I have ever undertaken. I have but the final chapters to do, and a number of scattered lacunae to fill in. Hardly a chapter but has yielded up secrets not hitherto suspected by the ‘commentators in general.’ In method, I have sought to revive the tradition of exegesis which prevailed in the 19th century, the tradition exercised upon our classics English and Latin-Greek. I have considered Ulysses a long poem, and have, perhaps pedantically, treated it as such; every difficult phrase, every linguistic virtuosity, every obscure allusion, every elusive thought-sequence has been commented upon. I have no doubt but that often I run the risk of explaining the obvious; it is a risk with which I am willing, for the sake of Joyce’s reputation, to embarrass myself. In the course of this detailed annotation the Homeric parallels are exemplified, the literary techniques analyzed. Beyond adverting to them and showing them propulsive in the mind of the writer, I have not done much with the colours, symbols, and organs, which extrude from each chapter, as from a palimpsest. When I began this work five years ago, I, too, had in mind a handbook. I considered a handbook, however, as inadequate, though useful. The

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thing, should be done, I felt, as though with a pointer. And pointer-pedagogue I have turned out to be. Publication? I do not think that I shall have much difficulty on this score. Random House, I think, should be interested in a companion volume to its own authorized edition of Ulysses (I have used the R.H. pagination throughout). Laughlin, of New Directions, has expressed – when I communicated to him some of the contents of my summa – a willingness to publish it. Length? It will run as 2 is to 3 – 20 pages of laconic notes on thirty pages of text. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Ellsworth Mason June 23, 1948 Dear Mr. Mason. This is just a note to acknowledge the receipt of both your letter of June 10th, and your card of June 18th. The dissertation has not yet arrived. Court sessions come to a head this time of the year (June 20th) and I have not had much time to devote to the problems you raise in your letter. Nonetheless, I have been so intrigued by the Joyce letter that I have penned you a twenty-page analysis (complete and final!) of the nineparted division etc. It casts a most apocalyptic light on the entire chapter, this Joyce letter does, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you for letting me see it and thus informing me that the nine-part scheme was actually Joyce’s intention and not merely Budgen’s unexplained (and I can now say, merely psittacious) surmisal. My explanation is now being typed and you will receive it early next week. Sincerely Klein

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To Leon Edel July 6, 1948 My dear Leon Some time ago, at a Joyce Society meeting apparently, you had occasion to mention my work on Ulysses to E.G. Mason. By that casual remark you did me a tremendous favour, for Mason was prompted to begin a correspondence with me in the course of which he sent me a transcription of a letter from Joyce to Budgen in which Joyce informed the latter that the ‘Oxen of the Sun’ chapter consisted of ‘a nine-parted episode,’ the ‘progression of which was linked back at each part subtly with some foregoing episode of the day, and besides this, with the natural stages of development in the embryo and the formal periods of evolution in general.’ This ninefold division, etc. has by no one been fathomed. ‘If you have fathomed them,’ Mason wrote me, ‘you’re much sharper than I think anyone except Joyce is.’ You can imagine how this challenge struck at my vanity, – and my curiosity about all aspects of the mind of Joyce. I set to work, and the result is the enclosed letter, a copy of the one which I have this day sent to Mason. I may tell you that this is the most exciting thing I have done in a long time, and that the revelations this analysis makes are positively apocalyptic. Because it was your remembrance of me that brought the Joyce letter to my hand, I owe you this copy; because you are a Joyce chassid I would want you to have it in any event. It took me three weeks of my spare time to write this thing: it will take you at least three evenings to read it, a copy of Ulysses at your hand, – but if you have the time drop me a line about it. Cordially Abe.

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To McKee and Batchelder 4857 Hutchison St., Montreal, July 13th, 1948. Messrs. McKee and Batchelder, C/O Potter and Jackson, 624 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. Dear Sirs: I am reliably given to understand that you were the agents who handled Evan John’s story ‘The Network’ now running in the Saturday Evening Post, and I am prompted by this information to do something most unorthodox, namely, to submit to you the same story, but very differently treated. I hasten to do this now, while The Network is still in process of publication so as to forestall the suggestion of plagiarism; my manuscript was written in 1947, when I unsuccessfully attempted to sell it myself, being met invariably with the editorial reply that while That Walks Like a Man read very well, was most exciting, had a good hard-boiled manner, etc. still what was required (in 1947) were factual stories, confessions, the inside dope given by the dope inside. That paralysing fascination for the mere fact duly attested by affidavit, that editorial spell, I think, has been broken by your success with the Evan John story. I write you therefore to suggest that publication of The Network being considered a precedent, the enclosed book, through your agency, may now well be material marketable with some national magazine or publisher. I want to emphasize the fact that while the source of material of That Walks Like a Man was largely the same as that of Evan John, that is to say, the Royal Commission Report – I enjoyed moreover the additional advantage (dubious) of knowing most of the conspirators personally, and of having attended at all of the sessions of the Fred Rose trial – the story itself as far as I can judge by comparison with but the single instalment in the S.E.P. is very differently written. While the tone of The Network is English, straightforward, correct, and almost professorial, that of the enclosed manuscript is brash and brazen, and much more typical both of the milieu in which the spying took place, and of the temperament

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of most of the spies. I do not wish to compare the two styles as styles; the only point I wish to make is that there are many people, who, though they remain unmoved by the most talented staid style, do get all tensed up by a single paragraph in the manner of James M. Cain. I think, too, and I say this with the greatest respect for the writing of Evan John, whose books I have always enjoyed, that there is a decided advantage in a story of the kind under consideration, not to make the moral explicit. It is futile to attempt to convince one who is contemplating spying as a career that spying against one’s country is immoral; the lesson such a one requires is that treason is both dangerous and unprofitable, – and this I think emerges out of That Walks Like a Man. I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Yours truly, Dan Mosher DM:BK

To Henry Allen Moe, Guggenheim Foundation July 17th, 1948. Mr. Henry Allen Moe, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, 551 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Moe: I am at present at work on an extended commentary on Joyce’s Ulysses, and now address myself to your good offices, seeking your aid and counsel to meet a problem which has arisen in connection with the completion of this work. Now this commentary, I must insist, is different, both in its nature and its scope from the Joyce explications which have preceded it. Up to now all the commentators – there are more than a dozen books wholly devoted to Joyce – have contented themselves with general explanations. They have either stressed, like Gilbert, the Homeric framework of the book,

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or have shown, like Kain, the relationship of the narrative elements in Ulysses to the contents of the Evening Telegraph (Dublin) of June 16, 1904; or have expatiated upon its time-philosophy; or related the book, like Harry Levin, to the general corpus of European culture; or adverted to the historical theories of Vico; or expounded either its Catholic or the theosophic ingredients, – in a word, have traversed specialized fields in terms but general. These works are by no means, by no means to be underestimated; they have opened doors into the labyrinth. But the labyrinth remains inadequately explored. The form in which these writers expound their views – the synoptic essay, the discursive chapter – has indeed made it possible for some of them to maintain an air of omniscient erudition at the very moment when they were skilfully skirting matter which despite their wholesale elucidations still remains in detail abstruse and incomprehensible. 1951 will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the completion of this masterpiece; in our literature it is the great creative landmark of the XXth century; to refer to it as a classic is to compliment it mildly, lazily to appreciate it; – and still, after almost three decades, it remains, though universally admired, not totally understood. What I want to do – and have up to page 210 of Random House text already done – is to annotate the book, paragraph by paragraph. If ever there was reason required to revive the tradition of exegesis which prevailed in the 19th century, a tradition which was exercised upon classics both English and Latin-Greek, Ulysses provides that reason. Accordingly, my commentary treats of every difficult phrase, every obscure allusion, every elusive thought-sequence. Then, each Homeric parallel is exemplified; then its literary techniques are illustrated. When the chapter is finished nothing remains not understood (that is, by him who reads and does not run) – and what appeared at first as chaos and charade is seen to be the result of the order and reason of the most fertile mind of our century. I give by way of example some questions – arising in the first thirty pages – which all of the annotators have forgotten to answer. 1. What is the meaning of the riddle on page 27? And the meaning of its even more riddlesome answer on page 28? 2. ‘The aunt always keeps plainlooking servants for Malachi … And her name is Ursula.’ What’s the joke? 3. He’s up in Dottyville with Connolly Norman (p. 8). Who is Connolly Norman? 4. ‘Printed by the weird sisters in the year of the big wind’ (p. 14). At whom is this parody directed?

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5. O shade of Kinch the elder! Japhet in search of a father! (p. 19) Allusion? 6. Symbol of the apostles in the mass for Pope Marcellus etc. (p. 22) No one has bothered to explain the paragraph. 7. ‘There’s five fathoms out there, he said. It’ll be swept up that way when the tide comes in about one. Its nine days to-day.’ Shakespeare and Sir Thomas Browne. The pervasive influence of Browne – undiscussed. 8. Why Malachi Mulligan was chosen – apart from the consideration of the two dactyls – as the name for Oliver Gogarty? 9. ‘Across the page the symbols moved in grave morrice … a darkness shining in brightness which brightness could not comprehend’? There are many other difficulties in the first chapter; the annotations made upon the first thirty pages consist of twenty typewritten pages of laconic comment. Nor can I refrain from mentioning discoveries which I have made concerning the internal structure of the famous Oxen of the Sun chapter, discoveries which reveal this chapter to be the most ingenious and elusive tour de force in all literature! But really … I don’t think I need dwell upon the amount of research and study this work has entailed and still entails. The one-third of the book that I have already done I did while I was visiting lecturer in Poetry at McGill. That appointment now being at an end, – it was as you may gather from the letterhead the half, and the better half, of my usual pursuits – I now desire to complete this thing on my own time. I calculate that if I should devote at least half of every day for the next two years, I should, taking into consideration the accumulated notes that I already have, be able to give the publisher a completed manuscript of about five hundred pages of condensed and hitherto unsuspected explication. Unfortunately, driven by the hard necessity of earning a living, I cannot, unless otherwise provided for, afford this luxury of a book which from the outset is doomed to be no more of a best-seller than Ulysses itself. In dollars and cents such a labor of love would mean to me a loss of at least $4000.00 per year. I think it is a trivial sum considering the importance of the work upon which it is to be expended; alas, even that triviality I can’t afford. I do not know whether the Guggenheim Foundation is set up to finance undertakings of this kind. I have no doubt however, but that there must be some Foundations, perhaps even some individuals, who might be interested in advancing this project, but who these Foundations or individuals might be I do not know; and it was my friend Professor Scott

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of McGill University who suggested that I write you soliciting your advice in this matter. I do not know whether in this letter I have succeeded in communicating to you the importance of this work, or merely my enthusiasm for it. If you thought it worthwhile, I could come down to New York to expatiate upon my commentary face-to-face, and not as now, through a letter darkly. In any event I would appreciated it greatly, if you could drop me a note, touching your personal reactions and general ideas on this project.

Thanking you, I am, Very truly yours, AMK:BK

To Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press July 28, 1948 My dear Mr. Flemington This is to acknowledge the receipt of six author’s copies of The Rocking Chair, and to congratulate you and The Ryerson Press upon a job very, very well done. It is, indeed, the good-looking volume I had been led to expect, and leaves me – up to the point of royalties – completely satisfied. The choice of colour pleased me, too. I trust that it will prove a good omen for your company: – gold. I want in particular to express to you my sincere thanks for your cooperation throughout, a cooperation, as you know, which has left its mark also in the text. Sincerely A.M. Klein P.S.

Could you have your circulation dep’t send me 25 copies at author’s rate (I hope I am not overestimating the number of my friends) – and bill me for same.

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P.P.S. Might I also have a note from you touching the disposition of review copies? Thanks.

To Ellsworth Mason Aug. 19, 1948 Dear Mr. Mason, I have this day received copy of your dissertation on Joyce and Vico, forwarded to me by Professor Kelleher, and send this note on to you to acknowledge it. I have had but [little] opportunity to leaf through it, and have already been impressed by its many insights. I intend to take some time off this coming week to study it in toto, and shall write you anon. How have you been getting along with the recapitulatory – evolutional – embryological ‘Oxen of the Sun’? Sincerely Klein

To John J. Slocum October 7, 1948 Dear Mr. Slocum: Many thanks for your very kind letter of Sep. 29th. It took long in coming – understandably – but it was worth waiting for. You can not know how much I – working with limited library facilities – appreciate the opportunities revealed in your letter. I avail myself of all three: (a) I enclose my cheque in the sum of five dollars, plus exchange, for a copy of that precious microfilm. ‘Hoopsa boy! Hoopsa boy!’ (b) My special field of interest, detailed interest, is Ulysses. Anything that throws light on any aspect of this book is of vital concern to me. Nihil Ulysseum (sic) me alienum puto. Whatever titles you send will be so many more pendants to my gratitude.

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(c) I envied you your trip to the scenes of Joyce’s life, and look forward to reading your report. Thanks, many thanks. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Ellsworth Mason Oct. 14, 1948 Dear Mr. Mason I hope you will forgive me for having allowed so long a time to elapse before answering your letter. In the first place, during the past six weeks – opening of court term – my business has seriously interfered with my pleasures; and in the second, the contents of your letter and of your thesis were not such as could be treated parenthetically. Your dissertation I have read several times, and found it extremely interesting. There is no doubt but that Joyce in writing Ulysses was continually obsessed by Viconian thought; all of the direct allusions to Vico that you find in the text are, to my mind, completely justified. Whether the Viconian influence was as all-embracing, as total, as paradigmatic as you would have it to be is however, another question again. Whatever doubt I entertain on this score is motivated by the following reasons: (1) The Viconian pattern of the chapters is not cyclic; this would have seemed to have been a sine qua non. It is not even symmetrical, neither functionally symmetrical, nor geometrically so. Everything else Joyce touched, however, does show recognizable design. (2) Your re-naming of the Viconian ages, though it facilitates your identifications, affords you so much latitude that it defeats itself. There isn’t a novel, or a drama – including those written by people who never heard of Vico – which doesn’t have in it poor people, rich people, conflict. (3) The Aeolus chapter is a testing point. Here you have descried – with admirable perspicacity – V. allusion after V. allusion in the very terminology of the newspaper headings. Yet when you want to arrange them into a pattern you are compelled, perforce, to omit (without ex-

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planation) sequential headings which obviously would have marred that pattern. All of which is to say that the evidence you adduce is pertinent but does not give rise to conclusions as wide as those you infer. (4) I believe you attach too much importance to Kain’s sociological emphasis. Kain has done an extremely worth-while work, but in his attempt to show Joyce as above all socially-conscious, I think he has catered to his reader rather than to his author. (5) I don’t imagine that you intended to include in your dissertation all of the Viconian references you found, for I have noted quite a number not alluded to in your work. (6) There is missing in your thesis any textual evidence – any indication even by indirection – that Joyce was making the pattern you discover. In my experience with the Ulysses text I have found that there has not been a difficulty on page x where Joyce has not, on page y, facilitated the explication. The riddle on page 27 is a case in point. No one has as yet explained it – Kain made a false attempt – but the explanation is to be found in the book itself. But a dissertation need not be convincing – it need only be illuminating. Yours is eminently so, and constitutes, I think, an important addition to Joyce commentary. I want to thank you again for having let me see it. It is being returned to Box 305, under separate cover. As for your letter touching Oxen of the Sun, although I far from agreed with its strictures, I found it extremely useful, both in that it provided some additional corroborative insights, and in that it indicted where I had not sufficiently explained myself. Relating to your comments, I make the following: (1) The embryological data I obtained – not from my personal experience – but from Williams’ classic work on Obstetrics (1941) Its first edition was in 1903. (2) The method you suggest to discover the nature of the recapitulations – namely, to study what is happening in each paragraph – is not subtle enough – when Joyce used that word, I take it he was being modest. Such a technique would make out of the chapter a mere vitreous transparent allegory. Not that Joyce doesn’t use this method at all. He does – to determine the parody style. But his comment is indirect, tangential, – not parallel. Thus the excursus on Carnal Concupiscence is Bunyanesque – Disgrace

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Abounding. Macaulay’s manner I have already spoken about. Sallust for the opening paragraphs is also most ironical choice. I am now at work on an essay analyzing, identifying, commenting upon, all of the parodies in O of S. (3) That the no. of allusions is far from exhausted is stated explicitly in my letter. (4) I am inclined now to agree with you (I have drawn up a parallel table of the various categories) that the nine parts are more or less explicitly indicated. Only some of them run into each other. (5) In your annotation on the annotation you stop at the ninth month. It is here that my thesis receives its final conclamant proof. Series of 9 x 9 etc. cannot possibly be accidental. I defy anyone – even the most ingenious – to make a similar pattern of any other paragraphs in Ulysses or any other book. That my analysis is ingenious is modestly granted, – very modestly, for it is only a reflection of Joyce’s ingenuity. (6) My identification of Christ with pelican is a case in point. It seems to arouse your resentment, but why I cannot understand. For the identification is a truism of Christian thought. Dante refers to Christ as nostro Pelicane; Sir Thomas Browne makes similar allusion to the bird that feeds and sustains its young with its very own blood. Dr. Donne likewise, and many, many others. (7) ‘Isn’t it suspect that I would place on page 406 the principle which governs 392 […] on?’ No. Because throughout those eighteen pages he keeps repeating the figure seven to let you know that that month is still continuing. (8) Wibblywobbly (a ricochet word) is dialectic. (9) My letter to you, with amendments and elaborations, mainly prompted by your letter to me, is to be published shortly in a Canadian publication: Here and Now. I shall most certainly send on a copy to you; I am hoping that the second version will convince. Since my last letter to you I have received a very nice note from Slocum. He is making available to me the transcript of the Joyce letters and some other bibliographical data. At this transitional point – not terminal, I hope – I want to tell you again how much I have appreciated our correspondence and how stimulating I have found it. I trust that it will continue. Certainly I would not want it to be clogged by such enigmatic statements as ‘Kelleher has the story on Deshil period,’ or (mine) ‘the riddle on page 27 is explained.’

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Let us not fall prey to the occupational disease of the Joyce critic: a mania for the monopoly of the quiddity. There are not many to whom one may speak intelligently of Joyce – let us not restrict that number further. With kindest regards Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press Oct. 29, 1948 Dear Mr. Flemington Would you please be good enough to have your circulation department send on to me 12 (twelve) copies of The Rocking Chair at the usual author’s price. How is the sale of the book progressing? Has anything come of the interest of The Canadian Jewish Congress in The Rocking Chair? I understand that the book is to be reviewed shortly in The Nation (New York) and I understand it is to be a good review. I presume, from a notice which I received from The Gotham Book Mart, that it is on sale in New York. Do you ever come down to Montreal? If you do, please contact me: I would like to see personally the part-author of my book. Cordially, A.M. Klein

To Ellsworth Mason Nov. 2, 1948 Dear Mr. Mason No, I have not been able to find the y for the x you indicate on p. 274.

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Until you drew it to my attention the sentence had not presented any difficulty for I took it for an obiter dictum. Nonetheless, the x’s do have their y’s. I am convinced that when the various texts of Ulysses – mss; first typewritten copy; early magazine pub.; and final draft – come to be collated, it will appear clearly that Joyce, after he had finished his first draft, set about systematically to insert in convenient places the proper correlatives. My close examination of only the last draft has already provided me with several instances of this technique; and I do not doubt but that a collation will reveal many more. And now to reciprocate with some questions, not upon the critical, but upon the purely interpretative level; I pose them, moreover, not as part of a game, interesting as I find such games, but for information. What are the allusions in the following: (1) Descende calve ut ne nimium decalveris (41) Whence the quotation, and what is its context? (2) Diebus ac noctibus injurias patiens ingemiscit (50) Whence the quotation? (3) Lucifer, dico, qui nescit occasum (51) Whence? (4) Se il yilo nebrakada feminimum (239) Whence? The context? And what the devil does it mean? (5) Talis ac tanta depravatio hujus seculi etc (396) Whence? I know what it means. (6) The case of Mdme. Grissel Steevens was not forgotten (404) What case? (7) The hungry famished gull Flaps o’er the waters dull (150) Whose is the posy? (8) Weda seca whokilla farst? (554) What is Shakespeare trying to say? Have you any or all of the answers? Yours Klein

To John J. Slocum Nov. 8, 1948

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Dear Mr. Slocum Many thanks for your kind letter of October 26th informing me that the Joyce microfilm had been sent on. I have not yet received it, but I suppose it should be here any day. I was glad to learn that you are planning a trip to Montreal. I shall be most pleased to hear from you so that we may be able to spend some time together. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Ellsworth Mason Dec. 8, 1948 Dear Mr. Mason, Many thanks for your note of December fifth. The note on Deshil I found extremely edifying, particularly as it corrects what was obviously a misinterpretation in Gilbert who renders Deshil – south. I do not know what precisely were the personal relationships between Joyce & Gilbert, but I have long ago begun to suspect that very often Joyce refused to condescend to correct the errors of his commentators, even of those close to him. This is nowhere more apparent than in Gilbert’s translation of Ulysses into French where, although the book is announced as having been ‘read by M. James Joyce,’ error after error is permitted to pass. This attitude probably arose in Joyce out of a love of the practical joke. It endears him to us all the more. At the same time, of course, it ought to be said that no commentator has done as much for Ulysses as Gilbert. He remains – up to now – fons et origo. If I use Mr. Kelleher’s note – as I probably shall – I will, of course, put the responsibility where it belongs. It is strange that your note should come precisely at the moment when I am awaiting from England some further works by Joyce, Patrick W. Some of them I have here and they have proved useful in more than one instance.

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Do let me have a copy of your paper to be delivered on the 27th. That A Pisgah Sight of Palestine is the name of a book by Fuller, I must admit – at the risk of appearing ungracious, I already knew. I happen to have lectured on Fuller at McGill when I was giving a course in seventeenth century literature. Also the name of a book is Japhet in search of a father (Marryat). My manuscript is growing apace, and Joyce’s wonders do not cease. Hardly a week passes by without its revelation. The man is inexhaustible, has the true gift of tongues. But when I shall finish the work I do not know; again and again I am interrupted by having to make a living, not only for myself, but my wife, my three children, and my dog. O that my father had left me an estate! With kindest regards Sincerely A.M. Klein.

To John J. Slocum Dec. 9, 1948 Dear Mr. Slocum, This is just a note to tell you that I received the microfilm (have not hidden it in a pumpkin) and that I am most indebted to you for the trouble you have taken. I have not had a chance to do much more than flash the film through a Recordak but even from so cursory an examination I can see that it contains much that is both interesting and important. To look at the letter, the original script of the letter which formed the basis of my essay on the ‘Oxen of the Sun’ was a positive thrill. Thanks again. Sincerely A.M. Klein P.S. I gather that your trip to Montreal is still prospective

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To Alan Crawley Dec. 10, 1948 My dear Alan Many thanks for your note of the twentieth. I think a commemorative volume – but that sounds so macabre – of the poetry of the forties a very good idea. But if it is to be of such a character why must the poems be unpublished ones. For there you have me. All that I have written I have published, and since the appearance of my last book, have written no new poem. Every spare moment I have I devote to my work on Joyce’s Ulysses – I am determined to explicate that masterpiece so that all may surmise not only its general import, but know it in detail. It is the most exciting task I have ever in my life undertaken. I do not think that I shall be finished before the end of 1949. Do you plan to come down to Montreal again, I would like to infect you with my enthusiasm for Joyce. With best wishes, and kindest regards to Mrs. Crawley Yours Abe

To Ellsworth Mason Dec. 24, 1948 My dear Mason Many thanks for your note of the thirteenth. Kelleher’s surmisal as to the origin of Gilbert’s error is very ingenious (the word is not pejorative) and convincing. What is Kelleher’s address? Has he published anything on Joyce? The title page of the French edition of Ulysses proclaims that the translation has been entirely revue or relue, I don’t remember which, by the author. If so, he permitted many errors to pass uncommented. After seeing Slocum’s Linati letters I agree with you that this was not due to lack

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of condescension; certainly J.J. took great pains to correct the Italian. (This, I gather, from the list of errata, not from the letter, which I can’t read.) The theosophical allusions I have noted; I do, think, however, that Gilbert attaches an undue importance to them, and that much of the theosophy in his commentary issues from his own knowledge of the subject, and not Joyce’s. Of course, in Dublin during the nineties, no one could escape the theosophical influence. But J.J. I think was cynical about it (cf. his visit to A.E.’s quarters). The purchase of books on the subject does not prove faith in it; J.J. also bought the Pink’Un. Paul de Kock I agree, is not a pornographic writer. He hadn’t the courage. He is merely a titillator. It’s his surname that’s the thing. I have given further thought to the Cecilia Street reference. It is, as I said, a hapax legomenon; but constitutes no exception to the general rule I enunciated, namely, that whenever something (at first consideration) obscure in the incidents or identities of Bloomsday is mentioned, at least one other reference to that incident or identity is subsequently provided. The Cecilia Street reference is a casual reminiscence, important not to the events of Bloomsday but to the technique of its chapter. Why? Because Cecilia St. evokes the recollection of St. Cecilia (music), the major incident in whose life is reproduced in the three lines on page 274. How did your paper come off? Was there anything else of Joycean interest at the meeting? With kindest regards Klein

To Karl Shapiro Dec. 27, 1948. Dear Mr. Shapiro It was very kind and most generous of you to take the trouble to drop me your note of congratulation. In the light of the question put in your postscript, the body of your letter was indeed generous to a degree, for verily I am the one who once mourned you as a lost Jew. I say ‘mourned’ because it was a sadness and not an anger which moved me, a mood of

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regret and not of anathema. Please believe me – this is not cant. I recognized the uniqueness of your talent – its vigour and its sensitivity, its being within the tradition and its newness – and I was mortified to think that you were lost to those who needed you most. Had my feelings then been other than as I have described them, your letter would have covered me with embarrassment and confusion. As it is, it is the most welcome letter I have received this year. I see in black and white that you do not belong to them. I know now that you never did, I knew always that we never could – even when accepted, embraced, baptised, they hang the hyphen upon our necks, like the leper’s clapper – and I see that you now know that you don’t. Your poem on the recent Maccabaean events in our history, elated me; the letter before me – its very existence, compliments aside – won back your name for me – Shapir, the pleasing, the acceptable. But, you say, I am quite a long chalk from Jew. Brother, you perpetrate a naiveté: you assume it is a matter of choice. It is in this sense, and not in any arrogant sense, that we are a chosen, and not a choosing people. Choice, if any, does not lie between Christian and Jew, but between the manners in which one accepts or rejects the fait accompli. One can either – here I go, professorial and avuncular – associate one’s Jewishness with all the negativism history like a mad Rashi, has appended to it; or one can feel oneself, and develop oneself as part of a great tradition, a tradition whose fruitfulness is by no means exhausted. I recall a symposium published in 1940 on the question ‘what my Judaism means to me.’ Delmore Schwartz participated and said that he cherished his Jewishness because it provided him – with an additional source of anguish! This is like the circumcised one who insisted on showing every one his operation. David Daiches said that the fact that he knew he was a Jew (his father is or was Rabbi in Edinburgh) resulted in his acquiring, when he was at college an excelling knowledge in – Scots dialect poetry! This is – like nothing I know. Both gentlemen see in their heritage – only succession duties. Of its inventory they have no idea. That inventory is both valuable and extensive, and its items are not confined to the Hebrew tongue. The Talmud, and your own name which issues therefrom, are both Aramaic; Maimonides did not spurn the Arabic, Mendelssohn judaized even the German, and as for English, it is already a vessel prepared. Milton prepared it. Now the continuation of our own culture stands before the Jewish writer as the challenge. The hiatus of the Diaspora has been closed – closed

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even for those who still remain therein. We do not write any longer in vacuo; we write in the aftermath of a great death, European Jewry’s, and in the presence of a great resurrection. Our miracle, moreover, owns to a miracle’s greatest virtue – contemporaneity. You speak of the Jewish Consciousness. You recognize it, then, and I need not argue it. Remains only to visit, italics yours, that consciousness upon our own chain of being, and not elsewhere. Saying which I hear your tu quoque: And what have you to do with French Canada? It’s a long story. Two books I wrote both stemming out of my ancestral traditions; both praised ancient virtue; when I looked about for these virtues in the here and now, I found them in Quebec. Now I have no illusions about my province, its clericalism, its frequent reaction, etc. – but here was a minority, like my own, which led a compact life; continued, unlike my son, an ancient tradition, preserved inherited values, felt that it ‘belonged.’ Now, of course, I do not require my Gallic prototype’s beatific vision; the original is re-building. And how it is to be rebuilded is a matter of concern to me, though I may never dwell therein.

To Leon Edel Dec. 28, 1948. My dear Leon, I can not tell you how pleased I was to receive your so kind, so generous note. It did, among other things, evoke in me a nostalgia for the days lang syne when we were both at McGill and the world was our oyster. Since then we have discovered, of course, that oysters are treif; but nothing – I believe this has been earlier observed, maintes fois – is so pleasant a part of the present as the cast of the past. I am curious about your as yet nameless work in progress. What is it – a piece of Jacobinism? – it is amazing to see the number of people discovering the James you appreciated in the twenties – essays? a novel, perhaps? It was once taken for granted, you will remember, that the great Canadian novel would issue from the midst of our group. The provincial-

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ism of the national adjective is, I think, now seen for what it is – but The Great Novel, – that still remains to be written. Or are you leaving that for later? Your suggestion about Jolas about-to-be resurrected transition – how permanently valid the transition name is! – is exciting. Nothing would please me more than to appear in fair Paris in explication of the Master. Do you write to Jolas? If you do, you might put the bee in his bonnet, too. Would he be interested in an essay on any of the following subjects – I select a few: 1. A Progress of Parodies: an analysis of the parodies of The Oxen of the Sun, their identification, and comparison with the models on which they are based. An enunciation of the principles on which the authors to be parodied were chosen. 2. The Fox and his Grandmother: an explication of the riddle on page 27. 3. Poetic and Mimetic Techniques in Ulysses. 4. The Black Panther. 5. Circe’s Swine: A medical study of the zoo on Mabbot St. 6. Viconian Thought in Ulysses. 7. The Christological in Ulysses. 8. The Patriotism of James Joyce. 9. The Proteus that Joyce caught. An analysis of the protean devices used in the third chapter. Some of these subjects may read like pmla articles. They are only partially – in their authority, if I may pardoned – of that nature. If you could let me have Jolas’ address, I will send him a copy of ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ essay which is to appear in Here & Now, next issue, January. Me, I have not been away from home for years. When does good fortune bring you to Montreal? Ever Abe.

To Stephen S. Wise Jan. 10, 1949

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Dear Dr. Wise, Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in drawing to my attention the Eliazer Greenberg review in The Nation. My ears had been tingling lately as if someone were speaking of me, but where I did not know. Came your letter; explicit. I would like to review the Efros book, but one should not I am told, foul one’s own nest. I am, after all, part of that book: true, I didn’t know in what company I was to find myself, it all had the quality of a blind date, but there I am, inveigled into the midst of so incompetent – to say the least – a group of translators – the very dead of the wilderness – that I wonder that the Tel Aviv government itself has not yet entered an official protest. I don’t know this Efros from a hole in a mem, of his scholarship I am not competent to judge, – but a gentleman he is not! Imagine taking Samuel’s translations and mine, and then referring to his volume as Efros’s rendition of Bialik! Of the translations, moreover, he had nothing to say except to list their names alphabetically in a ‘kol ha’norim’ appendix. The only use I have for the book now is as a cure for periodic anaemia: I look at it, and blush red. So Holy Writ is fulfilled: Mother Rachel was buried ‘in the way of Ephrath’ – and now Bialik lies there, too! O, that mine adversary had spared me this book! With kindest personal regards & best wishes Cordially Abe Klein

To Leon Edel Feb. 15, 1949 My dear Leon, Your letter of February second excited me very much – so full it was of many pleasant and gratifying suggestions. But I am at a loss to know what to do about them. As I see it, my coming to New York would have one or all of the three following purposes

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(a) To address the Joyce Society (b) To meet possible publishers (c) To be lionized. All three are pleasant prospects – but not of the essence. I certainly can’t afford the expense merely to be lionized. Besides, what kind of lionization is it when you pay for it yourself? As for addressing the Joyce Society – that would be nice, not so much because I desire to give public speeches, but because I would like to meet people affected with my own passion. But again it doesn’t seem right for me, paterfamilias – who has not been on the black market – to expend for merely a social call. Publishers? I do not think my difficulty will lie there – although I would appreciate you sounding Lippincott – my real problem is – a patron! Somebody who can, for a dedication, a tribute, or for its own sake finance the completion of my annotation. Earning my daily bread greatly interferes with my work on Ulysses. I haven’t touched it now for two months. Already I have stolen from my family for this purpose enough; it should have been a labour for an Academy, not for one man doubly beset – beset by the non-paying clients he has, beset by the clients he has not. When I consider the sums which the foundations – Rockefeller, Guggenheim – spend on the analyses of the juvenilia of mediocrities – while Ulysses lies to hand – where, o where can I find the tenth part of a Miss Weaver – the one who financed Joyce so generously. All I would require would be a 10%, a 5% interpreter’s fee. However, I will let myself be guided by you. If you really think it would be worthwhile – worthwhile for my work’s sake, not for my vanity’s sake – I would make an effort to come down early in March. In any event, it’s good to know one has a friend who thinks so kindly of one distant and removed, it’s good to be Lionized. As ever Abe. P.S. A copy of Here & Now in which my essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ will be sent on to you as soon as I receive them from the publisher. It’s out, but my copies have not yet arrived.

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To Ellsworth Mason Feb. 19, 1949 My dear Mason, Many thanks for both your letter of twelfth February and copy of your paper on J.J. and Vico’s cycle. I can readily see why that paper was well received. It is lucid, not dogmatic, and, since confined to a discussion of the broad outlines of Viconian parallelism, unrefutable. The point you make about the general outline – God, man, matter, – is, to my mind, 100% established. As you will recall, I disagreed only when you sought to reduce the scheme to a detailed paradigm. Your reference to the use of coins as an aristocratic symbol is, I think, a very shrewd insight. So is the varying description of God in chapter one, two, & three. I do not think that when Joyce referred to Vico’s theories gradually forcing themselves on him ‘through the circumstances of his own life’ that he meant so large a thing as the wide sociological ambience in which he found himself. I think he referred simply to his biography, his study of Italian, his residence in Trieste, his resistance of the Marxist dialectic and his finding a substitute therefore in Marx’s precursor, Vico, etc. By the way, the reference to Bloom as androgynous follows logically from his sexual predilections. The fact that he was registered at birth as Leopold Paula Bloom is merely a significant and prophetic error on the part of the registrar, and recalls an exactly similar error which occurred in the life of Joyce – he, too, was registered as James Augusta (not Augustine) Joyce. And thereby hangs a tale. I envy you your trips to Harvard for the Levin-Kelleher Seminar – so much, indeed, that I wonder whether a transcript of the lectures might not be obtainable from some methodical typewriting auditor. Your note on Tindall shocked me. So soon? Here I am, at least five years at work on the one book Ulysses, and every advance I make discloses but new horizons, – while William York Tindall, from his Columbian altitudes, can take in the whole globe at a glance! Some people have all the talent – and presumption. Please cancel your order with Miss Steloff. Under separate cover I am sending you a copy of The Rocking Chair which finally – I had intended to [do] this earlier – I have received from the publisher.

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I am also awaiting copies of Here and Now in which my essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ has just been published. I will send you a copy as soon as I get them. Sincerely Klein

To Leon Edel Feb. 23, 1949. My dear Leon, Without waiting for a reply to my last letter, I hasten now to acknowledge receipt of your book on Henry James’ Ghostly Tales. I have but had time to leaf through the pages, seeking here and there your introductory remarks, and it looks as if I have ahead of me not only a right good hair-raising session, but one additionally charmed with fine critical talk and the precise just dose of erudition. It delighted me, indeed, from the word go: after seeing all the epigrams appropriating the fame of James, writing about him as if it was they who had discovered him, they who had in this latter day made him, it comes as a vindication to see one of the first – to me the first; for before I heard the man’s name from your lips, I knew him not – of his disciples obtaining his rightful heritage. I wish you many good reviews, and of royalties a plenitude. Together with this letter I send on to you an offprint of my article on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ – amended, and now vaunting a chart. With kindest regards As ever Abe.

To Ellsworth Mason Feb. 23, 1949

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My dear Mason, Enclosed please find an offprint of ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ exegesis – with which you are no doubt so familiar as now to be able to recognize all the places in which it has been amended in answer to your original objections. I especially draw to your attention the chart where the whole thing may be seen at a glance and where the points of transition are indicated with precision. Cordially A.M. Klein.

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions March 7, 1949 My dear Laughlin Enclosed please find an offprint of my essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ chapter in Ulysses, published this month in Here and Now. It makes a fabulous discovery – I throw modesty to the winds – a discovery which has eluded Joyce commentators for 30 years – and it proves Joyce again a titanic figure in our literature. Do you intend to be up in these parts this year? The ski-ing season I know, has been very poor. We are degenerating almost into a tropical country. Myself, I have been able to snatch only short spare moments for my Joyce work. I calculate that it should take me two more years to complete the encyclopedic enterprise. Perhaps you could find me some Maecenas who would make possible a two-year’s leave of absence from the labours of this letterhead? I should then be able to hand New Directions the mss. (if ND were interested – ) and feel that both of us had redeemed a great masterpiece from both the ignorant admiration and the general misconstruction under which it presently labours. But I doubt whether

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it is possible – our foundations prefer to endow the pedants expatiating upon the lost gutturals of the Etruscan. With kindest regards Abe Klein

To Ellsworth Mason March 14, 1949 My dear Mason (1) The number of the issue of Here and Now is 3; but whether it is Vol. III, No. l; or Vol. I, No. 3, I do not know. I haven’t a copy left, and there are no further copies obtainable in Montreal. The publisher has been niggardly both with copy and offprint – you certainly rated a full copy, but what could I do? Everybody who touches Ulysses, including its first author, loses money. (2) Greatly appreciate your intention with regard to Stan Joyce’s article on J.J. Saw Archibald MacLeish recently in Mtl. & he told me of visit he made to Stan in Trieste (circa 1921) bringing a message from J.J. – and how S. reviled and ran down his brother – a ne’er do-well, a blasphemer etc. (3) How is the F.W. seminar getting on? The list of themes you sent on to me sounds very intriguing – but what is an intrigue without a dénouement? (4) Do you ever come up to these northern parts? Sincerely Klein.

To Ellsworth Mason April 6, 1949.

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My dear Mason, Many thanks for the transcript of your translation of the Joyce essay. I found it very interesting and I think it constitutes a valuable document. The translation, I may say, reads very well, and often as half of my mind was conscious of the fact that it was written in Italian, the other half was interjecting: But he thinks in English. By the way, does he really use, in connection with his father, so strong a word as ‘debauched’? And this brings me to the appraisal of Stan that you ask for. It may be that I am a very conventional person, it may be that my upbringing has instilled in me certain qualities of clannishness, certain admirations for the patriarchal, whatever it is. I was not entirely unshocked by the way in which Stan writes about his father and other members of his family. It’s true that Joyce, James says the same things, but he does it under the protective indirection of art, while Stan bluntly soils the memory of the man who begat him. It may be that I am here intolerant, not being able to visualize the havoc which drunkenness can cause to a family. But the remarks about his brother are not very nice, either. He affects to admire his genius – how could he resist that? – he even apologizes for having returned his brother’s Finnegans Wake, seeing that his brother is now dead, – but all this does not prevent the good brother-in-law from announcing to the world that James & Nora were not legally married, does not prevent the good uncle from casting a slur upon the birth of his nephew. I do not think it an accident that his very first sentence should evoke the memory of Cain. It is what Joyce would have called ‘an epiphany.’ Do I hold that such facts should be concealed from a biographical notice? No; only from a brother’s biographical notice. For the rest – that is to say, when I read the essay and forgot it was Stan who was writing it – I found it very illuminating – though, as you hasten to point out in footnotes, also in some spots obfuscative. I recall from one of your earlier letters that you have Thom’s Directory. Is there in it any mention of Labouett’s (p. 10)? I doubt it. I will be disappointed if there is. Also have you been able to identify Seymour and Clive Kempthorpe (p. 9)? If you can you will destroy an assumption upon which there hangs a tale horrendous. Please write me on these points. If the thing is as I suspect, I shall shortly communicate to you my complete

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annotation on Chapter one. Its technique is almost as amazing as that of ‘The Oxen of the Sun.’ Regards, Klein.

To Ellsworth Mason May 2, 1949 My dear Mason, Many thanks for your letter of April 30th. I was somewhat disappointed to learn that the transcript of the seminar notes on F.W. will not be ready for some time; my curiosity about Joyce learning is insatiable. I disapprove most heartily of the way in which you speak about your own Vico thesis. What I thought wrong about it, I wrote you, but I certainly do not think it the waste of time you now pronounce it. For your personal perusal – and, if you wish, John Kelleher’s – I enclose my essay on ‘The Black Panther.’ It constitutes the discussion of technique appended to my annotations on Telemachus. It has me very excited for I think that in it I have made the basic (sic) discovery about Ulysses (and explained, incidentally, why June 16th). My proof again is paradigmatic and therefore, I think, irresistible. If Judge Woolsey had had benefit of my discourse, he’d have fallen off his bench with shock and alarm. Indeed, I fear greatly that ‘The Black Panther’ when published – which, I imagine, will be shortly – may result in the re-imposition of the ban. So do annotations frustrate their own purposes! But the thesis I here present – and which Joyce presented – is not as blasphemous as it seems. On the contrary, it is profoundly religious, for no-one better than you will be able to realize how its fundamental equation harmonizes with the Viconian doctrine that human history is a manifestion of Providence and that in that sense, humanity itself is divine. Please let me have your comments. Cordially Klein.

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P.S. You will see now, as I have seen, that whether Kempthorpe is real or fictitious, does not matter. What matters is why Joyce chose these particular hapax legomena.

To Maurice Hartt Letter to Mr. Hartt [24 June 1949] Dear Mort The free ad you gave my book yesterday is greatly appreciated. I am sorry only that you kept looking on the first page where you thought you read a compliment, and did not very evidently read further in my book. If you had done so in 1940, you would have been a different man to-day. I still hold to the inscription I gave you. I still believe that the only chassid you have in Cartier is your own heart, and that you are not only a mithnagid in Cartier, you are Cartier’s mithnagid – one man who opposes an entire constituency. May I also take this opportunity of telling you that you will not get very far calling me a –  . What you said about the news I did not make public to erstwhile readers – not for your sake – but for the sake of my people. All I did was ask you a question. You have not yet answered it. I am sorry that you refuse to debate with me. Your refusal will not save you. A Jewish representative should not be a coward. I wish you a well-deserved rest after the 27th. [......]

To Leon Edel June 29, 1949 My dear Leo, Many thanks for your note of June 17th. It was good to receive belated

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recognition from the arbiters of Canadian literature, but as you said, it is better late than never, and a prize is a good thing to cite as you move on to more important work. I would appreciate it if you could have a word with your publishers about the commentary. Discoveries are coming on apace – I just finished the most revolutionary analysis of the very first chapter. It casts a new light on the entire book, and serves as key to numerous inscrutabilities. Am looking forward to the James plays – by October I expect to have saved the $10.00. Remember me to Kennedy. With kindest regards Abe.

To Ellsworth Mason July 18, 1949 Dear Mason, Some time in May I sent on to you a copy of my exegesis on the very first chapter of Ulysses, dubbed ‘The Black Panther.’ Since then I have not heard from you, and have been as preoccupied with an election as not to have noticed the passage of time. Have you received this essay? Please answer at your earliest convenience, as I shall be off to Europe by the end of the month. Best regards Klein

To John J. Slocum July 18, 1949

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Dear Mr. Slocum, Many thanks for your letter of June 21st, together with enclosure. I regret not having acknowledged it earlier; a political campaign has deprived me of both my time and my manners. I had, indeed, seen many references to Jung’s essay, but until you sent me the translation thereof, had not known its tilt. I am glad to own the essay, and thank you sincerely for sending it on to me, but must at the same time confess that its content irritated me, – very, very much. Dr. Jung, I regret to have to say, is a Philistine, and does not understand the book about which he writes his twenty pages. He is handicapped in his monologue not only by ignorance, but also, I feel, by a certain peeve at Joyce who had refused to have himself psychoanalyzed. And with what justice this refusal! The professor’s analysis of the book Ulysses is sufficient to demonstrate his incompetence before such a ‘subject’ as Joyce. I take, seriatim, a number of Jung’s absurdities: P. 1 ‘The completely irrevelant 16th day of June’ – It is only because the doctor has not understood that he considers it irrevelant. The dr. palpates, but does not diagnose. 2. ‘Hopeless emptiness … dominant note of book.’ A more observant reader – that is, a reader who does not fall asleep twice within 135 pp. – would have noted its fullness. P. 2 ‘Nothing happens, nothing came of it’ – The dr. apparently expected a picaresque novel, an adult adventure story. Actually, all history happens in it! Pp. 3 & 4. Comparing Joyce’s method to that of the tapeworm! Complaining about ‘lack of a brain!’ – As a matter of fact, the book, in its structure, is the most intellectual thing in all English literature. It is not only novel, epic, etc. – it is also Joyce’s Summa. P. 4. ‘Does Joyce want to say anything essential?’ He not only wants to, but does. But not dormientibus. P. 5. ‘Ulysses – boredom.’ This is an analysis of the Dr., not of the book. P. 6. ‘Ulysses – any other form of surrealism.’ The dr’s ignorance is not limited to Ulysses, it extends also to surrealism. P. 7. ‘Schizophrenia.’ The Dr., of course, makes a great to-do of insisting that the author is not schizophrenic; but this is more cunning, – why bring that matter up at all, if it is going to be dismissed. P. 8. ‘It would never occur to me to class U. as a product of schizophrenia.’ But this is a lie; for it did occur to him; see page 7.

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P. 12 ‘Ulysses … is a secret.’ For Jung, true. etc. etc. The rest is of a piece. But, as Joyce said, to-day we are no longer ‘Jung and easily freudened.’ You mention in your letter the accomplishment of my project on Ulysses ‘as a subscription matter.’ What does that mean? I think it is very fine of you to invite me to spend some time going over your critical library. It is something I would greatly appreciate, but I don’t know when I shall be able to avail myself of your bibliothecal hospitality. I intend to be in N.Y. on Wednesday & Thursday, but doubt whether I could make it then, even if you could; I leave for Israel & Europe (Ireland included) on July 31, and then will not be back before the end of September. As I recall from my previous correspondence, you were supposed to be in Montreal during this past year – have you any such plans for the post-September future? Very gratefully yours A.M. Klein

To John J. Slocum Sept. 7, 1949. Dear Mr. Slocum Many, many thanks for your kind note of August 30th which I found here in Montreal upon my return yesterday. I did pass through New York on the fifth for several hours between planes. I do not know when I shall be able to avail myself of your generous hospitality, but can assure you that I am deeply appreciative and look forward to the first opportunity when I shall be able to meet you, face to face, and not as hitherto, through correspondence, darkly. My trip abroad, although not a Joyce pilgrimage, was enjoyable nonetheless. Moreover, Joyce haunted me all the way across Asia (Minor) and Africa: In Jaffa I met a butcher called Dlugasz; in Casablanca a historian named Laredo; in Rome, a movie producer who dreamed of filming Ulysses!; in Dublin at the airport greeted by signs about the Foot and Mouth disease; in Kinnereth – by Kinnereth; in Paris – Stuart Gilbert; etc.

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And when are you coming to Montreal? Sincerely, A.M. Klein

To McKee and Batchelder December 15, 1949. McKee & Batchelder, 624 Madison Avenue, New York 22, N.Y., U.S.A. Dear Miss McKee, ‘How are the notorious Russian confessions extorted?’ This has been a question which has agitated the public mind since 1936, date of the first Trial of the Sixteen. Enclosed please find a short story – 4500 words – advancing an entirely new hypothesis concerning the manner and method of their confessions. Not torture, not drugs, not hypnotism. The title you will no doubt recognize as that of Lenin’s famous communications from his exile in the British Museum to his disciple in Russia. Myself – I am, as you may gather from the above letterhead, a practising attorney. I am also the author of four books of poems: ‘Hath Not a Jew’ – Behrman’s, New York; The Hitleriad, New Directions, N.Y.; Poems, Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia; and The Rocking Chair, Ryerson Press, Toronto. This last volume was this year awarded The Governor General’s Medal for Poetry. I was (1943–1946) Visiting Lecturer in English Poetry at McGill. I am presently engaged on a detailed annotation of James Joyce’s Ulysses. The enclosed, I think, should pull in with the current requirement of such publications as Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, etc. Have you any connection with the motion picture industry? Yours truly,

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To Leon Edel Dec. 20th, 1949. Dr. Leon Edel, c/o The Daily Compass, 164 Duane St., New York 13, N.Y., U.S.A. My Dear Leon: – Having been away from Montreal for most of the past five months, I have not been able, I regret to say, to keep up with my necessary reading, and have therefore up to this moment been deprived of the pleasure of going through your Edition of the complete plays of Henry James. I have derived, however, a perhaps deeper thrill out of reading your Publishers’ release concerning the said work. Everything in it was truly satisfactory, even to the strange suggestion of resemblance between the faces of the Author and his Editor. The reviews of the Book too, which I have seen, have been invariably gratifying. I write you therefore to congratulate you and to wish you well. As ever, Abe. AMK:QK

To W.E. Collin Jan. 18, 1950 Dear Dr. Collin, This is just a note to tell you how happy I was to renew acquaintance after the long span of years since last we met. I still remember vividly the occasion when I first sent you my unpublished manuscript in its blue binding. I want also to tell you how much I appreciated your very kind

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and generous introductory remarks, both for the flattering estimates they included, and for the very entertaining manner in which they were delivered. Do you ever come down to Montreal? If you do please let me know and I shall dig up such of the Montreal Group as are still extant, together with new additions, accretions etc Kindest regards Yours Abe Klein

To Earle Birney Feb. 27, 1950 Dear Earle, Thanks for invitation to contribute to Poetry Commonwealth – but really I have nothing on hand. Everything has been published, and what with my peregrinations I have not had much time for new writing. You may, if you wish, use anything already published ‘of not more than fifty lines.’ The choice is yours. With kindest personal regards Abe.

To Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau April 6th, 1950 Mr. Samuel D. Freeman, Director, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau, National Jewish Welfare Board, 145 East 32nd St., New York 16, N.Y.

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Dear Mr. Freeman: Enclosed please find Memorandum of availability, duly filled out, and signed by myself, together with indication of publicity requirements for 1950–1951 season. I enclose also a glossy photograph. I would like to publish a circular, and would greatly appreciate receiving from you some similar circular, fulfulling your requirements, so that I may model mine thereto, submit to you, and have it printed here. Thanking you, I am, Very truly yours, AMK:FP

To Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 4857 Hutchison St. Montreal, April 20, 1950 Messrs Alfred A. Knopf Inc. Gentlemen: Of the enclosed mss: The Second Scroll – I am at a loss to know how to describe it. Fortunately it is sufficiently short that it may describe itself. Of myself – A lawyer by profession and Visiting Lecturer in Poetry at McGill University, I am the author of: Hath not a Jew – Behrman’s The Hitleriad – New Directions Poems – Jewish Publication Society The Rocking Chair – Ryerson Press. For this last volume I was awarded The Governor General’s Medal. This past year I visited Israel & North Africa in the interest of Canadian Jewish Congress. Yours truly A.M. Klein

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To Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau May 31, 1950 Mr. Samuel D. Freeman, c/o Jewish Center Lecture Bureau, 145 E. 32nd St., New York 16, N.Y., U. S. A. Dear Mr. Freeman: Congratulations on the speedy efficiency of your Lecture Bureau. I shall be free on Wednesday, February 7th, 1951 and shall be glad to address the Toronto Hillel Foundation on that date. The fee for engagement of that type should be $200.00, plus travel expenses, but I authorize you to make any reduction that is customary on such occasions and inform me accordingly. I regret that I have not yet been able to prepare the circular in as much that I have been away from my office for most of the time. I am leaving for the West Coast, Los Angeles and points thereby and shall remain there until about the 19th of June. Immediately upon my return, I shall have the circular prepared and see that it reaches you before July 1st. I hope that this will be satisfactory. Thanking you, I am Yours very truly, AMK:SI

To Leon Edel Aug 2, 1950 My dear Leon, Many thanks for the copy of To-morrow. I read your article on James

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and Joyce with a great deal of interest – and frequent friendly dissent. It was as if two Chassidim, having met, set to praising each their own Rebbe; the one says the Telser Rebbe is chief among the saints and scholars, the other that his Rebbe, the Belser Rebbe, is nonpareil. So with us, I felt as I read your essay the furious conflict of two idolatries, mine and yours. The notion of James psychoanalyzing Joyce was an inspiration, very amusing, and your artist Mackey has caught the right expression on James’s face. But the thing after all is a fiction: James nowhere expressed an opinion on Joyce. But Joyce, I am sure you will be delighted to learn, indicated what he thought about James. You will find the opinion on page 249 of the Random House edition of Ulysses, line 25. Joyce is describing the route of the Right Honourable William Humble through the streets of Dublin. Among the various buildings, institutions, stores and sites which his carriage passes, there is a certain waxworks. Humble’s passage is thus referred to: … The Right Honourable William Humble … passed Mickey Anderson’s all time ticking watches and Henry and James’s wax smartsuited freshcheeked models, the gentlemen Henry, dernier cri James … Cordially Abe.

(over)

Saw Files the other day. Told me of possibility of you coming to McGill & its frustration last year. He intends to try again. He has also asked me to give a course in Ulysses in 1951–52. Perhaps both of us will be there at the same time. James and Joyce, indeed! Am planning to be in New York some time in September. Look forward to seeing you then, unless you earlier come to Montreal. Abe.

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, inc. Oct. 11, 1950 Dear Mr. Weinstock, I have just received your wonderful letter of October 6th and cannot

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tell you how delighted I am at the thought that I am to be published by Knopf. All my life I felt that I would not be truly a writer until I had that borzoi on leash; now it has come to pass, the noble creature is handed me – for both of us, therefore, good hunting! You ask about your stylist preparing the mss for the printer. By all means. Do you know what is my habit when I am bored, ayant lu tous les livres? I go to the library to pick myself a book, I read the backs from the bottom up, and seek, by name of publisher, a book by Knopf. For two reasons: a) because of the literary style you insist upon in all your books; b) because of the make-up, the print, the letters, the paper, the feel of the thing. Do I want your stylist? He has carte blanche; I know The Second Scroll will be a challenge to his skill, not only became he has so many uncouth dashes to eliminate, but because made up as it is of prose, verse, play-writing, liturgy, biblic excerpt, and an essay the typography of which is intended to imitate the lay-out of Michelangelo’s ceiling (each of the Latin-inscribed indentations is intended to evoke the large statues of prophets and of sibyls and are so placed that where Jeremiah is located the quotation is from him, where [ ]. [ ] will be able to go to town. You will recall that I apologized for the condition of the copy of the ms. I left with you; under separate cover I am sending on to you the first copy which is the text to be used. There are some slight, very, changes in it – corrections in punctuation, spelling, syntax of a sentence or two. One last thing: my gratitude to you personally. They are not many, – they are very few, indeed, – do they exist at all? – who would do what you did, consent to re-read a corrected manuscript. Above all I am indebted to you for driving me to the structural changes. Because of you, exegi monumentum. I call you friend. Very sincerely yours Abe Klein P.S. Your proposal is accepted, in all its terms and particularities.

To John J. Slocum November 4, 1950

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Dear John, I am getting to be altogether too indebted to you – first it was the loan of the Joyce letter which made possible my analysis of The Oxen of the Sun, then it was the bibliography, then the microfilm, recently the wonderful afternoon I spent in your library, and now it is a copy of Ulysses, in French, marked ‘Gift, John Slocum.’ But it was understood that I was to pay for the book! But wait, wait until my magnum opus is published – John J. Slocum shall have the first of the first; the first edition … For the moment, my thanks and appreciation. Please remember me to Mrs. Slocum and to your fine boy and to the gentleman, whose name I forget, who put on that wonderful Peruvian record, completing my bibliothecal paradise with hallelujah music. Cordially, Abe

To John J. Slocum Nov. 7, 1950 Dear John, Your favours do fall thick upon me. Hardly had I dispatched my last letter of indebtedness and thanks to you, but I received your invitation to address the anniversary meeting, the James Joyce Society. I shall be delighted to do so. I should like to speak about the second chapter of Ulysses, an explication of ‘Nestor’ which, under a different aspect, would be a discussion of Vico, Blake, and Joachim Abbas as reflected in Ulysses. I hope Dr. Peter Kavanaugh will be there. Thanking you again for your invitation and extended hospitality. Cordially, Abe Please remember me to Edel.

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To John J. Slocum Jan. 8, 1951 Dear John, I have about completed my analysis, the second chapter of Ulysses, and am excited about the forthcoming Joyce Society meeting. My analysis, full of revelations at once illuminating and entertaining, (the subject should be announced as ‘Vico and Ulysses’) will require a close attention to the text, and I am wondering, first, how many people usually attend these meetings, and, second, whether it could be possible to provide them, for the duration of my talk, with copies of Ulysses. If this could be done, the result would be that we could have a session which would be marked both by the edification of Vico and the excitement of a game of Bingo. John, the things that Joyce put into the Nestor chapter are positively fabulous; if I had people with copies of Ulysses before me, following the text, line by line, and word by word, conviction would be irresistible. As for the disbursements for the trip, I do not think that that will be necessary now. I have arranged to transact some business in New York during my stay there for the Joyce visit, and that will pay my expenses. I want to thank you, nonetheless, for your offer, and for the hospitality which you extended to me which, unfortunately, I shall not now be able to avail myself. One of your letters speaks of a talk for 45 minutes. I do not know whether I can manage it in that time. I do not intend to read a mss, but talk, – although the subject-matter is being committed to writing. Of course, if it is necessary, I can limit myself to requirement. What is the general program of the evening? Have just received the invitation of the Yale Library Associates to hear your address on ‘Joyce Ten Years After.’ Regret I can’t manage it. Will a copy of your address be available? Looking forward to meeting with you again I am Cordially Abe

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To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Jan. 12th, 1951. Mr. Herbert Weinstock, c/o Alfred A. Knopf, 501 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Weinstock: The passage on page 50 that you inquire about is, as it stands (or reclines), correct. Ordinarily one would have written: ‘… reclining against a wall, waiting for tomorrow – to recline again against that wall.’ There are involved, however, in the passage as presently constructed, two devices: a) An intentional ambiguity, so that a haze is cast over its meaning: yet meaning, relevant to the plight of the protagonists, is multiplied, thus: They are reclining against the wall, they are waiting for tomorrow, the wall is waiting for tomorrow, they are waiting to recline against the wall tomorrow, they are waiting for tomorrow itself to recline against the wall, the wall itself is likely to recline, etc. All of these connotations, I delude myself into believing, must occur to the reader simultaneously, with the result that in his mind there is shadowed forth a sort of cubist distortion; and ensues an empathic confusion. The which was intended. But whether there is confusion and empathy, or only confusion I am at a loss to say. b) A chiasmus – a:b::b:a; reclining against the wall … a wall to recline. The phrase might be clarified if one added the word ‘again’ in its proper place, thus: ‘… reclining against a wall waiting for tomorrow again against a wall to recline.’ But I do not want this ‘again’ inserted; I want to evoke rather an unmeasured, uncounted (without ‘agains’) continuum of despair. I am pleased to note that the manuscript is now being copy-edited. I would like to know particularly at what stage you are now. There are some minor corrections and changes that I would like to make in the

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manuscript before the typesetters get at it and it becomes too expensive; is there time? With kindest personal regards. Yours sincerely, Abe Klein AMK:RW P.S.

I shall be in New York on February 2nd for the purpose of addressing the James Joyce Society, and shall make an effort to drop in and say hello. P.P.S. My reply concerning the questioned passage is not to be taken as an example of typical intransigence. I will welcome all further comment from Mr. Preston and would encourage him to look critically at the mss.

To Leon Edel Jan 16, 1951 My dear Leon This is just a note to tell you directly what you already know, no doubt, from Miss Kiel, that I shall be in New York on the second to address The Society and look forward to seeing you again. I shall give you a buzz in the morning at MUS-9111, and we should meet later in the day, if possible. I have some business to transact which will keep me engaged, I think, until early afternoon. I shall then await the convenience of your schedule. Miss Kiel may have told you about my request that members of the audience have with them copies of Ulysses. It was an embarrassing thing to ask for – it makes me feel like a double-dyed dominie, pompous-pedantical – but without this, the talk is impossible. I intend a detailed analysis of the Nestor chapter, and will show how this simple (sic) classroom scene was written. It is fabulous, also very funny. What Joyce did here is

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unexampled – other writers have not even dreamed of such a thing, let alone dared it. But enough of riddles. Let us, until the second, abide the questions. Cordially Abe.

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 236 Querbes Ave., Montreal, January 22nd, 1951. Dear Mr. Weinstock: I have just finished re-reading my manuscript, and hasten to ask you to convey to Mr. Preston my sincere appreciation of the marvellous job he has done. His care and precision, his capacity for visualizing a paragraph of manuscript onto the printed page, are, in my experience, unexampled. The copy-edited manuscript has been an education to me, not only in its changed words and reconstituted sentences, but also in its proof that the art of punctuation is incontrovertibly a creative one. To Mr. Preston, therefore, and to his army – breast-plate-bearing bracket and scimitar’d semicolon, colon – double-barrelled and pikestaff – proud exclamation, mine-laying period, and Geiger of three dots – thanks, and all honour! With 99% of Mr. Preston’s corrections I am in 100% agreement. I offer self-justifications only in a few places. I am appending, therefore, to this letter two sheets: one of demurrers and another of second-sight changes. Decisions in both I leave to the taste and wisdom of your office. The Second Scroll is not as sacrosanct as the first. Sincerely, A.M. Klein P.S. Has a publication date been set? The suspense is killing me!

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To Knox Burger, COLLIER’S 236 Querbes Avenue, Outremont, Que., January 25th, 1951. Mr Knox Burger, Collier’s, 640 – 5th Avenue, New York 19, N.Y. Dear Mr. Colliers: ‘How are the notorious Russian confessions extorted?’ This has been a question which has agitated the public mind since 1936, date of the first Trial of the Sixteen. Enclosed please find a short story – 4500 words – advancing an entirely new hypothesis concerning the manner and method of their confessions. Not torture, not drugs, not hypnotism. The title you will no doubt recognize as that of Lenin’s famous communication from his exile in the British Museum to his disciples in Russia. Yours truly, AMK:RW

To John J. Slocum Jan. 29, 1951 Dear John This is just a note to acknowledge your letter of the 23rd, and to confirm our dinner appointment at 6:30 p.m. at Del Pezzo’s. I regret that I shall not be able to visit the exhibition at New Haven, as I must leave N.Y. Saturday morning.

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Looking forward to meeting you again, and thanking you for many kindnesses. Cordially Abe.

To John J. Slocum Feb. 8, 1951 My dear John, This is a note to thank you for the wonderful evening I had in New York on Joyce’s birthday; right in every respect, from beginning to end. It had also a pleasant aftermath – the reading of the BBC broadcast which you were good enough to give me. It had information that was revealing beyond the knowledge of its ‘utterers’ (sic). But the pièce de resistance was those photostats you gave me – pps 477– 505 with pages 479, 480, 490, 498, missing. They are positively apocalyptic, and of extraordinary importance in tracing certain beginnings which flower out to the full in Ulysses. Are the other 476 pages accessible? Have you them? Can they be borrowed? I am already so much indebted to you in connection with Joyceana that I hesitate to make outright request, and must resort to expostulatory query. I would, indeed, very much like to see the entire mss., read and return. And I do think, from what I have already seen, that you should edit the thing, and have it published. Laughlin, I am sure, would be interested. With kindest regards to Mrs. Slocum, and our mutual friends Cordially Abe

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To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. April 7th, 1951 Mr. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 501 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Weinstock, Enclosed please find the proofs (Galleys 1–22), duly read. I am very pleased with the appearance of the manuscript. I am disturbed only by the design which is being used for the initial letter of each chapter. I think the Star of David is a much too obvious symbol and is usually associated with religious tracts or the writings of professional Jews. Are you in a position to use instead initials in which the English letter is made to look like Hebraic script? If not, any artistic initial would be preferable, to my mind, to this recurrent Star. I do not wish at this stage to appear to be difficult, but everything has gone so wonderfully up to now that I would not like to be made unhappy by this badge. With kindest personal regards, I am, Yours very truly, Abe Klein AMK:RW ENCs.

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. April 10th, 1951. Mr. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 501 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y.

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Dear Mr. Weinstock, I have just received the balance of the Galleys and have read them. I have only two suggestions to make with reference to this second batch. 1. In the essay on the Sistine Chapel, Galley 42, et seq., the printer has placed the Latin quotations one under the other. They should be, as in the original manuscript, on either side of the text. They are intended to represent the prophets and sibyls and are placed exactly in the same place as they appear on the Sistine ceiling. 2. Perhaps it would be preferable to set the Thirtieth Psalm (Galley 59) in cloister black. This Psalm is not mine, but of Holy Writ, and is intended as a sort of colophon to the book. With kindest personal regards, I am, Yours very truly, Abe. AMK:RW

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. April 14th, 1951 Mr. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 501 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Weinstock: One last thought: Would you be good enough to change for me, on the galley, the line on page 109 of the manuscript, end of first paragraph, which reads: ‘With this the cord that he kept forever limp / Like a diffident zabb’ to read instead:

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‘With this the cord that he kept forever limp / Like a waterless vine.’ Thanking you, I am, Very truly yours, A.M. Klein AMK:FP

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. April 18, 1951 Dear Mr. Weinstock: OK! OK! OK! 1. The Star of David: stet. 2. The borzoi. – not underneath the Scroll, but certainly elsewhere in the book. 3. The 30th Psalm – in cloister black. 4. The Prophets and the Sibyls. Since the original scheme is impossible, suggest that the identity of the quotations be indicated, as I have done on the galleys, that is, one above, and one below. On galley 46, which I have not here, the quotations should be headed: Iheremias and based Lybica. 5. Material for extra page, facing copyright page: Rebono shel olam: ’Tis a Thou-song I will sing Thee – Thou … Thou … Thou … Thou … Ayeh emtzoeko, v’ayeh lo emtzoeko? O, where shall I find Thee? And where are Thou not to be found? Wherever I fare – Thou! Or here, or there – Thou! Only Thou! None but Thou! Again, Thou! And still, Thou! This, I believe, covers the various matters raised. And thanks again for the time and trouble you are taking with the book. Sincerely Abe Klein

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To Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press June 19, 1951 Dear Dr. Pierce, Many thanks for your very kind note of the fifteenth. Nothing would have pleased me more than to have been able to appear once again under your imprimatur. I, too, was pleased with the success of The Rocking Chair. Unfortunately, I have not enough material for another volume of poetry; I have been confining myself largely to prose, a novel of mine called The Second Scroll is shortly to be published by Knopf; and am thus, insofar as verse is concerned, caught short-handed. I want to thank you again for all that you have done for this last book; I look forward – at some future time – once more to rest my laurels beneath your fir-tree. Cordially A.M. Klein

To Alan Crawley July 23, 1951 Dear Alan, Many thanks for your kind letter of the 18th, and enclosures. I, too, enjoyed that evening immensely, as, I believe, everybody did. You and Jean should come to Montreal oftener, we should make such evenings a regular institution, dedicated to good spirits, good talk, good friends (curtains to remain unconflagrated). I share with you your enthusiasm over the C.V. anthology. It should be a good thing (goodness me! what an optimum strain I have chosen to-day!) and so should the special number. I shall try to send something on before the deadline. The Collier things were really priceless, especially the one about the haunted house, where the surprise ending was more surprising than in

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the other one. After all, one does expect, in any true Irish story, inevitable transformation and metamorphoses. Such, however, is not the case in Canada; here our friends remain as they are; and so be it. Cordially Abe.

To Leon Edel July 25, 1951 My dear Leon, Many thanks for the reprint of the Henry James article. It makes fascinating reading – the kind I like since it combines literary knowledge and taste with acute cerebration. Twenty-three! It shall henceforward be number mystical to me, undreamed of by Pythagoras. (Aside: Can it be that James had in mind a current vulgarism: twenty-three, skidoo! – Impossible, by definition.) And I must not leave unmentioned the fine turn of phrase which throughout your essay adds urbanity to detection. – When do you propose to come this way? It is now many years since you have visited dear Hochelaga. Come – I can’t give you the key to the city, it’s been stolen – but many welcome signs, I am sure, will greet you. Cordially Abe. Please remember me to Mrs. Edel.

To James Laughlin IV, New Directions Aug. 2, 1951

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My dear Laughlin, Many thanks for your letters of July 25th & 30th. I am somewhat confused by their contents, however, because your last letter seems to be in reply to my first, and your first letter in reply to my last. I take it, however, that you have duly received the Vico essay for inclusion in N.D. 13. A friend of mine, Irving Layton, a poet, has asked me to send on to you a batch of his poems which you will find herein included. I like them very much; they have colour and force; heart & head. Perhaps they may strike your fancy, too. If so; they are offered for the N.D. Anthology; if not, please return them to me or to Layton with an encouraging word for my friend. I see that you are, as always, peripatetic, squeezing the globe like an orange to extract the true elixir of your catalogue. Good luck! Do bring back from your journeys much store of essence superfine, quintessential, ne plus ultra. And – it’s time we had a book from you, you in your true qualities, author, poet. Myself, I am hard at work on the third chapter of Ulysses. And what do you think – everything that is in the sea, beneath, upon, above, the waters – but everything! is included, in Protean shape and shapelessness, in these thirteen fabulous pages! The explication, mot à mot, will run to over a hundred. We should make a retreat some time, and I will show you the treasures of the J’ocean (sic). Cordially Abe

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. August 14th,1951. Dear Mr. Weinstock: I have just received the first five copies of The Second Scroll and am more than delighted with its appearance. Mr. Bernhard is a man with a true sense of the fitness of things, and a talent for its expression in symbolism, not explicit, but subtle. The idea which shaped the jacket, which shows the Second Scroll

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bursting forth – as from flame – from behind the curled parchment of the first – that was an inspiration! A new and improved form of the palimpsest! Above all, a commentary. The lettering thereon, too, was a tour-de-force – the same letters that from left to right read English, from right to left read Hebrew. The D of the word Second is almost a literal Hebrew Phai. Excellent – a most felicitous boustrophedontism! And in old gold the dignified scroll. Gold that in the evening light becomes even more precious olive. And the table of Contents – set and spaced with a scholar’s understanding of the gloss’s marginal existence. Bravo! And – the coverture! No graven image marked thereon, but through lines, not effigies, the connotation of the Torah’s labyrinthine quality, its endless intervolvement, its chatoyance and multiplicity kaleidoscopic … Mr. Bernhard has written the first review of my book and has bound it to the text – my profoundest thanks and appreciation. Need I add how every stage in the production of this book still further deepens my sense of gratitude to you who first made this thing possible? Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:BK P.S. And now that the pure motivation of art is out of the way, I hope that we will have occasion in future to make allusion to our book by its initials – $.$.

To Guy Sylvestre Aug. 20, 1951 Dear Mr. Sylvestre I have been away from my office for some time, and on my return discover your letter, with its request for a poem. It is a request that finds me at a disadvantage. I just haven’t anything on hand. I haven’t written any poetry for some time, having been busy on a novel which Knopf is pub-

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lishing on Sept. 28th. It’s called The Second Scroll, and a copy shall reach you in due course. Should the muse – then, of course. Flammarion’s book store is in my building, and I have picked up copies of L.N.R.C. and enjoyed them very much. To save me descents and ascents in the elevator, I enclose my check for subscription. The subscription blank has apparently been mislaid. I hope the amount is correct; if not, let me know. Smith, I think, is still in Montreal on his vacation. He stays at Dr. George D. Robins’, 314 Metcalfe Ave, Westmount, Que. A letter there should reach him. Sincerely A.M. Klein.

To Leon Edel Aug. 30, 1951 Dear Leon Many, many thanks for the issue of Envoy. You are a friend and brother; I had not seen the thing before, and would have missed those letters – the only good thing in the fascestcule[?]. The reference to me left me indifferent as the man writes like Balaam’s ass – his curses turn to benedictions. The only emotional reaction I did have was one of pleasure vindictive; I see Gogarty walking about in a panic, terror-stricken that now at last his true relations with Joyce – relations which he converted into a career – will be unmasked. Unhappy fate! The man had thought himself an author, and in his declining years discovers himself to be – a footnote! And a footnote in another’s book! I also saw in this issue – I was on the point of writing ‘for the first time’ but it is only the shock of recognition, fresh, powerful, that makes me imagine it to be a first time – how ugly can be (a) clericalism, (b) parochialism. With the exception of one essay, by W.B. Stanford – his discovery of Lamb’s Ulysses made me smile, because having travelled thus far, it was a pity he had travelled no further to encounter a tremendous apocalypse which awaited him – with the exception of that one piece, every essay in

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the magazine is – priest-ridden! All these Irish Catholics write with an eye to the ear of the confession box. (Myself, I turn Hibernian!) And the irony of it is – they’re going to be left behind. The Church, I gather from some Jesuit friends, the Church is becoming reconciled to Joyce! Not vice versa. As for its parochialism, the only thing comparable to the Dubliners’ heel-snapping at Joyce is the way immigrants from Minsk run down Chaim Weizmann! Above all, over all, enclosing it, as it were with a binder – the stupidity! The lazy ignorance and the aggressive stupidity! Who was it said that if you truly seek to understand infinity – consider human stupidity? … He had an inkling. But all of this – vexing as it was – was swallowed up in the warm, honest, comments of Joyce’s sisters: ‘However some people may criticise what he wrote, he was an eldest brother and our idol, and to us, at least, his writing had the stamp of genius. He had the kindest disposition, hated show and publicity, etc.’ Dear lovely ladies! So thanks again. Cordially Abe. P.S.

Did you notice the hardly-concealed antisemitism of the mick bully boys? A quotation from Levin is attributed to ‘an antichrist’; and another ‘critic’ makes distinctions between Dublin and ‘oriental’ readers! – This is to symbolize the writing of their names, and their blotting out! P.P.S. My book – The Second Scroll – is coming out Sept. 28. You shall have pleasurable reading.

To Leon Edel September 17, 1951. My dear Leon: I cannot tell you how happy I was to receive your letter about The Second Scroll. Your opinion I value very highly, your words of approval

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therefore elate me. And just as stimulating I found your one critical objection, made as you made it, with the tentativeness of a gentleman; and this because it affords me the opportunity to explain myself. Under ordinary circumstances I would readily agree with you in your insistence upon a dénouement the classic prototype of which is the Greek ‘recognition’; and would say, with you, that when it does not take place, frustration ensues, and with it ensues failure to bring (I use the Joycean-Aristotelian term) the mind to rest, – the which is the purpose of art. In the course of planning and composing my book I did indeed ponder the matter long and seriously, – and came to the conclusion that in the case of the text that I was weaving it would be ‘recognition’ that would bring frustration, and not fulfilment, to my design. For I wrote this book with several intentions, technical and ideological, in mind. I desired, first of all, a record, a memento of my pilgrimage, a scripture to witness to the fact that I had beheld the glory of the Jewish State’s beginning, the consolation of our people’s rescue. My story, therefore, had to portray the nadir of our fortunes in both Ashkenaz (read Europe) and Sphorad (read Africa-Asia) and its zenith (comparative) in Israel. My personal experience here afforded me ample material. I was struck, furthermore, by the similarity between contemporary Jewish history and our ancient saga, – I thought I saw in the events of today a recurrence, in large outline, of the events recorded in the Pentateuch. This is a Second Scroll. The designer of the jacket has done ingeniously to show this scroll emerging in flame from the primordial parchment. The chapters therefore follow the Mosaic sequence: Genesis, for obvious reason; Exodus, likewise; Leviticus, the book concerned with priestly things, wherefore Rome, and the Monsignor; Numbers – because of the milling multitudes of a wider Egypt; and finally Deuteronomy, that is to say, the recapitulation – Israel. And since no Jew can conceive of a Pentateuch without commentary, – the glosses. These serve a double purpose; they repeat in minor the major themes; and they elaborate the tale’s essential meaning without impeding its action. The pursuit is of one Melech Davidson, that is, King, son of David; it is a Messianic pursuit. I need hardly tell you that the belief that we have lived to see Messiah’s times is not simply a pet notion of the backward Yemenites; even the super-sophisticates issued from European universities, whom I met in Israel, entertained a suspicion of something passing strange that came indeed to pass. They hesitated, of course, to ask about the Messiah, even as I refrain from making myself explicit, lest they be

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stigmatized as superstitious; but the mystic query they cannot altogether dispel. Our tale intends to suggest that the Messiah is, or is of, or is in, the ubiquitous anonymity of universal Jewry’s all-inclusive generation, he is the resurgent creativity of the incognitos of the folk. That is why the narrator imagines that he sees Melech everywhere; he does indeed see him everywhere, but everywhere he gets lost in the mass. When the narrator does get a photograph of Uncle Melech – it is a double, a multiple exposure! And all of this, the sights I saw, the purpose I had in hand, the solitary meditations during the long hours of plane flights, the intoxication of an experience for which I had waited all my life, all of this led to my gathering up the scattered fragments of true erlebnis to shape them and formulate them into a unified Action. As if by lucky accident everything fell into a paradigm of the messianic, seemed to simulate in fact the recorded life of a well-known other Messiah, seemed to constitute a seconding of a testament already seconded. Uncle Melech puts a halt to the proceedings at the Warsaw Bourse – must I not but think of the chasing of the money-lenders from the Temple? Uncle Melech is buried under slain bodies and rises from the grave – this, too, is reputed to have happened once before. Uncle Melech meets his end through unction with gasoline; the Moshiach, the Messiah, is, literally, the Anointed one. Other happy coincidences spring up throughout the text, – how shrewdly you surmised the presence of the symbol! That Uncle Melech should never be seen physically (although you encourage me to think that his presence is ever-felt) follows logically; he is ubiquitous élan. The narrator’s mother in the very first chapter is shocked at the idea of a photograph of Uncle Melech. That he should be killed was equally inevitable; it is the messianic fate; but his resurrection has already taken place. If I had displayed Uncle Melech plain, then would there have been frustration, frustration of my design, and of his divinity. You write: wonderful that touch by which the narrator to the end does not see the face. I embrace you for the word! And for that other epithet of yours: fabulous uncle. Now I fully realize that all of this exegesis is either superfluous or confesses deficiency. The story, I hope, can be read as a story. If the reader finds, as you have found, matter beyond the text, so much the better. If not, – no loss, for the loss not known is no loss at all. Certainly the reader has been given fair warning through the Miltonic Hebrew of the epigraph, where he is told that the Chetiv (that which is written) is not often identical with the Keri (that which is read).

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But I am not writing another commentary. Had I thought that my intentions had escaped you I would indeed have maintained an oracular silence, but your letter was so heartening in its appreciation, did, in truth, reveal you in the act of grasping the elusive Melech, that I wanted to dilate upon both the symbolism that you descried, and that face whose disappearances you so admirably understood. Moreover, – what is a friend but one for whom one may cast aside all the reticences of art to make the implicit explicit? Thanks again, dear friend, for your wonderful appreciation and good wishes. One writes for an ideal reader, – and when that ideal reader is also one whom one holds in affection – praises be for felicities unusual! Ever, Abe.

To A.J.M. Smith Sept. 18, 1951 My dear Arthur, I have been out of town since that very pleasant afternoon we had together and this is the first opportunity I have had of inditing the little note I promised. Follows, then, with reference to The Second Scroll my Declaration of Intentions. They were several, both of technical and ideological purport. I desired first of all: a record, a conspectus of my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, some heirloom to attest to the fact that I have been of the generation that had seen the Return. The story, therefore, had to move through both the abyss of our European fate and through the Asian-African pit, rising at last upon a coast of Israel. The things I knew and saw in and of my own experience here afforded me ample material. I was struck, furthermore, by the similarity between contemporary Jewish history and my people’s ancient saga – I thought I saw in the events of to-day, in large outline, a recurrence of the events of the Pentateuch. This is a second scroll. The chapters, therefore, follow in canonic sequence: Genesis, for obvious reason; Exodus, likewise; Leviticus, the book of priestly things – wherefore Rome and the Monsignor; Numbers

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– indeed! the milling multitudes of harder Pharaohs; and finally Deuteronomy, that is to say, the recapitulation: Israel. And since Pentateuch is inconceivable without commentary – the glosses. These serve a double purpose: they repeat in minor the major themes, the narrator here using often phrases and actions which have been used by the protagonist – a telepathy explained below; and they weave elaboration about the tale’s central significances without impeding the action. The pursuit is of one Melech Davidson. Melech, as the text indicates, means king; he is King, son of David; it is a messianic search. The Jews, as you know, still await their Messiah (such as are interested in guests); and wherever I went in Europe & Israel, I found that even the most sceptical felt – in the light of their dramatic rescue from Hitler – that something messianic, millennial, had occurred. The tale intends to suggest that this sought-for messianic personality is an unidentifiable entity made up of the anonymous fractions of total Jewry, in the hour of its great calamity discovering new strength and resource! That is why the tale shows Uncle Melech everywhere suspected, no where seen. His photograph – it is a double, a multiple exposure! The search for him runs simultaneous with the search for Israel’s poetic principle – they are one and the same. And all of this led me, through piecemeal combinations, through a joining of biography, autobiography, and history, to formulate the running Action. As if by lucky accident, everything fell into a pattern, seemed to repeat the stations of your Messiah, seemed to make up a seconding of a testament already seconded. Uncle Melech is flogged – that happened before. He is tempted by Settano; the model is there. He rises from the grave; that, too, is of record. He joins with the weak and the afflicted, leading the blind and the halt – we have heard these things before. At last he is anointed – with gasoline! Et cetera, et cetera. The parallels run throughout the text. I intended a book – an evangel grew under my hand. Perhaps I read into; but only for those who can read out of. Certainly the reader is warned through the Miltonic Hebrew of the epigraph where he is told that the Chetiv (that which is written) is not often identical with the Keri (that which is read). I cannot tell you – I sought not unseemly to show it – how delighted I was when you spoke to me on Saturday of the symbolism and connotations in the Scroll. And so that that symbolism may be charted with a bishop’s authority – I write these notes. While away on my trip, I took along a copy of Conrad’s’ Victory. It was all that you said it was. What a pleasure it is to read good English, and

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that – dedicated to large purpose. If you can spare a copy of your essay on this book, please be good enough to send it on to me. With kindest regards. Remember me to Jeanie. Cordially, Abe.

To Leon Edel Sept. 24, 1951 Dear Leon Brother-r-r! Did you do me up brown! Written like a scholar, gentleman, and above all, friend! Have been getting calls all day. The first of the reviews, it augurs well. Says my wife: Edel – a prince! A prince? says I – Majesty! Wherefore my formal obeisance, in thanks and homage, for that out of your grace you did dub me knight! Believe me Your obedient servant Abe.

To Leon Edel Oct. 8, 1951 Dear Leon, This is just a marginal note to tell you that I considered myself fortunate that your review was written before you received my own para-digmatic annotation (sic); for your review left nothing to be desired. In fact, it has been – during the last two weeks – my one consolation; no other review has appeared, except a stupid Balaam’s ass neighing in the Gazette, which began by cursing my ‘big words’ and ended up by bless-

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ing my power, talent, & other assets made meaningless by the reviewer’s stupidity. I am informed, moreover, that S. Morgan Powell intends ‘to do a job’ on me – largely because he hates Joyce disciples, hates Zionists, and I being both, am therefore unfathomable abomination. Habent sua fata libelli. I am toying with the idea of writing a book about a man who wrote a book. – I shall keep you in touch with my progress through the fourteen stations. Cordially Abe.

To Philip Friedman Oct. 9, 1951 Dear Dr. Friedman I am looking for information concerning the liquidation of the gypsies under the Nazis, and our mutual friend, Melech Ravitch, has suggested your name as one who might be helpful. Is there a single book that has been written on the subject? Did the Occupation Authorities discover records giving details of the genocide of the gypsies? Is a bibliography of magazine articles, personal memoirs, etc. available? Please be assured that any information you may render available to me – or direct me to – will be greatly appreciated. Thanking you I am Yours Truly A.M. Klein

To Morris Laub October 9, 1951

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Dear Mr. Laub, I cannot tell you how delighted I was to receive your letter about The Second Scroll – delighted, yet embarrassed because I had hoped that the copy of the book which I intended for you – and which I have not yet received from the publisher – would reach you first. So you anticipated me. Certainly you must have convinced yourself from the reading of the book that often, and for many days at a stretch, you, and the dominion over which you exercised beneficent rule, were in my thoughts. That stay in Casa, all too brief, did make, what with the sights I saw, the information you gave me, the people I met (not forgetting Mrs. Archibald Silverman – remember?) a powerful impression on me. I am glad that my book served as a session of shared reminiscence for both of us. And now, for the two points you raise. The first: you are right. My chronology was wrong, but it was intentionally wrong. The logic of the story demanded that I make Uncle Melech’s flirtations with Xianity plausible. A former Yeshiva-bocher philandering with a Monsignor? It might raise an incredulous eyebrow. Therefore, it was necessary to point out that a rabbi, a chief-rabbi had also in the same way fallen. And to make the point still more pertinent, the lapse of time was curtailed as much as to say: But yesterday a similar thing happened. That second: You are in error. There is no suggestion that Uncle Melech was killed by Jews. Without mentioning the Arabs by name, the responsibility for the murder is, I think, clearly indicated, p. 118 … the details of the outrage. It had been committed at a time of truce, if not yet of established peace … It had been perpetrated upon Israel’s territory … It was only because the fire had attracted attention and Jews from a nearby settlement had rushed forward to put it out, etc. … The martyrdom of Melech Davidson was now a symbol of the Yishuv’s sense of outrage. Israel would not tolerate incidents of this kind any longer. But out of your misreading emerges a deeper understanding of the book than any that has been shown by either reviewer or general reader. Because you have surmised my intention, my messianic parable. I intended a search for the Messiah – that is why the object of the search is Melech ben David; and everything that happens to a Messiah happens to him: he attacks materialism (stops the operations of the Warsaw Bourse – the chasing of the moneylenders); he rises from the grave (chapter 2); he is flogged; he is impersonated by a pseudo-messiah (the German who answers the narrator’s ad); the pattern is exemplified again and again until finally he is burned in gasoline, in oil anointed, anointed Mashiach!

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The implication of the tale is that the contemporary Messiah is the totality of Israel, the latter day élan vital of our people. That is why the narrator’s mother is so shocked at the idea of a photograph; that is why, when a photograph is at length produced – in your office – it is a double, a multiple exposure. And that is why the roll-call on p. 95, numbers exactly 36 names – the classic numeral of Jewish anonymity – each name, moreover being a synonym, an eponym, for a lamed vav’nik. These were some of my intentions – some of the Keri as opposed to the Ketib, to use the Hebrew Milton’s phrase – which sprang up, almost spontaneously, in my ordering and weaving of the tale. If I have been too exegetical, forgive me; but the tone, the warmth, and above all the content of your letter have encouraged me to share these thoughts with you. After all, there are not many readers who command the proper apparatus for the comprehension of my evangel (sic); so many have complimented me upon the yarning of a yarn, the composition of an adventure story, that it heartened me, flattered me, justified me, when I came upon your surmisals, so politely tentative, and so valid. Thanks again for a letter which came to me, as a good omen, before Yom Kippur and brightened the day for me. Cordially, Abe Klein

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 236 Querbes Ave., Montreal, October 9th, 1951. Dear Mr. Weinstock: The letter of Mr. Weintraub consternated me and flung me into a depression from which I have not yet been able to lift myself. ‘Autobiographical’ had indeed been previously published, but I did not think – The Second Scroll being a book of prose fiction – that it required specific acknowledgment beyond the statement appearing in the footnote that it had been written prior to the time of the story’s action. The ‘Elegy’ too – my offenses, if the unintentional can constitute offense, now multiply

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about me – had been written before; the footnote indicates it; but does not indicate that it had appeared in The New Palestine. And ‘Grace before Poison’ originally appeared in Poetry Magazine. How I came to allow these things to happen I do not know. It would have been the simplest thing in the world to have gotten the permissions. In all my other books (poetry) I duly made the necessary acknowledgments. It was because this was a book of fiction not intended to be taken for autobiography that it never even occurred to me – how naive and indeed stupid this is I now see – that acknowledgments should be made. I can hardly believe that this thing happened – to me, a lawyer! For when Homer nods, everybody is convinced; but when Blackstone snores the thing is incredible. Mortified, mortified beyond words, I am for myself; but even more so for the position in which you have been put, for unwittingly I have assaulted not only my own honour, but have brought embarrassment to you. Believe me, I would rather forego every profit or advantage the book may bring, than be deemed to have acted ‘sharp,’ or misconstrued into an appearance of inconsiderateness with regard to yourselves. What to do? Will you allow me to write to Mr. Weintraub, assuming full responsibility, and making such explanation as is called for in the premises. The New Palestine is no longer published, but I shall write to my friend Ludwig Lewisohn who was its editor at the time to square things with him. I shall write also to Karl Shapiro of Poetry, who, I know, will understand. The whole thing has made me very unhappy. Such things never happen to me – I pride myself on my meticulousness in such matters – and now, through oversight, through an excess of literariness (it’s not autobiography, ergo, no credits!) I put my friends, my publisher whose imprimatur does me honour, whose organization took such pains with my book, – to the embarrassment of receiving a letter such as Weintraub’s. I could foam at the mouth. If there is any other way beyond those already volunteered, beyond the facile promise to insert acknowledgment in a later edition, in which I can make amends, please let me know. I want to get over this most unpleasant interlude as quickly as possible, and resume again that happy halcyon relation which prevailed before and during the making of the book. Very sincerely yours, A.M. Klein AMK:BK

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P.S. I am enclosing the pertinent correspondence with Mr. Weintraub. The letters speak for themselves. From it can be seen 1. That the poem was solicited. 2. [ ] the right of single publication was never accorded to him. In my letter to Weintraub – to be written after I hear from you – I shall not, of course, argue these points, though I shall leave room for their evocation should he become cantankerous. H. Weinstock, Esq., Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 501 Madison Ave., New York (22), N.Y.

To Leon Edel Oct. 19, 1951 My dear Leon Many thanks for your very heartening letter of the 10th. I was, indeed, bewildered for a while, but am now catching on. Habent sua fata libelli – each book has its own peculiar fate, and a dozen Aeolian winds determine direction. Of course you may use the explications I gave you, though not given were they as Joyce’s to Larbaud. I am no Joyce, and you are no Larbaud to my Joyce. The exegesis was sent as from friend to friend. I do better now – I add to the notes already sent you I The tale is of a search for the Messiah (a) His name is Melech Davidson, king son of David (b) His sister (p 13) apostrophizes him: My fallen crown (c) He is a man persecuted. (d) He leads, in the mellah, the blind, the maimed, the halt – a kind of curse. (e) His tale is compounded with that of a pseudo-messiah (p. 97) (f) His face is never seen. (g) He is the Messiah, literally. (Messiah means ‘anointed’ – See p. 118) (h) His advent is announced in gematria (p. 25) where no. 12165 is

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shown. This number transliterated into Hebrew letters would read 12165      – which means, He has come! (i) His legacy is – a liturgy. II And that Messiah is the Jewish universality: (a) The last chapter has two themes: search for the poetic (read creative) and for Uncle Melech (b) All principal characters in book have same name. Melech = king; Krul – king (Polish) Krongold – gold crown; Ketter (p. 97) – Hebrew crown; Dauphin – prince. (c) Uncle Melech lost in the mass. A double – a multiple exposure. (d) Search for Uncle Melech leads to list of names on p. 95. There are exactly 36 of them. There is a Hebrew belief that God would have destroyed the world a long time ago were it not for the fact that in every generation there are to be found lamed vav (i.e. 36) anonymous saints, men pious, holy, humble, for whose sake God stays His hand. Each of the 36 names on p. 95 is a synonym, in various languages, of humility, piety, subjection, wandering. (e) As Uncle Melech is buried, the twelve tribes (p. 119) rise, with gems and devices, into public view again. (f) Words that the narrator uses are duplicated in words of Uncle Melech: the part is part the whole. III As if to say that Christ is within them (not in the theological sense) and that Jews need not go to Werfel or Stern to discover him; the tale works, from their own history, also events in the life of Jews. (a) Flogged (b) Temptation of Settano (materialism vs spirituality) The narrator appears pp. 52–53 – head upon a platter – in the role of John the Baptist. (c) Warsaw bourse closed by strike – moneylenders out of temple (d) Man riding a donkey thought to be Uncle Melech p. 93 (e) Uncle Melech rises from the grave, p. 32. With these, however, the analogies are not exhausted. Observe that it is the first David who writes the colophon (p. 197) for Davidson. If there are other allusions, or things seemingly esoteric, do not hesitate to ask me. To you I am explicative to the point of garrulity. As ever Abe.

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To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Oct. 19, 1951 Dear Mr. Weinstock Many, many thanks for your letter of the 16th. It served to lift me up de profundis. I was, indeed, agitated – like a Spaniard … But I shall, nevertheless, write to Mr. Weintraub a soft answer. (Who would know the vast differences there are between wines, let him but consider Weinstock and Weintraub!) To Dr. Lewisohn I spoke a few days ago when I was in Boston, I mentioned The New Palestine’s publishing of The Elegy, he had not even given it a thought, beyond recalling that two lines of the said poem were the result of his editorial suggestion; and even that he recalled, only because I prompted him … I also gathered that he had liked the book, and had written Mr. Knopf about it … The book, I am told, is selling very nicely in Canada. At this writing, McClelland and Stewart have no more copies. The reviews, too, have been unanimously favourable – perhaps, it is local patriotism. I hope it is doing as well in the States. Thus far, the only American review I have seen was Leon Edel’s in The Daily Compass, which was very generous, indeed. I received the other day a request from Rupert Caplan of the Montreal office of The Canadian Broadcasting Commission, for rights to adapt parts of the book for his radio programs. I told him that I would have to write to you before I could give him any answer – once bitten, twice shy. The only personal reaction that I have to his suggestion is that if the thing is to be done on the radio at all, I would rather it were done after more books were sold. Or does the logic of business argue the other way. I await your guidance. Perhaps I should tell Mr. Caplan to communicate with you direct? With kindest personal regards Sincerely Abe Klein

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To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Oct. 25, 1951 Dear Mr. Weinstock, Enclosed please find letter from a Mitchell Gertz, artist’s representative. I do not know what to make of it at all. I should have imagined that The Second Scroll was easily obtainable in Beverley Hills. Do you know of these people? Are they reputable? Or is this – as they say in Hollywood – some kindova gimmick? As you see, I am making you also my lawyer; but you, after all (see Contract: Clause D, subsection 6) have an interest. Please advise me. Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Nov. 1, 1951 Dear Mr. Weinstock: ‘It now seems likely … second printing … Second Scroll.’ This – as my Aunt Bryna says, this I’m enjoying! A pleasure! By way of acknowledgment, will this do: ‘Thanks are due to the editors of the following periodicals for permission to reprint poems that appeared in their pages: Poetry, A Magazine of Verse; The New Palestine; and The Chicago Jewish Forum.’ The ‘permissions’ are taken, as you see, for granted; I do not have them in writing. Nor have I proper legal assignments of copyright from any of these. Dammit! they’re my poems … They, these magazines, have no assignments of copyright from me. It was always my understanding that all I ever accorded them was the right of single publication … But I must not get myself worked up again about the case of the man who robbed his own property. I presume that all that is involved is the cour-

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tesy; I shall, therefore, in this (likely) second, and in all (likely?) subsequent editions, meekly and gratefully genuflect. As ever Sincerely A.M. Klein P.S. Am awaiting your counsel on the letter from Hollywood Anonymous.

To Earle Birney Nov. 12, 1951 My dear Earle Many thanks for your kind note of the seventh. I was very glad – since I value your opinion highly – that you liked The Second Scroll; and was particularly pleased that you saw in it my intention touching our common problem – the fusion of poetry & prose. The book is meeting with general approval; I am not, however, counting accolades, but weighing them; and that is why I so greatly appreciate the trouble you took to send me, across the continent, your kind thought of me. Cordially Abe.

To Leon Edel Nov. 12, 1951 My dear Leon Many thanks for your note of the sixth, together with copy of A.D. 1951. The article therein on Joyce was good; not by any means exhaust-

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ive, but good; it was amusing to read the author’s ambivalent reference to myself, and then see him follow, like a right leal disciple, along the paths I have charted. The Nation review was very satisfying (there was a time when the Nation refused to publish my poetry because it was too Zionist) and came like a fulfilment of your prophecy. Again amusing was the way in which Mr. Swados took Melech Davidson as an eponym for Solomon; but this is an error I don’t mind; it comes from an excess of learning; Swados was apparently thinking of that legend which tells how Asmodeus, the devil, dethroned King Solomon, stole his royal seal, usurped his crown and dignity, and flung the King for parasangs from his realm, causing him to be a wanderer on the face of the earth, everywhere crying – and none believing him – Ani Shlomo! I am King Solomon! Many thanks for the tip about Jacob Schwartz, the new owner of the Ulysses mss. I shall surely write to him. Kindest regards Abe.

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. November 12th, 1951. Mr. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 501 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Weinstock, Mr. Itzhak Norman, Executive Vice-President of the American Fund for Israel Institutions, who edits a nicely got-up magazine Israel Life and Letters, has written me requesting permission to reprint a part or all of the fifth chapter of The Second Scroll in the annual December issue of the said magazine. I have replied to his letter, stating that permission must be obtained from you. Myself, I am indifferent on this matter but if you think it will be good for sales, and if you have no objections motivated by your own experi-

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ence in these matters, permission I suppose should be granted to him. The discretion is entirely yours. Sincerely, Abe Klein AMK:RW

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Nov. 13, 1951 Dear Mr. Weinstock Enclosed please find assignment of copyright from the cantankerous Mr. Weintraub, who turns out to be less unpleasant than he seemed. The assignment was accompanied by a letter requesting me to send him more poetry! From Shapiro of Poetry I have not yet heard; there should be no difficulty there; I send on, however, by itself the Weintraub assignment – the centre of infection cured. As ever Abe Klein

To Irving Layton Nov. 21, 1951 Dear Irving, Now that the checks in re the famous Margolian affair have gone through, and despite your waiver, expressed some time ago, of all rights and emoluments therein, I feel that my battle – witnessed by St. Goldberg – would have been in vain, causeless, purposeless, did I not now turn over to you the fifty dollars La Margolian wanted for herself.

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I enclose, therefore, two checks – one for yourself in the sum of $35.00, being the exact price paid for certain Margolian habilments – so runs my sense of justice! – and, one for fifteen dollars payable to the T. Eaton Co. Ltd., wherewith Betty is to buy herself that pressure cooker. (And don’t you, Irving, go using it for books!) It is expressly understood, of course, that though the temptation may be great, La Margolian is not to be the first dish softened in the said cooker. Moral: There is some good, even in relatives! With all good wishes Cordially Abe.

To Leon Edel Nov. 30, 1951 My dear Leon, I was out of town for a few days and on my return found your championing letter awaiting me. A warm welcome. But I do not think that I should enter into controversy with the Times reviewer. Nor you, either. A writer, I think, has one chance to educate his reviewer – when he writes his book; after that, it’s like explaining a joke. I have seen letters written by authors to their critics unfriendly – in all cases, they were either implorative, and therefore pathetic; or bellicose, and therefore too revealing of the hurt which prompted them; or explicative, and therefore embarrassingly pedantic. It’s a loser’s game in which the writer’s dignity is always at stake, and almost always swept off the table with the chips. Only one exception would I make to this rule – I would counter if I thought the reviewer had been moved by malice. But Sylvester was moved only by stupidity. Though not gladly, the fool should be suffered. All the arguments and instances that you present against his review – if the musings of a librarian: How shall I catalogue it? constitute a review – I find – personal bias aside – irresistible; but I can’t make them. I will not plead for my book.

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There is nothing to be done with a man who wishes a novel to be everything but – novel. The Sylvestran brain! From silva – a wood. Moreover, I begrudge the fellow the importance with which polemic with us would endow him. English writing already has had its Sylvester – the poetaster who wrote the immortal line about ‘the snow periwigging the woods.’ What that line is to verse, the latter Sylvester’s review is to criticism. Not by epistolary recrimination is such obtuseness to be met; there is only one way, the article replicative that you plan in due course to write. (When you do, you may use the content of my letters; but please refrain from indicating myself as your source. Since I have taken no others into my confidence, the information might embarrass me with Maurice Samuel, and others.) By the way, did you see Samuel’s article on the book in the current Jewish Frontier. He writes of the book’s various levels, he enumerates some, but he only suspects the existence of things further elusive. So, sweet dear brother, it warmed me to read your indignation – but, really, the thing didn’t even spoil my Sunday lunch. (If anything, it whetted my appetite – I could have eaten Sylvester, too! Yet is he in no personal danger – Jewish dietary law prohibits me!) Let’s forget about him. And thanks, and thanks, and thanks again! Affectionately Abe.

To Morris Laub December 14, 1951 Dear Mr. Laub: Many, many thanks, first, for seeing that the book got to Moshe Pearlman (he is the man, I presume, who wrote the history of the Israeli Army – a very good book, some of the material of which I intend to use in connection with the writing of another ‘novel’ I remotely contemplate) and second, for having taken the trouble to communicate to me his so gratifying response. You are certainly taking pains to see to it The Second Scroll gets around – I greatly appreciate it.

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The notices which the book has received have, it is true, exceeded my expectations. There are more nice people in the world that I thought. There have been some stinkers too, but who could tolerate living in an atmosphere altogether thick with perfume and attar (good word? Nostalgic? Bnai-attar). As for the sales, the first edition, I am told, is practically exhausted; but also, alas, that is far, far indeed from a best-seller. I suspect that when the royalties come through I will have been found to have laboured at the rate of 20 cents an hour. What I should write now, I suppose, is an Anthony Perverse, a long felicity of fornications in which the adulteries are not pure but adulterated. But no matter; after all, money, as my millionaire acquaintances tell me, is not everything. The book – kidding aside – has brought me great satisfactions, not the least of which is the knowledge that it was given to me – by accident, by Providence – to dot the i in our Redemption. How is the world treating you? Do you contemplate any visits to Montreal in the near future? If you do, please get in touch with me. Has it ever occurred to you that we have spent together probably a total of no more than six hours, and yet how intertwined, how knotted, how much more than of a passing value, our meeting was! Cordially, Abe

To Maurice Schwartz January 14th, 1952. Dear Mr. Schwartz: Here it is – as promised! It involved strenuous, unrelenting labour – not to speak of the wings of inspiration – and at last it is finished! It is a wonderful play; the more I worked upon it, the more impressed I became by Dr. Pedro Bloch’s insight and genius, and I am glad that to this talent of the south I have had the opportunity of contributing something of the north. Whether as producer, or actor, or both, it is a vehicle made for you. As for the changes and elaborations – they have been completely thought out. In the course of analyzing this great Greek tragedy, I have

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been able to discover Dr. Bloch’s original pattern, and source and intention; and whatever additions were made, were made in harmony with Dr. Bloch’s plan. You will, of course, observe that everything we discussed during our very pleasant sessions together has been incorporated and made a logical part of the play. I was sorry I was not here when you called, but my wife communicated to me all your suggestions, and they have, of course, all been acted upon and manipulated to conform to Bloch’s fundamental outline. That outline is as follows: The play, of course, is one which the spectator may appreciate without being fully aware of the scheme upon which Dr. Bloch built it. The spectator is concerned with its truth, its conviction, its universal appeal. He sees before him a man, Robert Burgess – he well might have stepped right out of Dr. Bloch’s medical practice – who shows all the effects of living through ‘the hell that is most peoples’ life.’ And this word – hell – brings us to Bloch’s scheme. The title of the play is an obvious reference to the legend of Orpheus who went down to hell to seek his Eurydice; who was allowed to lead her back from hell to life provided he did not turn back to look at her face. Unfortunately he did turn back – with the result that Eurydice remained forever in hell, and forever was lost to Orpheus. In the play, too, all the tragedy comes from the fact that at last, after Robert has lost all his money, he sees Eurydice as she really is. He sees her face, and it is so different from the picture he had of it that he kills her. She is lost forever. The whole play, although it takes place in any city, present time, really takes place in hell. And here Dr. Bloch has peopled the play with the usual Greek inhabitants of hell. Thus, Dr. Ramsay, the father-in-law, owner of the house, is really Pluto, King of Hell. That is why Bloch makes him an Egyptologist, that is to say, a man who, like Pluto, is concerned with mummies, cadavers, the Book of the Dead, tombs. The fact that he is a stamp-collector is an additional cleverness: like Pluto in hell, he collects mail from all places and all times. In hell, one dreams of sweetness – hence Dulcy, which is sweetness. (We have changed the name, because Dulcy has certain frivolous connotations in English, to Lucy which means ‘light’ – and is also a proper dream in hell.) There are in the hell of the Greeks also some minor characters. One of these was Sisyphus. His penalty in hell was to drag a stone up a high

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hill; when it came to the top, it rolled down again; Sisyphus then had to repeat his interminable process. The recollection of Sisyphus Dr. Bloch has evoked by recalling the slaves who dragged stones to build the pyramids. In hell, there was also Tantalus. His torture was that he was kept continually thirsty; a cup of water was raised to his lips; but when he went to drink it, it was snatched away again. That is precisely the plight of Burgess in his pleasant interviews with his daughter Irene (Irene is Greek for ‘peace’) – they are always interrupted. Guarding the gates of hell was the three-headed dog Cerberus. To keep him quiet, it was the custom to fling something into his ever open mouth – this was called ‘a sop to Cerberus.’ Cerberus in Bloch’s play is the doctor ‘faithful as a watchdog.’ He is full of bonbons. The chattering mother-in-law is Proserpine who was snatched away by Pluto from Syracuse, though she repeatedly kept calling (chattering) for her attendants. Near Pluto there sat the Eumenides, the revengeful ones, serpents in their hair. Bloch describes the Chopin music as moving like serpents. Associated with Pluto were the Parcai, the Fates. They cut off life; so and so, they said, should live to 70, so and so to 27. It is as if the roulette wheel: Black 27. Red 33, were their symbol. (It may, of course be, that Bloch had in mind Ixion, who was turned on a wheel in hell.) You see, therefore, that Bloch’s play is not as incoherent or haphazard as Robert Burgess makes it sound. In truth, it requires great talent to convert what is almost a mathematical plan into the living disorganization of reality. You may well ask: Is it necessary to know all this for the appreciation of the play? By no means. The play may be appreciated without the slightest knowledge of the Greek myth, because its action is so true, so true. But if the reader or the spectator goes away from the play, and thinks about it, then he must see that what Bloch has presented is not a mere erratic psychiatric case, but a profound pattern, classic in form, enduring in significance. When this pattern is understood, everything falls into place. Even the references to existentialism – which seem at first like a tribute to a contemporary fad – have their pertinence, for existentialism is a philosophy whose purpose is to make life, defined as hell, bearable, if not worthwhile.

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I find it necessary to go into the detail I have elaborated so as to indicate that the additions I have made – for the sake of establishing what Shakespeare called ‘a two-hours’ traffic of the stage’ – were all additions made in harmony with Dr. Bloch’s basic thesis. This is a Greek play in yet another sense. In the classic Greek drama, the actor, having perpetrated some wrong or some audacity, is relentlessly carried to his doom. The doom does not come until the end of the play. But here – splendid invention! – the doom is borne by Robert Burgess, is shown acting upon him (his derangement) right from the beginning! I think you now have in the play a full-length sure-fire hit. It must inevitably succeed, for it speaks from the age-old experience of the human race to every burdened heart, sitting in any theatre, anywhere, at all times. It will endure. It is a play born for encores. I wish you the best of luck with it. I shall look forward to news from you about it, and I am sure it will be good news. In my Second Scroll, that I inscribed for you, I made bold prophesy for you the advent of new triumphs. THE HANDS OF EURYDICE, I am sure, will be the first of these triumphs. Good luck! Sincerely,

To Maurice Schwartz January 28th, 1952. Mr. Maurice Schwartz, 26 E. 10th St., New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Schwartz: Enclosed please find the original copy of The Hands of Eurydice by Pedro Bloch, which you left with me. I hope you will forgive the markings I made on it as I planned its emendation and lengthening.

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I was somewhat disturbed by our conversation of Sunday morning. I think it is quite clear that Bloch’s intention was that no other characters except Robert Burgess should appear on the stage; and I think that it could not be otherwise, for to put anybody else on the stage, even if they don’t say a word, is to diminish from the uniqueness of this play, the sensational novelty of which lies in the fact that while it is only one man who is seen and heard, a whole cast of characters is actually conjured up. Frequent long-distance telephone calls I realize are expensive; if you should desire therefore to have the play discussed in detail and at length with yourself and with others, I would be inclined to come down to New York for such purpose upon payment of mere out-of-pocket expenses; forgetting about my time. The play deserves it. With all good wishes,

To Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press Jan. 31, 1952 Dear Mr. Flemington Many thanks for the copies of the reprinted Rocking Chair. The decorations are superb, leave nothing to be desired. Mr. MacDonald has indeed hit upon the ideal way of making those colophons: a tantalizing and tenuous relationship between illustration and design. Each of the pieces can stand by itself as design, evocative, suggestive – it is only on second glance, on reconsideration that you realize that they also illustrate – and this is good. Pages 19 & 38 are case in point – although all exemplify what I mean. So, will you please be good enough to convey to Mr. MacDonald my thanks and appreciation. And to you, too, and to Mr. Pierce, my thanks for having made possible the second edition. Let us hope for many more. With kindest regards Sincerely A.M. Klein

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To Alfred A. Knopf Feb. 15, 1952 Dear Mr. Knopf, Throughout the months which have elapsed since your acceptance of The Second Scroll I have thought often of writing to you; and have hesitated. I hesitated because I did not wish to intrude myself upon you until I could feel that you felt that your decision to publish that work had been in some measure justified. Perhaps, I thought, perhaps you now regretted it? Always, of course, I was conscious of the very fine company in which your imprimatur placed me. Was I really worthy of standing in the midst of my own idolatries? I contented myself, therefore, with communications addressed to you through your personnel, – through a glass, as it were, darkly … I hear now from your Mr. Cole that a second printing is on the way. You are, then, impertinent; you repeat your error a second time; this, surely, is a case where two wrongs make a right! And this makes me feel much surer of myself. Should the book turn into a ‘best seller’ I shall, naturally, feel all unsure all over again … But two editions – that is just popularity enough to corroborate the value of the first edition, and not popularity so extreme as to undermine it … Yet that would be an undermining – which would not upset my equilibrium. The second printing, then, I deem a door opening – and through it I enter. I enter to express to you, now personally, my deep appreciation of all that you have done for this manuscript, – its acceptance, its impeccable maieutics, its promotion. It has done me great honour to have your name preside over mine. For me, indeed, the association with your office – beginning with Mr. Samuel’s enthusiasm, and Mr. Weinstock’s fine editorial skill, and proceeding through the goodly company of your multi-talented staff – has been altogether happy. And I wanted – apropos of nothing but propriety – to tell you so. Sincerely yours A.M. Klein

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To Maurice Schwartz 236 Querbes Ave., Montreal, February 20th, 1952. Dear Mr. Schwartz: I received your letter and was very surprised at its contents. I have since read and re-read the play – I know it practically by heart, and can find no basis for the objections raised by the people to whom you showed it. Indeed, those objections are proof to me that they have not understood either the intention or the methods of Bloch’s play. Let it then be understood at the beginning that this is not a play in which Dr. Bloch paints in black and white – the husband white, the wife black, or vice-versa. The playwright is not pleading a case for his hero like a lawyer would. He is presenting a tragic figure like a dramatist does. And what is the tragedy of Robert Burgess? His broken life? Yes – but even more tragic is the fact that he is himself the cause of his own ruin – and even more tragic still – that he doesn’t know that he is the cause. The audience knows. The audience watches him and listens to him as he tries to make out a case for himself, and is filled with pity because in the very act of making his case for himself he reveals, unconsciously, through a word here, a word there, that he, and he alone, is to blame. Robert Burgess is not a hero of the play in the ordinary sense of the word; he is not the villain of the play either. He is a victim. A victim of himself. I showed you in an earlier letter how in the background of this play, and in the background of Dr. Bloch’s mind there work the machinery and the climate of hell. And that is the tragedy – the hell is of Burgess’s own making. It is true that he tries to rationalize what he did by throwing the blame on his wife and his household ménage. But this is human; natural; everybody who finds himself in an unhappy situation always seeks to blame somebody else for his plight. But the audience is not fooled. The audience knows. The audience knows that all of this is but an excuse, a rationalization; that the step into hell was taken – as it was taken in the original Greek myth when Burgess stepped forth to make Eurydice his own. There is yet another thing to be borne in mind, and that is that Burgess, though under ordinary circumstances a normal person, is here, in

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this play, brought to such an emotional crisis, that he may be roughly termed a schizophrenic. A split personality. One personality longs for the safe domesticity of his wife, the other was attracted by the color and adventure of life with Eurydice. Between the two he becomes the broken, storm-tossed, figure that we see. And because tragedy has brought him to such a pass, his speech reveals it. Everybody must have noticed how Burgess talks for whole passages in the play, quietly, reasonably, almost ingratiatingly, and then – suddenly, because of a word, or a memory – off he goes into a tantrum of emotion. The very structure of the play reveals its double nature. The first act may be called a comedy, the second is surely a tragedy, a tragedy made more tragic by the very fact that it was introduced by a comedy. What happens in the first act? An audience is waiting for a show – the show never seems to take place – because instead some unkempt individual came strolling down the centre aisle onto the stage and entertained the audience with his queer talk. Throughout that first act you get no inkling whatsoever that a terrible tragedy – a broken home, a murder – lies in the background. Instead, the audience feels that it has met an interesting ‘character,’ who entertained them, who made them laugh, and about whom they can talk to their friends. You feel that you have been visited by the kind of person one doesn’t meet everyday; and when Robert Burgess, his mind full of his plan of living with Lucy again, says charmingly, like the man of the house, ‘Whenever you care to give us the pleasure of a visit, this is where I live. Robert Burgess,’ the spectator reclines back into his seat, and says to himself, ‘What a guy! What self-confidence, what nerve.’ And he smiles to himself, knowingly. Comes then the second act, which unfolding will reveal how ironical that last line was. No one is ever going to give them the pleasure of a visit. He, Burgess, who in the first act appeared merely like one of those brazen husbands who think they can reject their wives and at will go back to them, is shown to be in the roils of a struggle much profounder than that involved in a mere husband-wife quarrel and separation. He is in fact in the final pit of hell, and that is what moves us with pity. For what is the definition of tragedy? Tragedy is that which moves the beholder with terror at the thing he sees and pity for the one involved in that terror. That is precisely what happens here. A man leaves his wife, any man can do that, many often have, – that is not tragedy. He runs away with another woman. That is still not tragedy. But then by slow imperceptible stages he becomes so involved in the conflict between his infatuation for this woman and his lingering sense of duty and guilt to-

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wards his wife and family, that it only takes a little thing, a quarrel over a trinket, and behold – there is a smoking revolver in his hand. That is terror. The pity is that even after that has happened to him, so blind is he to the condition to which he has brought himself, that he fondly believes that he may yet re-establish his life with Lucy once again. But the audience doesn’t believe that. The audience knows. And that is why tears must fall, as the curtain comes down on the second act. All of this is as clear to me as daylight. I think that the people to whom you showed the play didn’t visualize it adequately enough to realize the impact it would have upon a beholder. I have. Because in reading this play before a group of friends for the purpose of timing it, and also for the purpose of assuring myself that things were as I have described them to be, I was glad to observe that the intention of the playwright came through clearly, eloquently, tragically. I may say here that the reading of the play took well over an hour and a half. When you take into consideration the fact that an actual performance involves so much running up and down stairs, conversations with members of the audience, acting in pantomime, which I leave for others to do, interval between first and second act then I think it is clear that certainly this play cannot be objected to on the grounds of brevity. You mentioned in our telephone conversation the fact that American audiences are presumably different from South American ones. This may be true insofar as trivial and incidental matters are concerned, but tragedy is the same the whole world over. A broken home, a dead child, a killing in a moment of mental uncertainty, and a culprit ignorant of the full extent of his own offense, these things break hearts below the equator just as well as above the equator. There is no Panama Canal in the human heart. You mention ‘The Shrike.’ But that is a different play altogether. There the tragedy consists of the fact that an evil wife feigning goodness, seeks to keep her sane husband confined to an insane asylum and causes him to be surrounded by such a set of circumstances that he is helpless against her plan. That is quite simple. The conflict is between man and wife. In our play the thing is much subtler. It’s the man who is his own worst enemy. It’s against himself that he tried to fight – and lost. The hell is of his own making. As you see, I have somewhat extended myself in my defense of Dr. Bloch’s play and its technique. I did so not because I am on principal or through indifference averse to any changes – but because I want you to have the best possible play. A playwright may sometimes make the mis-

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take of overestimating the intelligence of his audience; a worse mistake is to underestimate that intelligence, particularly in our play, wherein its story and its language speak of such elemental and elementary things as love, passion, children, hatred, infatuation – must one beware of oversimplification. I want to add, in conclusion, that to my mind everything points to the existence of a receptive audience for this type of single-actor play. Laughton’s had four actors, Four-Poster has two; Emlyn Williams, I read is now doing readings from Dickens, dressed as Dickens. But these things are only unusual, The Hands of Eurydice, however, is both unusual, and a play. Put it on, and believe me, all America will applaud. Yours,

To William A. Koshland, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. March 2, 1952 Dear Mr. Koshland, I am given to understand that the Canadian Broadcasting Commission is planning – a script is already prepared – to broadcast a dramatization of The Second Scroll on May 7, 1952; and I write to you, now, to inquire whether permission was obtained from your office – and at what fee – for this purpose. As I recall it, we both thought this is a good idea – the only proviso that I was concerned about was that the script should be approved by me – but I also understand that the c.b.c. always pays for such rights, and I hope no exception is to be made in our case. In any event I would appreciate it if I were put au courant at your earliest convenience so that I may know how to guide myself here. Thanking you, I am Yours truly A.M. Klein P.S. In letter dated Oct. 2, from Mr. Weinstock to me, he instructs me to refer question of [ ].

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To Maurice Schwartz 236 Querbes Ave., Montreal, March 14th, 1952. Mr. Maurice Schwartz, 26 East 10th St. New York, N.Y. Dear Mr. Schwartz, I was very glad to hear from you on the telephone on Tuesday night. The Schuberts, of course, know a good thing when they see it, and a play such as Bloch’s, which does not require as much outlay, comparatively speaking, as other plays, and which has the added advantage of being so powerful, in fact so irresistible, could not but go over big with them. And when to all this you add the fact that you are to play the role of Robert Burgess – it’s a cinch! So I am anxiously awaiting further developments, awaiting news of the date of the premiere. In the meantime I want to drop you this note about my role in the whole affair. In several of our conversations, as well as in conversations with others, you have referred to me as the ‘translator.’ But this of course is not the case. I did not translate Bloch’s play. I couldn’t translate Bloch’s play – I don’t know any Portuguese. The play was translated by Claude Vincent. What I did, as you know, was to adapt it for the purposes of the American stage. With this end in view the names of the characters were changed, but above all, with this end in view the play was lengthened. Originally the play ran to a length of 36 pages, legal-sized, which is the equivalent of about 45 letter-sized pages. But as it stands now the play runs to well over 62 letter-sized pages, an increase of 17 pages, that is to say, an increase of practically 35%. Thus it can be said that one-third of the play is my original contribution, contribution of course made in harmony with the plot and design of Bloch’s original. If this, then, is not a work of adaptation, I don’t know what is. When it is publicized, therefore, the play should be announced as ‘a play by Pedro Bloch, translated by Claude Vincent, adapted by A.M. Klein.’

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Why do I take the trouble to make this point? Because I think it is important both for you and for me. For me, because I believe the play is bound to be a success and I want to have the credit for the work which I did on it, of which I am proud. As an artist yourself you know that money, though not unimportant, is not the sole reward for which one works when one exercises one’s talent. And it’s important for you, I think, because my own name, since the publication of The Second Scroll and the wide acclaim it has won, stands for something, can do no harm, may do some good. I know very well that you intend to associate my name with the play, all I am writing this letter for is to make sure that you do not associate it in the capacity of translator. Which I never was. Since speaking to you I have given some thought to the question of the title of the play. I agree that The Hands of Eurydice is a title which may have in it some dangers. There may be people who may be scared away by it, who may think that this is some kind of snob play, full of classical references, and not understandable except to PhD’s. We know that it is not so; but until the auditor hears it, he may entertain a false impression, which he may never take the trouble to dispel. My dissatisfaction with the title grew when I heard your substitute suggestion. YOU!!! I can see it on the billboards – a challenge – an invitation – an indictment – a moral lesson. For printed in that way, it tells the reader YOU!, I want to speak to you, you think this play is about me, it is also about YOU, and YOU and YOU. Please keep me in touch with developments. With best wishes for YOU! I am, YOUrs,

To Melech Ravitch March 21, 1952 Dear Mr. Ravitch Many thanks for the clipping from 7  which you were kind enough to send on to me. Through you alone, it would appear, I am

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getting a world reputation – France, – South America, and now Tel Aviv. In The Second Scroll I intended a microcosm of Jewish life, but you, you are making a macrocosm of me. It is very generous of you, and I surely appreciate it. Yours, Abe Klein

To Maurice Schwartz 236 Querbes Ave., April 2nd, 1952. Dear Mr. Schwartz: Enclosed please find biographical note about Pedro Bloch, with descriptive sentence about myself. I was wondering as I was reading the item in the news whether it’s smart to speak in the publicity about impersonations of 8 characters. The ordinary reader when he reads about impersonations begins to expect that he will see on the stage that type of imitation which vaudeville actors do in some of their skits, as for example impersonation of Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, etc. This kind of impersonation, as you know, is effected with a little bit of makeup on the stage, some facial distortions, and some verbal mimicry. But that is not what you do in Conscience. It’s true that you mimic the father-in-law, parody the style of Dr. Cuttle, etc. – but these are not impersonations. In a word what I am afraid of is that the customer may leave the theatre and say: we were promised impersonation and we didn’t get any. A disappointment. How much better then is it to say, as we have said in our note on Pedro Bloch that ‘though only one actor appears on the stage, the audience is left with the vivid and memorable impression of a whole cast of characters.’ This way no impersonations are promised, and no disappointment can ensue. On the contrary there will ensue a pleasant surprise for you will in the course of the evening communicate the presence of 8 characters. I don’t think any harm has been done by what has already been pub-

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lished – as a matter of fact I think that the releases that you have gotten in the press have been splendid, first class – but for the future this little point about impersonations might be borne in mind. Why should we build up the audience to what they might consider a misrepresentation, when the actual fact itself is so wonderful and new, and startling. I am meeting tomorrow with Merkur and will see what can be done to advance the play in Montreal. As ever, Your adapter, publicity-writer, and public-relations counsellor, Cordially, Pedro Bloch The case of Pedro Bloch presents one of those singular instances in which a man, trained in an altogether different profession, succeeds with his very first attempt in finding his just place in the drama. Dr. Bloch is a distinguished Brazilian physician who impelled by a natural talent for theatre and fortified by a vast clinical experience and observation of life, decided, in the midst of his extensive practice, to write plays. He was an instantaneous success. His play The Hands of Eurydice, now being produced in America as Conscience, won the 1951 Award of the Academy of Arts of Brazil, where it has had a run of over a year. Dr. Bloch is also the author of plays called A Cat Died in China, Irene, and The New Motherin-Law. In Conscience (The Hands of Eurydice) Dr. Bloch has written what is probably the first example in the history of playwriting of a solo drama – a full play in which, though only one actor appears on the stage, the audience is left with the vivid and memorable impression of a whole cast of personalities. Nor is it merely in its structure a singular tour de force; its theme – the story of Robert Burgos, torn by conflicting loyalties, tortured within the hell of his own making, – moves with a classic skill from its innocent gay opening, step by step, to a climax of unforgettable tragedy. The English adaption of Conscience was made by A.M. Klein, leading Canadian poet, and author of the recently acclaimed novel The Second Scroll.

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To Leon Edel April 26, 1952 My dear Leon, I have been coming in and out of Montreal these past several weeks (going on speaking assignments to spread the Israeli gospel) and last night was the first in many when I could lie at ease in a personal Zion. So I read your intriguing, fascinating, brilliant analysis of the workings of Hugh Walpole’s mind and psyche. It’s a positive tour de force. I think your thesis – Graecia capta Romanos cepit – the ablative metamorphosed into the nominative – irrefutably sustained. I admired particularly the skilful insidiousness with which you lead the reader, through stages, not only to total conviction, but also to actual diary corroboration. And the manner in which you dropped comment on the bisexuality of the name Peter Quint, into a sheath of brackets, as it were – bravo! (Do you remember that Chaucer also spells it with a Q?) This is, indeed, a turn of the screw. Enjoyed every bit of it. Forward – from strength to strength! Have a confession to make: passed through your city twice in past month, but couldn’t even get the time to phone you. Will probably be in N.Y. again in May, & will try to say hello. And anyway – why don’t you come up this way, once in a while – time was when Canada was not altogether unpalatable to you. I can see it all before me, as on a printed page (The Canadian Jewish Chronicle) ‘Mr. & Mrs. Klein entertained for Mr. & Mrs. Edel … Mr. Klein poured … Young Sharon Klein (age 6) recited (not from her father’s works!). In the course of the evening there were destroyed 7 local reputations, 2 international; built up, 1 parochial …’ etc. On re-reading, I don’t find it so tempting. But you know what I mean. Cordially Abe.

To Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. May 30, 1952

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Dear Mr. Weinstock, Many thanks for your note of the 29th, and copy of Israel: Life and Letters. I was in New York a week ago to receive a literary prize from the Jewish Book Council of America, and had intended, but could not within the 24 hours find the time, to get in touch with you. There were, in fact, some matters on which I wanted your advice. (a) The name of an agent who might possibly sell the movie rights to The Second Scroll. I was diffident about this – did not believe, in fact, that the book could be dramatized – until the Canadian Broadcasting Commission of Canada put on a 1½ hour dramatization, trans-Canada. It was splendidly done, and brought a wide and enthusiastic response. I understand that a set of records of this show is to be made available to me. Should you think it a useful thing to do, I would be glad to send the recordings on to you. (b) Work in progress. (1) The Joyce work continues, slowly, word by word. Under separate cover I send you the explication of the technique of the 2nd chapter. (2) A translation, from the Hebrew and Aramaic, of legends, anecdotes, wit, bons mots, of the Talmud. I have in mind the eventual publication of an attractive, largely spaced book (one or two anecdotes to a page) that may have a constant sale – the material is classic – as the perennial Bar-Mitzva present. (Have you seen Heschel’s books published by Farrar, Strauss etc.?) To be ready by end of year. (3) Two plays – one, about Leon Trotsky’s last day, – The Icepick; and another, a musical comedy using Canada as source of theme, colour, etc – O Canada. When I shall accomplish these things, I don’t know, – but that’s the agenda. I trust that all is well with you and hope that you will have a nice time deep in the star-and-song country. Do let me hear from you. Sincerely Abe Klein

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To Maurice Schwartz 236 Querbes Ave., Outremont, June 2nd, 1952. Dear Mr. Schwartz: Since your phone call to me on Friday afternoon the week-end intervened and I have not been able to contact anybody with reference to the Gesu theatre. I now find that I must leave for Pennsylvania where I have to deliver some talks on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal, and will not be back until the end of the week. I shall not be able, therefore, to look after this matter for you. May I say that in general I do not think it a very good idea to open in Montreal at the present moment and under the present circumstances. In the first place, Conscience has been receiving here some bad publicity, both because of the cancellation of the week of May 12th, and the closing in New York. Just as people were excited about the play when it was first announced, so are they now inclined to underestimate it. In the second place the month of June is not a very good time both on account of the heat and on account of the fact that many people are then preparing to go away to the country. Already the attendance at theatres has dropped considerably. Moreover, to come without a set for a mere recital is further to handicap yourself. The New York Jewish Press which circulates here has not helped matters either. All in all I do not think it is a good idea before the Fall, but if you feel differently, why don’t you come down yourself for a day or so, and investigate the situation on the spot. With kindest personal regards, I am, Yours truly,

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To Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau August 21st, 1952. Mr. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau, 145 E. 32nd St., New York 16, N.Y. Dear Mr. Freeman, As per our understanding, I am now communicating to you a list of the lectures to which I already stand committed. They are as follows: September 7th October 16th October 19th October 26th November 3rd December 10th

– – – – – –

Winnipeg – Hadassah Convention. Toronto – Goel Tzedec Congregation. Edmonton – Hadassah Conference. Toronto – Hillel. Philadelphia – Har Zion Temple. Cleveland – The Temple. Yours truly,

AMK:RW

To Samuel Abramson August 27, 1952 Dear Sam, Many thanks for the N.Y. Times clipping you sent on. I had not seen it & it was most gratifying to read. Good man – you, not Tindall. The essay he refers to was published in Accent, Spring, 1950, and shows how Joyce perpetuated a Black Mass in the first chapter of his Ulysses. I have no copy of it, but instead am sending you reprint of essay on second chapter, equally fabulous in Joycean technique.

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How I envy you your trip to Israel. Your enthusiasm, the afflatus of apocalypse, practically leaps out of your note. Regards as ever Abe.

To Leon Edel October 2nd, 1952 My dear Leon: In the pursuit of my studies of Joyce, I am now looking into auxiliary writings, and naturally have come upon James Joyce – The Last Journey. I believe I once wrote you how beautiful a work I thought it was, but did I tell you of the additional architectural beauties I have now found in it – the organization of subject matter, the apt epigraph – (the epitaph, as you say, must not now be written) – the serene paragraphing. I write to you now, Leon, seeking precisions. Not letters, but life, is the subject of my inquiry; and this inquiry can best be made if you would be good enough to afford me some answers touching the way you came to put out the book, – details of your visits, conversations, etc. This is quite an imposition, I know, – you will probably need some time to refresh your memory – but what can I do? I will not press you, I shall wait. Three weeks? I shall be in New York some time in November, probably on election day. Here are the questions. 1. What prompted you, in your dedication, to characterize Jolas ‘an instigator’? In the dictionary, where I find so much, I find that ‘instigator’ and ‘instigated’ have pejorative connotations – that you had to be ‘urged on’ to do this work. It is a work which one may well have been eager to do. 2. On page 15 you mention the loudspeaker blaring Strauss waltzes as you stood there among the tombs in Zurich. I don’t think the paragraph requires embellishing, but I’m the kind of a bird that likes details: Did you recognize these waltzes? Their names? 3. On page 22, you say that you suspected that the loudspeaker noises probably came from the zoo. I see that you know Zurich well – has this Zoo a special name? My purpose requires that I make things true to life.

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4. Were you staying at the Hotel Eden, or did you just meet there? 5. You refer to the Giedion-Welckers, but speak only of Mme. Carola? Do you remember where Monsieur was? 6. From which of Henry James’ writings is the quotation on page 31? This, I am sure, will mean to you no loss of time or racking of memory. 7. You quote letter to Kloeti. Did you see it? Copy of it? Who showed it to you? Perhaps you have it among your papers? 8. You quote from letter to Stanislas (You spell his name Stanislas whereas he, in his Recollections, spells it Stanislaus): where did you see it? Is it published? 9. Who was the other doctor (p. 37) who was called and gave palliatives? 10. Did you perhaps go to the Schwesternhaus Rotkrauz to get a copy of the medical record in the case? It would have been interesting. What we wouldn’t give to know what Shakespeare went from! 11. Who is the sculptor Paul Speck? What else has he sculpted? To me an incongruity: a Speck on James Joyce? 12. Where did you read the words of Professor Heinrich Straumann, of the University of Zurich? You call his speech arid. Is that your judgment, or that of your informants? You didn’t get a story from him, did you? 13. Strange that you should quote Renan. (Have you read his Patrice?) But where is the quotation on p. 42 from? 14. Have you Lord Derwent’s speech in full? In the British Who’s Who, I find a Baron Der went (born 1901; the title was created in 1881) – is that our man? Maybe I’m not looking right. Peers there are enough, but not this Derwent peerless – who practically called Joyce Shakespeare – yes, and in doing so patronizes his Shakespeare, not our Joyce. 15. Your quotation from Finnegans Wake – the last line – I thought particularly apt. It too, like the tombstone without epitaph is an incompleteness, a proparoxyton, for to me it is a recall of a lovely poem by J.C. Managan ‘A long, a last good night.’ But here goodnight has not been said. May I suggest that for a future edition you print on the page following the photograph of the gravestone the first line of Finnegans Wake; this will complete the cycle and bring the immortal Joyce ‘by vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.’ Do answer at your earliest convenience. Kindest regards. Cordially, Abe.

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To Ellsworth Mason October 2nd, 1952. Mr. E.A. Mason, c/o Gotham Book Mart, 41 West 47th St., New York City, N.Y.

Please forward

My dear Mason: You will no doubt be surprised to hear from me after this long lapse of time. One reason is that I no longer had your address, you having moved. Miss Steloff, however, recently mentioned your name to me, and I am taking the chance that she knows where to forward this letter. Gotham is so inclusive a place it seems right all in it should know one another. All I want to tell you now is that I have recently had occasion to reread our correspondence and have found that in so many instances of disagreement you were the one who was right and I was wrong. There remain some instances, of course, in which I still think that you appear wrong, but even there your error is relieved by a certain kind of cunning (I use the word in its etymological sense, – capacity, kenning). You are indeed a Mason, a builder, a knower of passwords, and a bygmester. Let’s begin again. In appreciation, Sincerely, Klein P.S. You disparaged both Levin and Tindall, but though much too gay, they are not altogether deceivers. One may learn from them. They deviate into sense.

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To Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau 14th October 1952. Mr. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau, 145 E. 32nd St., New York – U.S.A. Dear Mr. Freeman: I regret to have to inform you that due to illness – I slipped a disc – I shall not be able to fulfil any of my lecture commitments this year. I am therefore notifying you of this fact so that you will not make any further engagements for me. Thanking you, I am Yours very truly AMK/LL

To Leon Edel Oct. 15, 1952 My dear Leon, Many thanks for your letter of the 7th and for the pains you took to answer all my questions. I must have sounded to you like a nuisance, – which I was – particularly since I must tell you now, after all the trouble you took, that because of other plans I am putting my Joyce work aside. I’m afraid, too, that I cannot reciprocate on your questionnaire; the matters you inquire about have not formed part of my study. Yours Abe.

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To Melech Ravitch February 26th, 1953. Mr. M. Ravitch, c/o Jewish Public Library, 4099 Esplanade Ave., Montreal. Dear Mr. Ravitch: As you know I have not been well for the past several months and have therefore been unable to sell any of the tickets for library bricks which you sent on to me. I am accordingly returning to you the book of tickets bearing Nos. 10661 – 10670. With kindest personal regards, A.M. Klein AMK/LL

To Robert M. MacGregor, New Directions registered

November 16th 1953.

New Directions, 333 – Sixth Avenue, New York 14 – U.S.A. Attention Mr. Robert M. MacGregor Dear Mr. MacGregor: This is to acknowledge your registered letter of November the 11th, together with enclosures.

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I am afraid that I cannot discharge the duty you therein suggest; the law of copyright not being my specialized department, I do not know enough about it. As for the affidavits of sale hitherto prepared by me for copyright purposes, these were so prepared upon the instructions of Mr. Laughlin’s American lawyers, as communicated to me by Mr. Laughlin. Certainly these affidavits have not in earlier instances, nor in most recent, purported to be other than what they were designated: affidavits of sale. I could, of course, acquaint myself with the special procedures required here to assure Mr. Céline his rights in ‘Death in Installment Plan.’ It seems to me, however, that if I did so, you would be putting Mr. Céline in a most embarrassing position, if not committing against him a downright injustice. Mr. Céline’s opinions touching Jews are notorious; during the war nobody was more rabid in his anti-Semitism than he, and he would resent it, I am sure, if you tainted his right of property with the name, or even the intervention, of a Jew. Despite my admiration for his extraordinary talent – ‘Satan, too’ is no mediocrity – to me the notion of ‘Céline – Klein’s client’ – is, to say the least, an absurdity. I am accordingly returning your documents. Please convey to Mr. Laughlin my highest regard and my deepest respect. Yours truly, A.M. Klein. AMK/LL

To Lavy Becker Jan 4, 1954 Dear Lavy, Many thanks for your very kind letter of Dec. 10, too long unanswered. As you know I have not been feeling well and have perforce had to neglect my correspondence. I am dropping you this note, not as an an-

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swer, but only as an acknowledgement. I look forward to the day when I shall be able to tell you, face to face, the emotions your letter stirred in me. In the meantime please be assured of my friendship for you and goodwill. With all good wishes Cordially Abe

To Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau November 19th, 1954. Mr. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau, 145 East, 32nd St., New York 16, U.S.A. Dear Mr. Freeman: – I am very glad and greatly indebted to you for having persuaded me to postpone my trip abroad so as to pup my engagements in Buffalo, Baltimore, and Cleveland, which, D.V., I shall do. The Washington lecture is to be cancelled, or, if possible, postponed to some date after February 1st. I shall be in New York several days before my departure for Europe and shall certainly, if convenient to you, drop in on you. With kindest regards, Cordially, AMK:MP

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To Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs November 19th, 1954. The Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa. Dear Sir: – Enclosed please find Application for renewal of Canadian Passport ‘Form-C’ re passport of Abraham M. Klein, together with; 1. Passport No. 4-37212; 2. Money order in the sum of $2.00; 3. Photograph in duplicate of Applicant. Thanking you, I am, Yours very truly, AMK:MP Encls./3

To Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs November 19th, 1954. The Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa. Dear Sir: – Enclosed please find Application for Canadian Passport of ‘Bessie Klein,’ together with: 1. Photograph in duplicate; 2. Landing card of the Late Wolf Kozlov; Quebec, August 20th, 1911;

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3. Certificate of Naturalization of Sam Kozlov, No. 9303 series E. – November 22nd, 1924; 4. Act of Marriage of Abraham M. Klein and Bessie Kozlov, February, 14th, 1935; 5. Postal money order in the sum of $5.00. Thanking you, I am, Yours very truly, AMK:MP Encls./5

To Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs January 19th, 1955 The Passport Officer Department of External Affairs, Ottawa. Re Your File 05257-55 LDF/AB File 05268-55 LDF/AB Dear Sir: Enclosed please find applications of Abraham Klein and Mrs. Bessie Klein for second passports endorsed for Israel only, and made valid for one year, the whole as per the suggestion of your letter of November 22nd. 1954. Thanking you, I am, Yours truly,

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To Melech Ravitch Feb. 28, 1955 My dear friend Ravitch. This is just a note to acknowledge your post-card and to tell you how delighted I was to hear from both yourself and Rachel and to learn that you are orientating yourself pleasantly into the land. Your whereabouts, I may say, did not come to me as a surprise as I have been following your articles in the Eagle and have found them very interesting, so interesting in fact that I would wish you to continue on your travels were I not so happy, with you, that you are at last on the Grad Hashoftim in Tel Aviv. But even your articles, reminiscent as they are, are no substitute for what is missing now, since your departure, in Montreal. And the same is true of Rachel – every time I go to the library, everything seems as if it has been re-issued in an inferior text. As for my own next visit to Israel, I dream of it but I don’t know when it will take place. But when, and if, it does, you may be sure that we shall not forget our old acquaintance, whether in Dan or Beersheba. With kindest regards and best wishes Abe Klein

To Harold Clurman 236 Querbes Avenue, Montreal, October 17th, 1955. Mr. Harold Clurman, c/o Plymouth Theatre, 45th St. West of Broadway, New York, N.Y.

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Dear Mr. Clurman: From the number of productions presently under your hand I fully realize how busy you must be and therefore it is with some hesitation that I send on to you the enclosed manuscript. I am emboldened to do so, however, by the hope that looking about for something new on which to exercise your talent you may perhaps find in Worse Visitors We Shouldn’t Have that which may evoke your interest and challenge your originality. The enclosed is a play about the great Jewish wit and Chassidic court jester, Hershel Ostropolyer. Its action speaks for itself, and its production would mark, I think, the first time that the Chassidic milieu has been presented in English as something other than a sombre setting for a dybbuk. It is a milieu, I feel, which may attract you both for its exoticism and for the special opportunities which its mise-en-scène, choreography, music, and natural gaiety may provide. I know from your writings that you are familiar with both the folklore and the historic background of this play. I wish to add only one remark about its language. The play which ought to be presented, I think, as musical comedy, is written in an idiom which while preserving, of course, intelligibility as English, reproduces as far as possible the rhythms and raciness of authentic Yiddish speech. Your familiarity with what Synge did with Gaelic idiom will convey to you my intentions, at least, with regard to this Yiddish idiom. I do hope that you will not consider this unsolicited missive an imposition: having no connection with the theatre in New York I find myself compelled to make my admiration for your work my bond of introduction. I would appreciate it greatly therefore if you would consider this manuscript and let me know whether its production interests you. Yours truly, AMK:BK Encl.

To Father Stanley Murphy s.j., Assumption College 236 Querbes Ave, Montreal, Jan. 24, 1956

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Dear Father Murphy, Enclosed please find the two small photographs you requested. I plan to leave by plane on Feb. 6, at 11:30 a.m., arriving in Windsor at 3:45 p.m. I hope that that is conformable to the schedule of activities you have in mind. If not, please let me know. I would also appreciate hearing from you as to how long I am supposed to speak; how much time for the talk on Hopkins, how much time for reading of my own poems. Looking forward to meeting with you I am Cordially yours

To Harry Aronovitch March 6th, 1956. Mr. Harry Aronovitch, 660 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal, Que. Dear Harry: Enclosed please find copy of letter sent this day to the Secretary of the Bar. I want also to take this opportunity of thanking you for the pleasantness of our association throughout these years. You are on your own now, and I wish you the best of luck. Cordially, AMK:BK

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To Samuel Chait March 6th, 1956 Mr. Sam Chait, 660 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal, Que. Dear Sam: Enclosed please find copy of letter sent this day to the Secretary of the Bar. I want to take this opportunity of thanking you once again for the many pleasant years of our association, and to wish you the best of luck. Cordially, AMK:BK

To Bar Association of Montreal March 6th, 1956. Secretary, Bar Association of Montreal, Court House, Montreal, Que. Dear Sir: This is to inform you that I am no longer associated with the firm of Chait, Klein and Aronovitch, 660 St. Catherine St. West, that I am not practising law, nor do I intend to do so in the future. I would appreciate

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it, therefore, if you would remove my name from the roll of advocates, and do such other things as are required in the premises. Thanking you, I am, Yours truly, AMK:BK

To the Bar Association of the Province of Quebec March 9, 1956 General Secretary of the Bar of the Province of Quebec, 159 Craig St. West, Montreal, Que. Dear Sir: This is to inform you that I am no longer associated with the firm of Chait, Klein and Aronovitch, 660 St. Catherine St. West, that I am not practising law, nor do I intend to do so in the future. I would appreciate it, therefore, if you would remove my name from the roll of advocates, and do such other things as are required in the premises. Thanking you, I am, Yours truly, AMK:BK

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To Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr. March 14th, 1956. Mr. Thorndike, Thorndike, Jensen, & Parton, Inc., 551 Fifth Avenue, New York 17, N.Y. Dear Mr. Thorndike: Many thanks for your letter of March 5th, together with enclosures, all of which I found very interesting. I was pleased to note that the writers on the various subjects are to be specialists from the Time organization and am eagerly awaiting the production of their manuscripts. With kindest regards, Yours truly, AMK:BK

To Father Murphy, S.J., Assumption College June 28th, 1956. Father Murphy, Assumption University of Windsor, Windsor, Ont. Dear Father Murphy: Many thanks for your invitation for yesterday. I cannot tell, however, at this date whether it will be possible for me to undertake a lecture for the date that you indicate. My situation this year is different from that which it was last year. Then I was a practising lawyer and able to dispose of my

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time as I wished. Now I am a salaried employee of an industrial concern, where my duties are such that I must be available for its purposes at all times. I have accordingly not undertaken to give any lectures this year. Should it become possible within the ambit of my present duties to undertake another lecture I will be glad to let you know. Sincerely,

To Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr. June 28th, 1956. Mr. Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen & Parton, Inc., 551 Fifth Avenue, New York 17, N.Y. Dear Mr. Thorndike, This is to acknowledge receipt of the chapter on Science by Mr. Leonard. I agree with you in your generally favourable estimate of this essay. It is interesting, well-arranged, and thought-provoking. Moreover, the fact that it runs over to the extent of 2000 words will no doubt facilitate your editorial efforts to bring the chapter into harmony both with the other chapters in the book and with its general tenor. I am looking forward to the receipt of the other chapters. With kindest personal regards, Yours truly, AMK:BK

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To Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr. August 21st, 1956. Mr. J.J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen & Parton, Inc., 551 Fifth Avenue, New York 17, N.Y. Dear Mr. Thorndike: It was nice to hear your voice on the phone the other day, although I did regret that at the time I had not yet collected my thoughts on the chapter which I had just received, and therefore was unable to give you anything more than a general reaction. I agree with your overall remarks on the Handlin chapter. I would add only that Mr. Handlin might perhaps in some preliminary paragraphs indicate the contribution to the American picture which has been made by the original first comers, the British, French, and Spanish populations. The purpose of the chapter, as I understand it, is to portray America as the composite achievement of a variety of ethnic groups; in our desire to do justice to the immigrants of the nineteenth century we must not, I think, overlook the contribution of the first pioneers. I know that the book is concerned only with the last century, but that does not preclude a general survey and tribute to what came before. The Economics of Abundance chapter makes, I think, an excellent and highly readable case for the ‘people’s capitalism’. Here and there there might be a personal remark to which the writer’s attention might be drawn, but I think that that can wait until after the entire manuscript is in. The Entertainment chapter as I told you on the phone, is a brilliant piece of work. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely, AMK:BK

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To Mrs. Métivier, Royal Society of Canada July 26, 1957 Dear Mrs. Métivier, I was very sorry, indeed, not to have been able to be present at Ottawa on June 10th there to express my thanks and appreciation for the honour which the Royal Society of Canada conferred upon me in awarding me its Medal. I would be much obliged to you, therefore, if you would convey to the Society both my gratitude for the award and my apologies for the inconvenience caused by my absence from the dinner at which the medals were received. Thanking you, I am, Sincerely yours, A.M. Klein

To Samuel Bronfman August 7th, 1957. Dear Mr. Sam: I am writing you now because I do not wish that the annual report story be delayed, but I must admit that I have encountered a number of difficulties in this matter. They are as follows: I know of Canadian history only as much as the average person does; for the purpose of this essay, however, and for the prestige of the House of Seagram, there is required a professional knowledge which I realize I do not have. It is true that there are books from which information may be gathered, but it is only an authority on the subject who can select properly the salient features of Canadian history for inclusion in an essay such as we have in mind. If I make errors of omission or inclusion they are subject to criticism against which neither the House of Seagram nor I, since I am not a writer of history, can make defense. When it is realized

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further that in this story we must inevitably come upon questions which are necessarily controversial, there loom up additional risks in which I naturally would not wish the House of Seagram to be involved. Apart from the above, which are difficulties due to the fact that the writing of history is not my field, it must be remembered that this is no ordinary annual report – though Seagram’s annual reports have not been ordinary – but a centennial one. This issue might be met, therefore, by having some recognized authority in Canadian history, who, in his studies has already decided what are considered the decisive occasions, in Canadian history, and who is au courant with all the latest developments and statistics, write the story. In this wise, all the opinions expressed in the article would have behind them the authority of previous acceptance. Certainly it would be an anti-climax for the House of Seagram, which published Leacock’s History in 1941 now to publish on this occasion a story written by me. As for protection against controversial matters, that I suppose, could be arranged with the writer chosen. What would have to be indicated is that there is desired an essay which while relating the story of Canadian progress for the past hundred years, concerns itself only with positive achievements; which, while ignoring conflicts which preceded beneficial results, emphasizes only the results, and which, while considering Canada’s position in the world as a political entity, directs its view largely upon the forward march of the Canadian people. In addition to such a story, there would be, of course, the introduction by yourself, telling of the centennial advance of the House of Seagram. I am sorry to have to admit to inadequacy for a purpose which I suggested myself, but coming close to the subject revealed to me difficulties unforseen at the time of our conversation, and it is better, I think, that this little delay should have been caused, then that ignoring such difficulties we should rush into something which would run the risk of obtaining effects other than those desired. Sincerely, I am at a loss therefore to know what to do. Should I go ahead and do the best that I can?

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To Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press Aug. 28, 1957 Dear Dr. Pierce: Many thanks for your letter of the fourteenth. The terms on which you granted permission for the use of the poems from The Rocking Chair are certainly satisfactory to me. As for the bringing out of a collected edition of my work, an offer which I greatly appreciate, I do not know whether I am, as you so correctly surmise, quite ready for it. There are so many things to consider – selection of poems, my obligations to my other publishers, addition of unpublished work, etc. – I shall certainly be thinking of your suggestion, and, should I find the project possible, shall write to you. I was indeed sorry that it was impossible for me to be in Ottawa for the meeting of The Royal Society, and not least because it would have provided me the opportunity of meeting you. With kindest personal regards, Sincerely A.M. Klein

To Samuel Bronfman January 6th, 1958. Dear Mr. Sam: Enclosed please find draft for introductory paragraphs to the ‘Proceedings.’ I am also returning the galleys with some notations for the proof-reader. I note that while biographical data is given about the scientists in the panel, the representatives of the press and television are not so treated. It may be, of course, that the space on page 63 is designed for that purpose.

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Having done this, I must now say, that I am not entirely convinced about the desirability of The House of Seagram publishing the proceedings. What The House of Seagram wished to do was to go on from the achievements of the past hundred years to show what possibilities knowledge and goodwill might fulfil in the brave new world of the next century. Unfortunately the picture of certain aspects of the next century which emerges from a number of passages in the proceedings is such that must arouse the opposition of a very large number of people. I refer, for example, to Dr. Muller’s remarks, on pages 33, 34, 35. I have nothing to say about their scientific validity, it is people’s reaction that I am concerned with, and here I must assert that there are millions of people to whom these notions – birth control; test-tube procreation; foster pregnancy; etc. – are most unacceptable as a description of a goal towards which the next century strives. Such a reaction may be expected not only from members of the Roman Catholic faith, to whom this question is fundamental, but also from members of other groups to whom such ideas by no means appear as ideals. They are ideas that run counter to their standards of belief and behaviour, and certainly form no part of their hopes for the future. They are, indeed, ideas which must provoke resentment from many people. The expression of such aspirations for the future, moreover, is not confined to Dr. Muller. On p. 17, Dr. Szent-Gyorgi hopes to solve the problem of birth-control as a means of adding to the stabilization of the world’s structure. On p. 21, Dr. Brown asks whether we will be able to slow down the rate of growth of the world’s population. On p. 31, Dr. Bonner too, calls for stabilization of world population. On p. 49, Dr. Furnas says: ‘Despite all the genetic dreams of Dr. Muller, I think that people, although perhaps improved, will still be people. I don’t believe that you can do it by formula.’ But, of course, millions question whether it should be done at all. Let me here emphasize the difference between holding the symposium and publishing its proceedings. The first was a splendid idea, occurred at a time when audiences were heartened to learn that American scientists had their eyes fixed firmly toward the future, and the announcement that such a symposium was to take place redounded greatly to the credit of its sponsor. No objection could be taken then to any of the remarks of the speakers and directed against The House of Seagram. The speakers were heard speaking with their own voices, and theirs was

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the responsibility for what was said. To The House of Seagram went only the credit for providing an opportunity to acknowledged leaders of American science to give their views, and this at a most timely juncture in world affairs. Now, however, the situation is quite different. Publication by The House of Seagram of these proceedings may be understood by the reader – and by many will most certainly so be understood – as sponsorship of the kind of century that is here outlined. Now it is more than a meeting which is sponsored; now opinions appear to be sponsored. I do not think that this is desirable. How can this difficulty be met? Two alternatives suggest themselves. 1. To delete or censor what are considered the controversial remarks. Such a procedure is objectionable on principle. I know that there were deletions in the radio broadcast, but here, of course, it was the exigency of time which impelled them. 2. To declare in the introduction that the opinions expressed in the publication are those of the scientists, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The House of Seagram. This, too, is undesirable. No matter how phrased, it would not only be a repudiation of the guest-panelists, but would serve also to draw earlier attention to the controversial question. I regret to have to find myself once again in the position of raising doubts – to disapprove is your prerogative – about something on which so much thought and effort has been expended. But since from the introduction you would not gather that there were any possible objections to the publication of this document, – I find it necessary to draw these things to your attention in this letter. Yours, As ever, enclosure In celebrating the centennial of its founding The House of Seagram arranged among other events evoked by the occasion, for the publication of a panoramic survey of the achievements which during the past hundred years had been accomplished for the universal good by mankind in general. It was inevitable, of course, that this record of the ten indispensable decades, full, as they were, of inspiring accomplishment and progress, should lead to the question: What of the next hundred years?

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To provide an answer to this question, insofar as such an answer was possible, The House of Seagram sponsored a symposium to which were invited some of America’s most distinguished scientists, men pre-eminent in their respective fields of endeavour, as well as an interviewing panel of leading authorities on public opinion. From such a source, certainly, it might be possible to glean some insight, founded on knowledge and based on scientific calculation, into the prospects which lay ahead. The discussions which ensued constituted for all who attended the symposium an event most memorable. Covering the widest area of human affairs and interest, there emerged from the predictions of the participants in the panel two great themes: – first, that the possibilities for human happiness and fulfillment in the century ahead may well transcend the goals of even the greatest optimist of today, and second, that such a consummation may be achieved only if the progress of human goodwill keeps pace with the progress in human knowledge. Because there are themes to which, we think, all should give thought, because the members of the panel elaborated both the challenge and the promise of the next century with an authority, at once readable and profound, and because it is everybody who is involved in the making of the future, The House of Seagram is proud and happy to present in the pages which follow the record of this historic symposium.

To Samuel Bronfman March 4, 1958 Dear Mr. Sam, Please accept, with my good wishes and congratulations, this present for your birthday. Because this year your birthday virtually coincides with the celebration of the Festival of Purim, a joyous holiday, and because of you, too, it may be said, as of Mordecai the hero of that occasion, that he is ‘great among the Jews, next unto the king, accepted of the multitude, seeking the good of his people.’ I have chosen this antique illuminated scroll of the Megillah to bring to you my feelings of admiration and good-will. May there be many birthdays for you upon which you may look upon

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this scroll, always to remember that it is but an accessory to the good wishes for continuing health and happiness which accompany it. Yours Affectionately Abe

To Samuel Abramson May 11, 1959 Dear Sam, Many thanks for your letter of the third, and enclosure. It was startling to learn that Dr. Wise thought what he thought of my work. I shall be looking forward to the publication of Dr. Wise’s letters. Myself I have not been feeling too well lately and have had to stay put for a not inconsiderable time. I now get about vicariously, through the activities of my friends – lucky fellow, you, Europe again! Please remember me to Jimmy and Fishzoha. Kindest regards to Evelyn. Cordially Abe. P.S. And this time when you come to Montreal, do get in touch with me.

To Samuel Bronfman [4 Mar. 1966] Mr. Samuel Bronfman, House of Seagram, 375 Park Ave, New York, N.Y.

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Many happy returns of the day and all good wishes for health & long life. May the years to come bring you happiness and the fulfilment of what is in your own heart and in the heart of your friend. Abe Klein

To Samuel Bronfman Mar. 4th / 67 CNR Tel. 866-8411 Mr. Samuel Bronfman, Safety Harbor Spa, Safety Harbor, Florida Happy Birthday to you, and all good wishes for health and long life. May the years to come bring you fulfilment of what is in your heart and may your heart’s desires be so inspired that they find favor in the eyes of Him who authorizes in this realm and so phrased that they win only good and happiness for yourself, your family, your friends and all who in these wishes join. Abe Klein

Abbreviations

works by klein Volumes in The Collected Works Beyond Sambation: Selected Essays and Editorials 1928–1955. Ed. M.W. Steinberg and Usher Caplan. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1982 CP Complete Poems. Ed. Zailig Pollock. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1990 LER Literary Essays and Reviews. Ed. Usher Caplan and M.W. Steinberg. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1987 NB Notebooks: Selections from the A.M. Klein Papers. Ed. Zailig Pollock and Usher Caplan. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1994 SS The Second Scroll. Ed. Elizabeth Popham and Zailig Pollock. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 2000. Stories Short Stories. Ed. M.W. Steinberg. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1983 BS

Books and pamphlets H HNJ P RC

The Hitleriad. New York: New Directions 1944 Hath Not a Jew … New York: Behrman’s Jewish Book House 1940 Poems. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society 1944 The Rocking Chair. Toronto: The Ryerson Press 1948

archival collections AJHS

American Jewish Historical Society (Waltham, Massachusetts)

280

Abbreviations

Wise Stephen S. Wise Collection, 1893–1969 Canadian Jewish Congress Archives (Montreal, Quebec) Concordia University Archives and Special Collections (Montreal, Quebec) Layton Irving Layton Collection Sutherland John Sutherland Papers Edel Leon Edel Papers (Container 15), Special Collections, McLennan Library, McGill University (Montreal, Quebec) FRBL Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario) Birney Earle Birney Papers Smith A.J.M. Smith Papers Guggenheim John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Archives (New York, New York) HRC Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas (Austin, Texas) Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Records, 1873–1996 JPL Jewish Public Library (Montreal, Quebec) LAC Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) Becker Lavy Becker fonds, 1937–76 Brown Edward Killoran Brown fonds, 1865–1980 Caplan Usher Caplan fonds, 1927–76 Kennedy Leo Kennedy fonds, 1927–75 Klein Abraham Moses Klein fonds, 1879–1979 Lewis David Lewis fonds, 1919–81 Mason Ellsworth Goodwin Mason fonds, 1948–52 OJA Ottawa Jewish Archives (Ottawa, Ontario) PJAC Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) JPS Jewish Publication Society Papers, Box 24 QueensU Queen’s University Archives (Kingston, Ontario) Crawley Alan Crawley fonds, 1941–70 Pierce Lorne Pierce fonds, [ca. 1920]–1961 UChicago Special Collections Research Centre, University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois) Poetry Modern Poetry Manuscript Collection, USask University of Saskatchewan Library (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Gustafson Ralph Gustafson Papers UWO University of Western Ontario Archives, James Alexander and Rea Benson Special Collections (London, Ontario) Collin William Edwin Collin Fonds CJCA Concordia

Abbreviations VUL

281

Victoria University Library (Toronto, Ontario) Pratt E.J. Pratt fonds, 1884–1982 Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (New Haven, Connecticut) Slocum James Joyce Collection, Series IV: Slocum and Cahoon Material (box 537: 1947–51) YIVO Institute Archives, New York, New York

YaleU

YIVO periodicals CF CJC MJ

Canadian Forum Canadian Jewish Chronicle Menorah Journal

other abbreviations CCF CJC DLB JPS LOTD NHY OED

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Canadian Jewish Congress Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale Research Co. 1978– Jewish Publication Society Usher Caplan. Like One That Dreamed: A Portrait of A.M. Klein. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. 1982 ‘The Next Hundred Years’: A Scientific Symposium. New York: Joseph Seagram and Sons 1957 The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1993–

letterhead LH1 LH2 LH3 LH4 LH5 LH6

A.M. Klein, B.A., LL.L./ Barrister & Soliciter / ... / Suite 204, Insurance Exchange Bldg. / 276 St. James West / Montreal [1933] Klein & Garmaise / Advocates, Barristers & Solicitors / ... / Suite 5 / Dominion Bank Bldg. / Bleury & St. Catherine Sts. / Montreal [1936] Klein & Garmaise / Advocates / ... / Suites 6 &7 / Picard Block / 37 Main Street / Rouyn, Que. [1938] Klein & Garmaise / Barristers & Solicitors /... / 20 St. James St. East / Suite 40 / Montreal [1939] A.M. Klein, B.A., LL.L./ Barrister & Solicitor [1940–52] A.M. Klein, B.A., LL.L./ Barrister & Solicitor / 276 St. James West / Suite 418 / Montreal [1940–9]

282 LH7

LH8

LH9

LH10

LH11

Abbreviations Chait & Klein / Barristers & Solicitors / Samuel Chait / A.M. Klein / Telephone Marquette 1107* // Insurance Exchange Building / 276 St. James Street West / Montreal [1941–9] Chait, Klein & Aronovitch / Advocates · Barristers · Solicitors /Samuel Chait / A.M. Klein / N.L. Aronovitch // Telephone * Marquette 1107 / University Tower / 660 St. Catherine St. W / Montreal [1949–51] Chait, Klein & Aronovitch / Advocates · Barristers · Solicitors / Samuel Chait / A.M. Klein / N.L. Aronovitch // Telephone * Marquette 1107 / Suite 524 / University Tower / 660 St. Catherine St. W. / Montreal [1951] Chait, Klein & Aronovitch / Advocates, Barristers and Solicitors / Samuel Chait / A.M. Klein / N.L. Aronovitch // University 6.9567 / University Tower / 660 St. Catherine St. West. / Montreal [1951–2] A.M. Klein /236 Querbes Avenue / Montreal, Que. [1951–8]

Textual Notes and Emendations

Harriet Monroe, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (13 May 1928). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten on lined paper. Notations by Poetry editors: stamped in upper left corner, ‘MAY 10 1928 / ANS’D H.M.’; ‘Klein P’ in upper right corner. 3 enclose] enclosed your copy altered to your own Rose Carlofsky (22 Dec. 1928). Rose Carlofsky fonds, OJA; photocopies in LAC. Handwritten on plain paper; enclosed poems, typed (‘Discovery of Spring,’ ‘Sonnet,’ ‘Last Will and Testament,’ ‘Midnight Awakening,’ and ‘Symbols’). 4 poems w altered to poems written 30th [..] fo[..] in altered to 30th [..] in Harriet Monroe, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (19 Apr. 1931). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten on plain paper. Notations by Poetry editors: in upper left corner, ‘answ’d/ May 13 31’; at the centre of the top margin, ‘acd 1/ sonnet’; and in the upper right corner, ‘Klein P.’ 5 your encouraging altered to the encouraging poems, ‘Heirlooms,’] poems, altered to poems Heirlooms, proxy before altered to proxy for Jewish Publication Society (16 Sept. 1931). JPS, PJAC. Handwritten on plain paper. Bessie Kozlov (Oct. 1931). Klein, LAC. The two sonnets – ‘Here they are – all those sunny April days’ [CP 1.215] and ‘Think not, my dear, because I do

284

Textual Notes pp. 6–13

not call’ [‘Sonnet III,’ CP 1.217] – are addressed ‘To Bessie’ in a gift copy of Edna St Vincent Millay’s Poems. ‘Here they are – all those sunny April days’ 6 dog roses] dogroses The altered to Unchristened fire-flies altered to fieldflies Jewish Publication Society (3 Feb. 1932). JPS, PJAC. Typed on letterhead [The Federation of Young Judaea of Canada / ...] by ‘EW.’ 6 ‘Greeting] ‘Greetings Joseph Frank (25 Sept. 1933). Joseph Frank. Handwritten on LH1. 8 little ma[.] altered to little one David Lewis (24 Nov. 1934). Lewis, lac. Post Office Telegraphs form, signed; date-stamped 24 November 1934. Jewish Publication Society (1 Mar. 1935). JPS, PJAC. Typed on letterhead [The Federation of Young Judaea of Canada / …] by ‘S’; 2 sheets, numbered. W.E. Collin (13 July 1936). Collin, UWO. Typed by ‘mz,’ LH2. 10 passing altered to passing thru David Lewis (5 July 1937). Lewis, LAC. Canadian National Telegram form, signed; date-stamped 5 July 1937. Joseph Frank (8 Jan. 1938). Joseph Frank. Handwritten LH3. 11 from you.] from you ease (and … ), leave] ease, (and … ) leave Samuel Abramson (4 June 1938). Samuel Abramson. Handwritten on plain paper; 4 sheets with pages numbered. 12 sybarite [....] altered to sybarite would Joseph Frank (5 Aug. 1938). Joseph Frank. Typed: sheet 1, LH3; sheet 2 on plain paper. Closing [‘Sincerely’] handwritten. 13 Northen [sic] altered to Northern exchange. Wherefore] exchange. Wherefor a serie[.] altered to series

Textual Notes pp. 13–20

285

13 Indeed, I though altered to Indeed, I thought 14 autochthonoous [sic] altered to autochthonous Hab[.]i [sic] altered to Halevi opis [sic] altered to opus ‘[.]hilde altered to ‘Childe Steph[.]n altered to Stephen printer’s devit [sic] altered to printer’s devil stands, like] stands like friends, or altered to friends, and from becoming] from become world’s goods] worlds goods shtunks] shtun[.]s altered to shtunks assail him. altered to assail him! slefishness [sic] altered to selfishness [.]hromosome [sic] altered to chromosome H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (29 Dec. 1938). CJCA. Typed by ‘JG,’ LH3. Leo Kennedy (2 June 1939). Usher Caplan. Typed by ‘PA,’ LH4. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (22 Aug. 1939). CJCA. Typed by ‘EC,’ LH4. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (24 Aug. 1939). CJCA. Typed by ‘EC,’ LH4. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (25 Aug. 1939). CJCA. Typed by ‘EC,’ LH4. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (16 Oct. 1939). CJCA. Typed, LH4. 19 is to take place altered to took place Leon Edel (13 Dec. 1939). Leon Edel. Typed by ‘RF,’ LH4; 2 sheets. Handwritten corrections throughout in heavy ink, often obscuring the original typescript. The nature and frequency of the corrections suggest that the letter was dictated. 20 advice] advise Olompian [sic] Heights altered to Olympian heights Finnegans Wake] Finnegan’s Wake

286

Textual Notes pp. 20–5

20 New Republic,] New Republic only descry] only describe siction [sic] altered to Section Finnegans Wake] Finnigan’s Wake ‘calling altered to ‘Calling intelligable [sic] altered to intelligible and found it] and found its m[......] balder dash altered to mainly balderdash Sherlock we return altered to Shylock’s return rhetorical] retorical [sic] Samuel Abramson (6 Jan. 1940). Samuel Abramson. Handwritten, LH5; 1 sheet. 21 the most altered to with money Leo Kennedy (15 Mar. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 78–9]. Typed by ‘RF’; sheet 2, numbered. Unsigned carbon copy. 22 preferred it altered to preferred if sympathy ha[.] altered to sympathy had 23 Hiter [sic] altered to Hitler that time and] that time an Leo Kennedy (29 Apr. 1940). Usher Caplan. Handwritten, LH6. 23 whether you [....] altered to whether you will me a note] me and note Samuel Abramson (6 May 1940). Samuel Abramson. Typed by ‘EG,’ lh5. 24 Eagle] Eagel [sic] waited altered to waits was altered to is indicated,] indicated Samuel Abramson (31 May 1940). Samuel Abramson. Typed by ‘EG,’ LH5; 1 sheet. 25 Galitzianers] Gallitzianers [sic] Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] (7 June 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 90]. Typed by ‘EG’; unsigned carbon copy. Notations in top margin: left side, ‘White Savanna [sic] / Kennedy & Edel articles / Dr. Brown’; centre, ‘Write L[.] lly / Benedict’; right, ‘Bring to Morgan Powell. / Menorah Journal.’ 25 S. Charney] F. Charney

Textual Notes pp. 26–34

287

E.K. Brown (17 Oct. 1940). Brown, LAC. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH5. 26 identification altered to identity Naturally altered to Naturally, difference. altered to difference! Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] (31 Oct. 1940). Original in yivo Archives; carbon copy in Klein, LAC [MS 106]. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6. 27 S. Charney] F. Charney embarrassment] embarrasment Curiosities] curiosities Leo Kennedy (31 Oct. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 107]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. 28 arian] arien [sic] Seven Arts Features Syndicate (6 Nov. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 108]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. Editor, OPINION (21 Nov. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 116]. Typed on plain paper by ‘AF’; unsigned carbon copy. Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST (21 Nov. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 117]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. Handwritten note beside ‘enc/’: ‘Psalm 152 / Psalm 153.’ Henry Hurwitz, MENORAH JOURNAL (5 Dec. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 119]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. Handwritten notation in bottom left margin: ‘165 / 175’ altered to ‘166 / 176.’ Leo Kennedy (7 Jan. 1941). Klein, LAC [MS 125]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. Bernard G. Richards, Jewish Information Bureau (7 Jan. 1941). Klein, LAC [MS 126]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. 32 itself a not] itself and not reprehensible] reprehensible, Ralph Gustafson (14 Jan. 1941). Gustafson, USask. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6. 33 N.Y.] N.W. [sic] your kind altered to the kind 34 you wrought [sic] altered to you ought

288

Textual Notes pp. 34–41

34 you with altered to you, with Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] (21 Jan. 1941). YIVO. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6; 3 sheets, numbered. 34 of the altered by hand to of the     school. Yiddish -- altered by hand to     etc. would however altered to would, however, 35 writing altered to writing   static] stattic [sic] alien culture are] alien culture is Greek love altered to Greek lore failure, however, when] failure however when Maimonides’] Maimonides 36 Latin. altered to Latin! Samuel Abramson (24 Mar. 1941). Samuel Abramson. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6. Samuel Bronfman (24 Mar. 1941). Klein, LAC [MS 140]. Handwritten, LH6. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (26 Mar. 1941). CJCA. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6; enclosure – Passover message to be issued to the Jewish press by Samuel Bronfman – on plain paper. Enclosure 38 even as altered to even 39 destroyed. altered to destroyed! George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (13 Aug. 1941). Poetry, UChicago. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. A.J.M. Smith (28 Nov. 1941). Smith, FRBL. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; 2 sheets with sheet 2 numbered; handwritten postscript. 40 a mere altered to mere Medalist altered to Medallist [sic] 41 a Continental altered to an American Continental Renaissance] Rennaissance [sic] publisher, whom] publisher, who, altered to publisher, from whom, Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (18 Feb. 1942). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 41 Leventhal altered to Levinthal

Textual Notes pp. 42–7

289

42 Murals … of God, altered to ‘Murals … of God,’ Yehuda … Pilgrimage altered to ‘Yehuda … Pilgrimage’ Ralph Gustafson (1 Apr. 1942). Gustafson, USask. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Return address emended by hand to include ‘suite 503.’ 42 Ralph] Rolph [sic] Ralph Gustafson (18 June 1942). Gustafson, USask. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 43 Ralph] Rolph [sic] I have yet again to see altered to Have you seen content. altered to content? Contemporary Canadian Writing pamphlet] Contemporary Canadian Writing Abraham G. Duker, CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RECORD (26 June 1942). Klein, LAC [MS 156–8]. Typed, with handwritten addition to postscript; unsigned carbon copy. There is also a draft of this letter [MS 154–5]: typed, plain paper, double-spaced, with handwritten revisions. As the final version is substantially changed, revisions are not recorded in the textual notes; comments which clarify the final version are referred to in the explanatory notes [pp. 356–7]. 44 not phoney!).] not phoney!) 45 to bow. altered to to bow – all [but] the] all the known that] known than Abie] abie stutterer, adds] stutterer adds It’s good] Its good [sic] archives, it] archives, It [sic] myself. altered to myself in American funds A.J.M. Smith (7 July 1942). Smith, FRBL. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. A.J.M. Smith (22 July 1942). Smith, FRBL. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (7 Aug. 1942). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; 12 sheets, numbered. Marginal notes in another hand (pp. 6–10) indicate page numbers and deletions. The Klein fonds contain a draft of this letter [MS 161–76]: typed, plain paper, double-spaced; 16 pages, numbered. The nature of the errors in spelling and usage suggest that the draft was dictated and subsequently corrected by Klein.

290

Textual Notes pp. 47–53

47 place. Your] place, and your altered to place. Your MS 161 ‘to stand mute’] to stand ‘mute’ altered to ‘to stand mute’ MS 161 48 you considered] you consider altered to you considered MS 162 vigorously, – with] vigorously – at altered to vigorously – with MS 162 enough to mean nothing.] to mean anything. altered to enough to mean nothing. MS 162 its interests are broad, its responses immediate, and its readers general.] ‘broad interests striking an immediate emotional response in the general reader.’ altered to its interests are broad, its responses immediate, and its readers general. MS 162–3 49 imprimateur [sic] altered to imprimatur I know,] I know altered to I know, MS 163 one, in] one, and altered to one, in MS 164 Niger, the] Niger, a altered to Niger, the MS 164 this his] this, his altered to this his MS 164 is Niger’s, –] is Niger’s, altered to is Niger’s, – MS 164 Keats’ line about ‘leaving] Keats’s ‘To leave altered to Keats’ line about ‘leaving MS 164 sensitivity] and sensitivy altered to sensitivity MS 164 Gemara] Gemorrah altered to Gemara MS 164 knows is] knows, is altered to knows is MS 165 his Semitic] this Semitic altered to his Semitic MS 165 50 (Almost,] ([.]lmost altered to (Almost, MS 166 for him.] for him, for himself!] for himself. altered to for himself! MS 167 (It is] (It will be well altered to (It is MS 167 50–1 to be remembered] to remember altered to to be remembered MS 167 51 ‘derivative’] derivative altered to ‘derivative’ MS 167 ‘badly’?] ‘badly.’ altered to ‘badly’? MS 169 audience] mass meeting altered to audience MS 169 52 elsewhere.] elsewhere. Embarrassing only to eunuchs. altered to elsewhere. MS 170 it, if] it if altered to it, if MS 170 Haktani is] Also altered to Haktani is MS 171 Your reader is very observant.] He is very sharp. altered to Your reader is very sharp. MS 171 53 Review of … College] Review of the Theological College altered to Review of Hebrew Union College MS 172 Page 56 deleted MS 172 benediction –    ] benediction. altered to benediction – MS 172

Textual Notes pp. 54–6

291

54 a German] a German altered to the German MS 174 Haktani does] Do altered to H. does MS 174 Haktani can] Can altered to H. can MS 174 as respectively indicated] or some of them altered to as respectively indicated MS 174 Hurwitz (of] Hurwitz, of hope, my] hope my altered to hope, my MS 175 the spirit in which they are written] good part altered to the spirit in which they are written MS 175 If the altered to If they sharp, blame Haktani’s attorney; I know] kibitzing, I hope altered to sharp, blame Haktani’s attorney; I know MS 175 in good part] like a trojan altered to in good part MS 175 I, too, am] I am altered to I, too, am MS 175 ruat coelum. It is the mealy-mouth which is suspicion. [suspicion altered to suspicious.] ] ruat coelum. altered to ruat coelum. It is the mealy-mouth which is suspicious. MS 175 55 wondering, too] wondering too altered to wondering, too MS 175 Record, some of whom] Record, who altered to Record, some of whom MS 175 gratae. If his suspicion … outlook.] gratae. altered to gratae and they know it. If his suspicion is unfounded, he apologizes, and sets [sets altered to puts] the whole matter down [down altered to back] in its proper perspective – a difference in educational background and cultural outlook. MS 175 book.] book. The J.P.S. is [is altered to will be] as much honoured by its association with Haktani, as Haktani is honoured by his association with it. altered to book. MS 175 with them] with these remarks therefore, altered to with them MS 176 been entirely] been chiefly altered to been entirely MS 176 yourself, and] yourself, altered to yourself, and MS 176 kindest personal regards and Zion’s greetings] cordial greetings altered to kindest regards and Zion’s greetings MS 176 George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (31 Aug. 1942). Poetry, UChicago. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Peter DeVries, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (29 Sept. 1942). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten, LH7. 56 shave of Ga altered to shave of Plato

292

Textual Notes pp. 57–60

Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (25 Nov. 1942). Klein, LAC [MS 192]. Typed by ‘FP’; carbon copy, unsigned. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (3 Nov. 1942). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. Also handwritten draft without date, address or closing [Klein, LAC (MS 194)] on 1 sheet of plain paper. 58 Sir,] Sir: MS 194 Accordingly, herein ] E[?]gal, the former is the method: herein MS 194 required, if at all required] required MS 194 ‘Variation on a Theme,’ ‘Sennet from Gheel,’ ‘Spring Exhibit’] Variation on a Theme, Sennet from Gheel, Spring Exhibit, Song without Music, Phyllis O’Fee MS 194 The wild] In these the direction MS 194 careful walk] the walking MS 194 I believe] ¶ I have felt Finnegans Wake has uncovered] Finnegan’s Wake has discovered MS 194 the virtues of music, not by music echolalia, but by releasing simultaneously a swarm of concordant melodies] that music where several melodies are simultaneously released MS 194 you may pass this on to your editorial board which does so much – and so worthily – for Joyce – ] I throw out the suggestion in gratis – MS 194 Purple Patches in the Wake of Finnegan. It] ‘Semi-lucid Intervals in Joyce’ or Purple Patches in the Wake of Finnegan’ – it MS 194 though [altered to although] still, perhaps margaritae ante porcos.] price. MS 194 Poetry] Poetry Magazine MS 194 The other poems … came from. ¶ Of myself] ¶ Of myself MS 194 traditions which altered to traditions. myself: I … mai il fait vivre! – ] myself: – I … vivre!; MS 194 Hath Not a Jew] Hath Not a Jew (1940) MS 194 Poetry, American Caravan, Canadian Anthology, Canadian Forum, Menorah Journal] Poetry, American Caravan, Canadian Forum, Menorah Journal etc. MS 194 sons. Have] sons. I have MS 194 are), boxer] are) boxer Peter DeVries, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (20 Nov. 1942). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten, LH7. Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (25 Nov. 1942). JPS, PJAC.

Textual Notes pp. 60–8

293

Typed, plain paper, with LH7 address dupicated; carbon, marked as ‘COPY’; unsigned. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (4 Jan. 1943). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7. 60 written altered to written in the interim A.J.M. Smith (21 Jan. 1943). Smith, FRBL; carbon in Klein, LAC, MS 198–202. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; sheets 2–5, plain paper, numbered. 61 Goy equals Gentile altered to Goy = Gentile 62 four legs altered to four legs, would unseen altered to would, unseen, this event altered to its events 63 Hitler and altered to Hitler in 64 market-place. altered to market-place? Ralph Gustafson (16 Feb. 1943). Gustafson, USask. Handwritten. LH7. 64 verse; while altered to verse; such Margedant Peters, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (10 Apr. 1943). Poetry, UChicago. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Ralph Gustafson (17 May 1943). Gustafson, USask. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (16 June 1943). New Directions. Typed, LH7. 66 Ralph] Ralf [sic] Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (1 July 1943). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7: sheets 2–8, plain paper, numbered. Handwritten postscript. Carbon copy, without postscript in Klein, LAC [MS 214–20]. 67 believe will, altered to believe, will, which know not altered to which knows not less the foe altered to lest the foe terms, but note altered to terms, – but note, note inserted, right margin – cannabis note inserted, right margin – aconite note inserted, right margin – belladonna note inserted, right margin – digitalis 68 refer to altered to refer to – see above

294

Textual Notes pp. 68–75

68 not completed altered to not clear street,’ but altered to street,’ – but second line altered to second line – privy wall.’ altered to privy wall’? 69 (a) to extend altered to (a) to explain an excited housewife altered to excited housewives landlubbers or altered to landlubbers think to all and altered to to all, and to his rights altered to to his lights 70 in asking in altered to in asking, in ‘spiral’ is altered to ‘spiral’ is OK. a spiral splendid staircase altered to a ‘spiral splendid staircase’ dialectic upon altered to dialectic, upon compatability [sic] altered to compatibility is ‘[.].’ altered to is alcorans. is the legitimate altered to is a legitimate 71 There remains altered to There remain (3) Yehudi [sic] altered to (3) Yehuda 100 pages altered to 100 printed pages final paragraph marked with a vertical line and ? Joseph Dainow (27 Aug. 1943). Becker, LAC. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. 72 said of [..] altered to said of his 73 and children.] and children, James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (10 Sept. 1943). New Directions. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; handwritten postscript. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (Oct. 1943). Guggenheim. Typed transcription of the ‘Biographical Statement’ and ‘Plans for Work’ from Klein’s application for the 1944 fellowship competition (submission deadline 15 October). There is also a draft ‘Fellowship Application Form’ dated 4 October 1943 in the Klein fonds [MS 223–6]. In the section of the draft titled ‘Concise statement of project,’ the creative projects proposed in the completed application are included as an alternative ‘– should such translation not be deemed creative – ’ to ‘[t]he translation into English poetry of the complete Hebrew poems of Chaim Nachman Bialik’ [MS 223]. 75 White Savannahs. Macmillan’s] ‘White Savannahs’ Macmillan’s from the boisterous] from boisterous

Textual Notes pp. 76–90

295

76 Edel (Fellow),] Edel, (Fellow), 78 lines): An] lines) An mankind] manking [sic] 79 from my] from by [sic] A.J.M. Smith (5 Nov. 1943). Klein, LAC [MS 227–33]. Typed, plain paper; 7 sheets, with sheets 2-7 numbered; unsigned carbon copy. Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (30 Nov. 1943). JPS, PJAC. Handwritten, LH7. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (30 Nov. 1943). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7. 84 proofs thereof? altered to proofs thereof – A.J.M. Smith (30 Nov. 1943). Smith, FRBL. Handwritten, LH7; sheets 2–3, plain paper. 84 through a resisting,] through a resisting p[......] altered to pantomime 85 so far is altered to so far has right. M[.] altered to right. I think a Jew; asked altered to a Jew; ask owe to yourself altered to owe it to yourself 86 review in altered to review of ‘Book’ in or New Republic altered to or in New Republic Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (15 Dec. 1943). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; sheets 2–4, plain paper, numbered. 87 order or altered to order of 88 volume, dedicated altered to volume: Dedicated Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society (16 Dec. 1943). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. A.J.M. Smith (Epiphany [6 Jan.] 1944). Smith, FRBL. Handwritten, LH7. 89 was altered to was to see James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (12 Jan. 1944). New Directions. Text of cable on Western Union form.

296

Textual Notes pp. 90–5

A.J.M. Smith (14 Jan. 1944). Smith, FRBL. Handwritten, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper. 91 as you did, altered to as you, last thought altered to last word other on a altered to other a of which you] of which, you half-slut’ – you] half-slut’ you [sic] verse – [...] altered to verse, – but not a[.....] altered to not entirely Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (15 Jan. 1944). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; sheet 2, plain paper, numbered. 92 class[..] description altered to class description James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (17 Jan. 1944). New Directions. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; sheet 2, plain paper, numbered. 93 Laughlin] Laughlan [sic] Laughlin] Laughlan [sic] 94 longings in] longings, in Samuel Bronfman (20 Jan. 1944). Klein, LAC [MS 251]. Typed by ‘F.P.’; 4 sheets, numbered; carbon copy, unsigned. Handwritten draft [MS 249– 50] on 2 sheets of plain paper. 94 Dear … Reporting to you upon my reading, from a public relations point of view] Dear … With reference to altered to Dear … Reporting to you upon my reading of MS 249 I wish to inform you] I would like to draw to your attention the following consider altered to I wish to inform you MS 249 passages to which] passages in which altered to passages in his trans in which MS 249 These were] None of these p altered to These were MS 249 controversy and] controversy or MS 249 ambiguity – and yet not be false to the original.] ambiguity. MS 249 95 ¶ I may] I may MS 249 instances, isolated ones it is true,] instances MS 249 necessary] necessary amen altered to necessary slight MS 249 Insofar] I may add that many th[..] altered to Insofar MS 249 There still remain … sponsored by yourself. ¶ It would seem] ¶ It would seem MS 249 that even a greater degree of care than was exercised before, is] that it is[..] altered to that some extra care is MS 249

Textual Notes p. 95

297

95 the contemplated edition] a version altered to the present version altered to an edition MS 249 written] intended altered to written MS 249 for French distribution] and intended for distribution among FrenchCanadians MS 249 I am] I say this though I am fully aware of the fact that I am, altered to I say this though I am fully aware that I am, MS 249–50 for example] for example, MS 250 emphasis is] emphasis was altered to seems immigration (pages] immigration. (pages 244, 45, 46).] 244, 245, 246 of English version) MS 250 These are opinions, I believe,] a set of opinions which are, I think, MS 250 Quebec.] Quebec. altered to Quebec and altered to Quebec MS 250 Riel (pages] Riel, p altered to Riel t[..], p MS 250 190)] 190, MS 250 ultra ultra] ultra-ultra MS 250 I know of course, that among] Among MS 250 greater mass] greater number MS 250 of readers,] of readers MS 250 will be] will, of course, be MS 250 Leacock’s,] Leacocks [sic] MS 250 is The House] which is the House MS 250 care however,] care, however, MS 250 ¶ For obvious reasons, deletion] Deletion MS 250 above mentioned section] offendi altered to questioned altered to above m[..]t[..] MS 250 the question.] the question, for obvious reasons, ethical and technical altered to the question, for obvious reasons, both ethical and technical MS 250 this difficulty] the problem – if problem it is – altered to the [........] altered to the altered to this difficulty – which may perhaps be imaginary, and again may not altered to this difficulty MS 250 be overcome] be over altered to be overcome MS 250 via] vias [sic] French preface] preface altered to French preface MS 250 this difficulty] the difficulty MS 250 one, but] one; but MS 250 preface therefore,] preface, therefore, MS 250 facts: ¶ That] facts; that MS 250 has already] already altered to has already MS 250 reviewers’ party] reviewers, party

298

Textual Notes pp. 95–101

95 the reviewers’ party or other affiliation; that] party affiliation. That MS 250 96 motivated by the thoughts indicated in the preface of its President, to] to altered to motivated by the thoughts indicated in the preface of its President, to MS 250 history] history, at once inf altered to history, which MS 250 a mine of information] informative altered to a mine of information MS 250 good will,] goodwill between the people which go to make up Canada, MS 250 public, than hitherto had it;] public; MS 250 that unlike] that this is [the first altered to] a history, written by a distinguished English-Canadian, which shows the contribution of French Canada in its proper light; that unlike MS 250 prospects, he] prospects be MS 250 corner-stone] cornerstone MS 250 personal opinions] opinions altered to personal opinions MS 250 of th[e] honest altered to of an honest volume; that it is … proper light, etc. ¶ I believe … words.] volume etc MS 250 can see,] can see’ [sic] Very truly yours,] Yours truly MS 250 Ralph Gustafson (3 Feb. 1944). Gustafson, USask. Handwritten, LH7. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (24 Feb. 1944). New Directions. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 97 we at least altered to we, at least, Elliott [sic] altered to Eliot David Lewis (13 Mar. 1944). Lewis, LAC. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper. 99 chassid[..] altered to       100 are aware altered to are already aware and Davies altered to and the Davies Guy Sylvestre (17 Mar. 1944). Guy Sylvestre. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7; handwritten postscript.. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (22 Mar. 1944). CJCA. Handwritten, LH7.

Textual Notes pp. 101–7

299

James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (29 Mar. 1944). New Directions. Typed by ‘FP’: sheet 1, LH7; sheets 2–3, plain paper, numbered; handwritten postscript. 101 Laughlan [sic] altered to Laughlin 102 Laughlan [sic] altered to Laughlin mightier things altered to mightier themes sweeter quarry. altered to sweeter quarry.’ Baldly, altered to ‘Baldly, for itself.’] for itself. ‘I have felt] I have felt 103 AMK:FP] SMK:FP [sic] Time’s winged] Times winged just write,] just write. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (10 Apr. 1944). New Directions. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. David Lewis (14 Apr. 1944). Lewis, LAC. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper, numbered. 104 therein released.] therein released E.K. Brown (21 Apr. 1944). Brown, LAC. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper. Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society (11 July 1944). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FP’: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper, numbered. Additional notes in two hands – Klein and JPS – in margin. 107 Hath Not … N.Y.: left margin, note in another hand: attached to p. I would … appending: left margin, note in another hand: attached to p. ‘Autobiographical’: left margin, Klein’s note: published in The Canadian Forum and in ‘The Book of Canadian Verse’ by Dr. A.J.M. Smith following ‘Yehuda] following ‘Yehudi [sic] ‘Yehuda Halevi’: right margin, note in another hand: no Yehuda Halevi Contest] Yehudi [sic] Halevi Contest ‘Psalm … drowning’: left margin, note in another hand: too gruesome ‘Psalm … drowning’: right margin, note in Klein’s hand: – published in Opinion Psalm 11: right margin, note in another hand: pagination ‘Psalm … Bread’: right margin, note in Klein’s hand: – published in Preview Psalm 36: right margin, note in another hand: OK

300

Textual Notes pp. 108–16

James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (4 Aug. 1944). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7. 108 bookstores] book-stores magazines altered to magazine give a altered to give me 109 does no altered to does one Guy Sylvestre (30 Aug. 1944). Guy Sylvestre. Handwritten, LH7. 109 dark with altered to dark touching James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (9 Sept. 1944). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. 110 the thing] thing exercises w[..] altered to exercises done this [...] altered to done this for DeWitt Wallace, READER’S DIGEST (7 Oct. 1944). New Directions. Carbon copy. Typed by ‘F.P.,’ LH7. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (10 Oct. 1944). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7. 112 and […] altered to and write to Time M altered to to Life Magazine E.K. Brown (13 Oct. 1944). Brown, LAC. Typed by ‘FP’; sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (18 Oct. 1944). New Directions. Handwritten: sheets 1–3, LH7, numbered; sheets 4–5, plain paper, unnumbered. 114 perhaps the opus altered to perhaps the poem headlines; altered to headlines; – Kip, h[..] altered to Kip, it had said, ‘They] had said. ‘They 115 marranos] marranoes Jew: first,] Jew: First, that they did altered to that their legacy. With altered to legacy. The 116 many years [..] altered to many years friendly Wynne –,’ ‘Cerf ] Wynne –’ ‘Cerf

Textual Notes pp. 116–23

301

116 and Untermeyer] and Untermyer [sic] testamentary] testamentory [sic] Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (5 Jan. 1945). JPS, PJAC. Handwritten, LH7. 117 author’s copies] authors copies to mark altered to to identify Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (5 Jan. 1945). JPS, PJAC. Typed, plain paper with LH7 address typed; carbon, marked as ‘COPY’; unsigned. W.D. Woodhead (10 Jan. 1945). Steven Temple Books, 489 Queen St. W., Toronto ON. Handwritten, LH7. Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society (26 Jan. 1945). JPS, PJAC. Typed by ‘FR,’ LH7; marginal notes [JPS]. 119 Contemporary Jewish Record … Opinion [checks marking each title in left margin] additions, for altered to additions, if Leo Kennedy (8 Feb. 1945). Usher Caplan. Handwritten, LH7. 120 to show to show altered to to show minimal esta[...] altered to minimal estimate quite a litery [sic] altered to quite a literary I k altered to I only know Meyer W. Weisgal (26 Feb. 1945). Meyer Weisgal. Typed: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper, numbered. Note at top right of page 1 in another hand: ‘Best wishes / S. Nardi. / I will try to get Meyer W / to tell me more.’ 121 Discussions … have] Discussion [sic] … have James Laughlin IV, New Directions (12 Mar. 1945). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7. 122 We s altered to Your letter meeting you. I] meeting you, I James Laughlin IV, New Directions (2 Apr. 1945). New Directions. Handwritten, LH7; front and back of sheet. 123 My altered to The book

302

Textual Notes pp. 123–8

123 unprofl altered to say unprofessional Guy Sylvestre (2 Apr. 1945). Guy Sylvestre. Handwritten, LH7. 123 note your altered to note also your Psalms which altered to Psalms about which H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (10 Apr. 1945). CJCA. Handwritten, LH7. 124 last book. R altered to last book. I doors. The altered to doors. For The Editors, CIRCLE (14 May 1945). Circle Magazine. Handwritten, LH7. 125 been ignored altered to been curtly ignored more altered to better Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone ] (15 May 1945). YIVO. Handwritten, LH7. 125 but be altered to but also because Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (29 May 1945). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten, LH7. Notation by Poetry editors: ‘K’ in upper left corner. Guy Sylvestre (29 May 1945). Guy Sylvestre. Handwritten, LH7; front and reverse. 126 deal with them.] deal with them Guy Sylvestre (6 July 1945). Guy Sylvestre. Typed by ‘F.P.,’ LH7. Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (14 July 1945). Poetry, UChicago. Klein’s reply is written on the bottom of Marion Strobels’s letter of 12 July 1945 (on Poetry letterhead). See the explanatory note to ‘the wearing of the black shawl’ [p. 404]. In addition, there are the following notations by Poetry editors: ‘K’ in the upper left corner; and, below Klein’s reply, ‘P[.] Cr: What do words mean? Have written him.’ See the letter to Strobel, 20 July 1945 [pp. 128–9]. Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (20 July 1945). Poetry, UChicago. Klein’s reply is written on the bottom and reverse of Marion Stroebels’s letter of 12 July 1945 (on Poetry letterhead). See the explanatory note to ‘not Eliot nor was meant to be,’ p. 404. 128 an im[..] altered to an inevitable

Textual Notes pp. 128–36

303

129 legal illus altered to legal allusions poetry lacking altered to poetry wanting not of altered to not the works of Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone] (21 Sept. 1945). YIVO. Handwritten, LH7. 129 The University altered to Wayne University Isidore Goldstick (30 Jan. 1946). Jewish Public Library, Montreal. Handwritten, LH7. 130 Or that altered to Or does that how I altered to how deeply I Ephraim Broido (14 Mar. 1946). Ephraim Broido. Typed, LH7. The Editors, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (22 July 1946). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten, LH7. Notation by Poetry editors: ‘K’ in upper right corner. Earl Birney (16 Oct. 1946). Birney, FRBL. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Note in left margin in another hand, probably Birney’s: ‘Tell Abe many thanks – in Dec. # – & return “Frigidaire” herewith.’ See the explanatory note to ‘two poems’ [p. 406]. Earle Birney (24 Oct. 1946). Birney, FRBL. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (24 Oct. 1946). Poetry, UChicago. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Notation by Poetry editors: ‘K’ in upper right corner. 134 for me. altered to for me, even if you have to fall back upon ‘Seven Poems’ The Editor, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (10 Jan. 1947). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten, lh7. Notation by Poetry editors: ‘K’ in upper right corner; ‘√’ over Klein’s item (a). 135 permits altered to permits only Samuel H. Abramson (6 Feb. 1947). Samuel Abramson. Handwritten, LH5; 1 sheet. 135 and it is altered to and it was topsy-tury [sic] corrected to topsy-turvy The Editor [John Crowe Ransome], KENYON REVIEW (7 Feb. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 316–17]. Handwritten draft: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper.

304

Textual Notes pp. 136–7 The Klein fonds also contains another draft of the description of ‘Sestina on a Dialectic’ [ms 313]: I wanted to write about the dialectic, [and altered to could think altered to and the form] and the form that immediately suggested itself got me was that of the sestina. It is true that this form is eleventh century – invented by Arnaut Daniel, whom [Dante altered to Dante therefore] Dante therefore quite horribly placed in Hell – by its rhyme-scheme, is positively Hegelian. Or does [..] [...] [..] the word position in connection with a philosophy that is continually bending over with its own c[...]. I say Hegelian because [....], the rhymes alternate as follow 123456 615243 3 7 4 1 2 5 etc. This is not haphazard. [There is deleted] arithmetic. There is a schema; it is that of the accordion, the 123456 gives 615243 gives 364125

In other words, the end [lines altered to] words[?] are continuously doubling upon themselves, the rhyme is pleated. At the same time, however, I wanted to conceal the artificiality of the form; ergo, the paragraph; [so that altered to and] and, to avoid, the paragraphs still sounding like nearly transposed verses, I purposely chose insignificant end words – with, to, a, so, out, still. Or have I gone to a hell of a lot of trouble for nothing. Notes in top margin of ms 313 read: ‘Delmore Schwartz / Partisan Review / July 30/46.’ Notes following the description of the sestina form read: ‘Meditation on Survival / Q.L.C. / Vesp[.....]s / Sestina.’ Additional notes below a horizontal line at the bottom of the page read: ‘Sent to New Republic / Oct 24 – Sewanee R – Vesper, Sestina / Notary / Snowshoes.’ 136 analogy w altered to analogue of 137 in our literature that altered to in our literature it is) at the altered to it is). thing is red altered to thing is construct, altered to construct the whole, benefitted a altered to benefitted the

Textual Notes pp. 137–42

305

137 be better altered to be altered to be better titled: The Portrait altered to titled: ‘Portrait his previously altered to his earlier thus summarizing altered to thus reducing (circulation 150)] – circulation 150) I practice law so altered to A lawyer for author of altered to author of (a) Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone ] (12 Feb. 1947). YIVO. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 137 I waites [sic] altered to I waited Duell, Sloan & Pearce (28 Apr. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 323]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein], with handwritten corrections, on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Klein uses the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher’ [DM]. Identical letters (listed in appendix C [pp. 495–6] but not included in this collection) were sent to a number of other publishers: Doubleday (26 June 1947 [MS 327]); Simon and Schuster (8 Sept. 1947 [MS 336]), and Dial Press (9 Sept. 1947 [MS 337]). A much briefer version of this letter was sent on 8 January 1948 to Grosset and Dunlop [MS 369; p. 151] and J.B. Lippincott and Company [ms 370]. 138 4857 Hutchison] 4857 Hutchsion [sic] Que. / April] Que. April 139 Gouzenko. altered to Gouzenko. But Gouzenko didn’t tell the whole story. knew the price of everything, but the value of nothing. altered to appreciates all prices, but no values. Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (16 May 1947). Crawley, QueensU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. John Sutherland (27 June 1947). Sutherland, Concordia. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 140 Main altered to Northern 141 idsposing [sic] altered to disposing Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (11 July 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 328]. Typed by ‘AB’; unsigned carbon copy. 141 c/o Seagram’s] c/o Segram’s [sic] Leon Edel (16 July 1947). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH7. 142 uncontrollable] uncontrolable [sic]

306

Textual Notes pp. 142–51

142 precocity] precosity [sic] something which] something with Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (5 Aug. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 329–30]. Typed by ‘FP’; unsigned carbon copy. 143 assume more] assume mose [sic] awaiting] awiting [sic] Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (5 Sept. 1947). Crawley, QueensU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 144 Gaston’;] Gaston,’ Earle Birney (3 Oct. 1947). Birney, FRBL. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Handwritten note in top margin: ‘File.’ 145 Chicago altered to Chicago, or The Canadian Forum Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (17 Oct. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 355–6]. Typed by ‘FP’; 2 sheets, numbered; unsigned carbon copy. 146 & Sons (page] & Sons. (page Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (24 Oct. 1947). QueensU. Typed by ‘FP’: sheet 1, LH7; sheets 2, plain paper, numbered. Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (11 Dec. 1947). Crawley, QueensU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. 148 Caulfield] Caulfeild [sic] Leon Edel (24 Dec. 1947). Leon Edel. Typed, LH7. 149 your wife altered to your family Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (24 Dec. 1947). Pierce, QueensU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. John J. Slocum (24 Dec. 1947). Slocum, YaleU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (28 Dec. 1947). Poetry, UChicago. Handwritten, LH7. Notation by Poetry editors: ‘Ö’ in upper right corner. 151 Prize. The altered to Prize. Any Grosset and Dunlop (8 Jan. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 369]. Typed by ‘BK’

Textual Notes pp. 151–9

307

[Bessie Klein]; unsigned carbon copy. Written under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher.’ An identical letter (listed in appendix C [p. 496], but not included in this collection) was sent on this date to publishers J.P. Lippincott and Company. See the note on the letter to Duell, Sloan & Pearce (28 Apr. 1948; MS 323). Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (15 Jan. 1948). Pierce, QueensU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Leon Edel (22 Jan. 1948). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH7. 152 shift away altered to shy away 153 since ... 1929] underscored in a different hand ignorance about altered to ignorance of Shonie Levi (22 Jan. 1948). Shonie Levi. Handwritten, LH7. John J. Slocum (26 Jan. 1948). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH7. 155 Greek altered to commentaries to the Greek Milton altered to Ulysses like Vinty has been altered to has already been done before – altered to done! way – other altered to way – save David Rome, Canadian Jewish Congress (7 Feb. 1948). CJCA. Handwritten, LH7. 155 am enclosing] am enclose [sic] Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 377–8]. Typed, plain paper; 2 sheets, numbered; nine signatures, including Abe Klein, Harry Bronfman, Allan [Bronfman], B[arney] Aaron, Laz. Phillips, B.G. Gorman, Allen Walker, and two others (unintelligible). See the explanatory note for ‘H. Bronfman ... Allen Walker’ [p. 416]. Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (6 Mar. 1948). Pierce, QueensU. Handwritten, LH7; sheets 2 and 3 numbered. Notations by Ryerson editors (Flemington?): checkmarks beside items 1. a–c, e–g, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.a–c. 158 1.] 1) exciting item] item deleted and rewritten 159 the man of capital altered to The man of capital 8. If] 8 If

308

Textual Notes pp. 160–8

Earle Birney (11 Apr. 1948). Birney, FRBL. Handwritten, LH7. Note in the top margin in another hand: ‘Please return to’ with arrow to Birney’s name. A.J.M. Smith (1 May 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 385–6]. Typed by ‘FP’; sheet 2 numbered; unsigned carbon copy. 161 Patrick,] Patrick; Ellsworth Mason (8 June 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. Marginal note below ‘2 is to 3’: ‘not circe.’ 162 [..] altered to intrigued thus upon altered to thus on pal altered to palimpsest Ellsworth Mason (23 June 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7. 163 nine-point sch altered to nine-part scheme Leon Edel (6 July 1948). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH7. 164 nine -parted p[..] altered to nine -parted episode has n[..] altered to has by no one would want t altered to would want you McKee and Batchelder (13 July 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 389–90]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein]; unsigned carbon copy; sheet 2 numbered. 165 handled Evan John’s] handled the Evan John’s 166 writing of John altered to writing of Evan John Henry Allen Moe, Guggenheim Foundation (17 July 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 391–5]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein]; 5 sheets, sheets 4–5 numbered; unsigned carbon copy. Klein has written in the bottom margin of page 1: ‘John Marshall / – Rockefeller Foundation – / 49 West 49th St / New York City.’ See the explanatory note to ‘Professor Scott of McGill University’ [p. 425]. 167 the synopy[..] [sic] altered to the synoptic essay an air or altered to an air of when they are altered to when they were elucidations still remains] elucidations still remain [sic] ‘He’s up … Norman’] He_s up … Norman 168 There’s five fathoms altered to ‘There’s five fathoms It’s nine days] Its [sic] nine days Across the page altered to ‘Across the page

Textual Notes pp. 168–74

309

168 at an end it [sic] altered to at an end, – it I should taking altered to I should, taking able to h altered to able to give my fire [sic] altered to my friend Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (28 July 1948). Pierce, QueensU. Handwritten, LH7. Stamped ‘RECEIVED / JUL 29 1948 / GENERAL OFFICE.’ 169 for same.] for same Ellsworth Mason (19 Aug. 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7. 170 [little] opportunity] opportunity John J. Slocum (7 Oct. 1948). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH7. 170 Nihil Ulysseum me altered to Nihil Ulysseum (sic) me Ellsworth Mason (14 Oct. 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7; 4 sheets. 171–2 explanation) altered to explanation) sequential 172 would marred altered to would have marred reader […] rather altered to reader rather you […] intended altered to you intended ‘x’ which Joyce has not altered to ‘x’ yet explained altered to yet explained it Bunyanesque in altered to Bunyanesque – 173 analyzing, and altered to analyzing upon, and altered to upon all a table altered to a parallel table and so, [..]. altered to many, many others. or ‘the altered to or (mine) ‘the Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (29 Oct. 1948). Pierce, QueensU. Handwritten, LH7. Stamped ‘RECEIVED / NOV 1 1948 / GENERAL OFFICE.’ Notation in another hand: ‘only rev. Mont Gazette.’ 174 usual price] usual author’s price Ellsworth Mason (2 Nov. 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets, numbered. There are a number of marginal notes in Mason’s hand: 1) At the top of the page: ‘Have all the rest of the Latin – amazing. / Hebrew / Hungarian / Much Gaelic & / Gaelic deriv / Italian’; 2) below item 6 in Klein’s list: ‘164 – [539] & making limericks / parallel to Steve’s corresp

310

Textual Notes pp. 175–81

in / Proteus’; 3) below ‘farst’ in Klein’s item 8: ‘desdemona’; and 4) at bottom of page 2: ‘201 Bestabed / secabest / Leftabed.’ See the explanatory note to ‘Weda seca whokilla farst? (554)’ [p. 432]. 175 but that the altered to but that John J. Slocum (8 Nov. 1948). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH7. Ellsworth Mason (8 Dec. 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper. 176 suspect that fr altered to suspect that very James Joyce,’ error] James Joyce’ error fons et origo.] origo. scored out and rewritten 177 Marryat] Maryatt [sic] John J. Slocum (9 Dec. 1948). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH7. 177 so c[..] altered to so cursory your trip ha altered to your trip to Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (10 Dec. 1948). Crawley, QueensU. Handwritten, LH7. 178 no new ones. altered to no new poem. my work of altered to my work on Ellsworth Mason (24 Dec. 1948). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. 179 Bloomsday is mentioned, anot altered to Bloomsday is mentioned, St. Cecilia, altered to St. Cecilia (music) Karl Shapiro (27 Dec. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 422–4]. Handwritten draft, LH7; 3 sheets, 2 and 3 numbered; no closing or signature. Caplan includes the letter in LOTD (pp. 163–4). This is Klein’s response to Shapiro’s ‘note of congratulation’ from Shapiro on The Rocking Chair [MS 418]. 180 embarrassment] embarrasment [sic] nega[i]itism [sic] altered to negativism symposium [..] altered to symposium published cherished it altered to cherished his at college a great altered to at college an excelling 181 italics yours,] (italics yours, [sic] chain of being, but no altered to chain of being, and not Two books I wrote] Two books I wrote, [Caplan 164]

Textual Notes pp. 182–9

311

Leon Edel (28 Dec. 1948). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. 182 I select a few:] I select a few Wise, Stephen S. (10 Jan. 1949). Wise, AJHS. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets, sheet 2 numbered. Marginal notations by library at the top of page one: ‘AJHS/ P – 134/ box 131 L64’ and, above address, ‘(Stephen S. Wise).’ 183 is as a[..] altered to is as a cure Leon Edel (15 Feb. 1949). Leon Edel. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH7; sheet 2, plain paper. 184 worthwile [sic] altered to worthwhile it’s good] its good Ellsworth Mason (19 Feb. 1949). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7; 2 sheets. 185 as the socio altered to as the wide sociological Moreover altered to By the way, While while altered to While altitudes, can take it altered to altitudes, can take in intended to [do] this] intended to do altered to intended to this [sic] Leon Edel (23 Feb. 1949). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH7. 186 him as if it] him as it Ellsworth Mason (23 Feb. 1949). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH7. Note in Mason’s hand opposite signature: ‘ends us both / middler.’ 187 transition are pre altered to transition are indicated James Laughlin IV, New Directions (7 Mar. 1949). New Directions. Handwritten, LH8. Ellsworth Mason (14 Mar. 1949). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH8. 188 III] II [sic] MacLeish recently altered to MacLeish recently in Mtl. Ellsworth Mason (6 Apr. 1949). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH8; 2 sheets, with sheet 2 numbered. 189 for your transcript altered to for the transcript It’s time] Its [sic] time remarks about] remarks are about concealed when altered to concealed from

312

Textual Notes pp. 190–7

Ellsworth Mason (2 May 1949). Mason, LAC. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH8; sheet 2, plain paper. Text underlined in another hand (‘appended to my annotations on Telemachus’) with marginal note: ‘app/end.’ 190 Joyce learning in altered to Joyce learning is basic discovery altered to basic (sic) discovery 191 why Joyce chose] why Joyce choice [sic] Maurice Hartt (24 June 1949). Klein, LAC [MS 436]. Handwritten draft, plain paper. 191 you are a mithnagid, an opponent not only altered to you are not only mithnagid – its[?] altered to Cartier’s mithnagid – one man Leon Edel (29 June. 1949). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH8. 192 $10.00.] $10.00 Ellsworth Mason (18 July 1949). Mason, LAC. Handwritten, LH8. 192 ‘The W[..] altered to ‘The Black John J. Slocum (18 July 1949). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH7; 3 sheets, with sheets 2 and 3 numbered. 194 included) on August altered to included) on July John J. Slocum (7 Sept. 1949). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH7. McKee and Batchelder (15 Dec. 1949). Klein, LAC [MS 458]. Typed; unsigned carbon copy. Also in the Klein Fonds is a draft [MS 457]: handwritten, LH8. 195 communication] communication to his disciple altered to communication MS 457 English Poetry] Poetry altered to English Poetry MS 457 annotation of James Joyce’s] annotation of James Joyce current requirement] requirement altered to current requirement Yours truly,] Yours truly MS 457 Leon Edel (20 Dec. 1949). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH8. W.E. Collin (18 Jan. 1950). Collin, UWO. Handwritten, LH8. Earle Birney (27 Feb. 1950). Birney, FRBL. Handwritten, LH8. 197 Feb.] Feb Earle] Earl [sic]

Textual Notes pp. 197–206

313

Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (6 Apr. 1950). Klein, LAC [MS 476]. Typed by ‘FP’; unsigned carbon copy. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (20 Apr. 1950). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH8. 198 A leg altered to A lawyer Hath Not a Jew – ] Hath Not a Jew: Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (31 May 1950). Klein, LAC [MS 489]. Typed by ‘SI’; carbon copy, unsigned. Leon Edel (2 Aug. 1950). Leon Edel. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH8; sheet 2, plain paper. 200 Honourable William Dudley altered to Honourable William Humble passed Macky] passed Mackey [sic] It altered to The passsage altered to Humble’s passage seeing you again altered to seeing you then Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (11 Oct. 1950). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH8; 2 sheets. The bottom line of the first page is illegible. 201 up, and parler altered to up, and seek biblic exe [sic] altered to biblic excerpt and of sibyls] and of sybils [sic] [ ]. [ ] [illegible] John J. Slocum (4 Nov. 1950). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH8. John J. Slocum (7 Nov. 1950). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH8. John J. Slocum (8 Jan. 1951). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH8. 203 New York on Satur altered to New York during Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (12 Jan. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘RW’: sheet 1, LH8; sheet 2, plain paper; second postscript handwritten. Marginal notes in another hand: below date, ‘HW 1/15/51’; to right of 3rd paragraph, ‘copy edited ms sent + prepd ius. $300 1/15/51 HW.’ Leon Edel (16 Jan. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH9; 2 sheets. 205 Kiel] Keil [sic] Kiel] Keil [sic] 206 dreamed of such a] dreamed of a such a

314

Textual Notes pp. 206–12

Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (22 Jan. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed, plain paper. Marginal note in another hand opposite address, ‘HW 1/24/51.’ Knox Burger, COLLIER’S (25 Jan. 1951). Klein, LAC [MS 531]. Typed by ‘RW’; unsigned carbon copy. 207 Collier’s] Colliers John J. Slocum (29 Jan. 1951). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH9. John J. Slocum (8 Feb. 1951). Slocum, YaleU. Handwritten, LH9. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (7 Apr. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘RW,’ LH9. Marginal notation in another hand opposite address, ‘HW 4-13-51.’ Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (10 Apr. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘RW,’ LH9. Marginal notation in another hand opposite address, ‘HW 4-13-51.’ 210 prophets and sibyls] prophets and sybils [sic] Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (14 Apr. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘RW, LH9. Marginal notation left of letterhead, ‘F / HW / 4/18/51’; notation left of body of letter, ‘fixed / 4/16/51 / HW.’ 210 limp like a diffident altered to limp / Like a diffident 211 limp like a waterless altered to limp / Like a waterless Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (18 Apr. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH9. Marginal notation right of address, ‘HW / 4-20-51’; check marks beside each item listed; notation beside item 5, ‘two kinds of type / italics, and other.’ 211 cloister black & fo altered to cloister black and the Sibyls] and the Sybils [sic] Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (19 June 1951). Pierce, QueensU. Handwritten, LH9. Stamped ‘RECEIVED / JUN 20 1948 / GENERAL OFFICE.’ Notation in another hand in the upper left corner: ‘Clause 15 / cancelled in the / contract FF [Frank Flemington?].’ 212 time – to once altered to time – once

Textual Notes pp. 212–18

315

Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (23 July 1951). Crawley, QueensU. Handwritten, LH9. Leon Edel (25 July 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH9. James Laughlin IV, New Directions (2 Aug. 1951). New Directions. Handwritten, LH9. 214 to me altered to to me or to Layton orange to ex[.] altered to orange to extract essence sy altered to essence superfine above the waters] waters deleted and rewritten J’ocean (sic).] J’ocean. (sic). Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (14 Aug. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein]: sheet 1, LH10; sheet 2, plain paper, numbered: ‘-- $ $’ in postscript handwritten. Marginal notation right of letterhead, ‘HW / 8-22-51.’ Additional notations, ‘HW’ and ‘C / e??.’ 215 Hebrew. the [sic] altered to Hebrew. The boustrophedontism underscored by Weinstock tothe [sic] altered to to the this thing possible. altered to this thing possible? Guy Sylvestre (30 Aug. 1951). Guy Sylvestre. Handwritten, LH10. 216 Robins’] Robins Leon Edel (30 Aug. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH10; 2 sheets. 216 fascestcule[?] only the sho altered to only the shock cler altered to clericalism 217 going to be f altered to going to be left Dubliners’ heel-snapping] Dubliners heel-snapping ¶What is a p[...] sight? [.....] the Jew desp[...]ed [..] [....] the scored out Leon Edel (17 Sept. 1951). Leon Edel. 4 sheets, typed and numbered: sheet 1, LH10. 218 failure to brig [sic] altered to failure to bring Joycean hyphen Aristotelian altered to Joycean-Aristotelian brit [sic] frustration altered to bring frustration, desired first of all altered to desired, first of all, story therefore altered to story, therefore,

316

Textual Notes pp. 218–25

218 of our fortune’s altered to of our fortunes They hesitate, altered to They hesitated, 219 generation, altered to generation, he is incognito’s of the folk altered to incognitos of the folk the protagonist altered to the narrator gathering up of altered to gathering up the shape and altered to shape them and o[..]n I not altered to must I not is literally altered to is, literally, sping [sic] altered to spring throughout the text. altered to throughout the text, – of the symbol. altered to of the symbol! Melech plain altered to Melech plain, and his divinity altered to and of his divinity word! altered to word! And for that other epithet of yours, fabulous uncle 220 Moreover, what altered to Moreover, – what the implicit explicit. altered to the implicit explicit? A.J.M. Smith (18 Sept. 1951). Smith, FRBL. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH10; sheets 2–3, plain paper, numbered. 220 fact that my altered to fact that I things I saw altered to things I knew and saw 221 and they take altered to and they weave millennial] millenial [sic] from the dead altered to from the grave identical with that altered to identical with the Leon Edel (24 Sept. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH9. Leon Edel (8 Oct. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH9, with telephone number blacked out and ‘UN. 6-9567’ printed above. Philip Friedman (9 Oct. 1951). YIVO. Handwritten, LH9. 223 records ... gypsies underscored in another hand a bibliography underscored in another hand available underscored in another hand Morris Laub (9 Oct. 1951). Morris Laub. Published in ‘A.M. Klein: A Recollection,’ Congress Bi-Weekly (22 Dec. 1972), 20–1. Laub’s inquiry of 8 October and Klein’s replies of 9 October and December 14 are recorded in the article.

Textual Notes pp. 225–32

317

Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (9 Oct. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein], plain paper; 3 sheets, numbered. Note in upper left margin of page 1: ‘WH / K[....] / [.].’ 226 books (Poetry) altered to books (poetry) book of fiction that altered to book of fiction not embarrassment] embarassment [sic] making such explanations altered to making such explanation Weintrub [sic] altered to Weintraub’s 227 solicited. 2. [final line on p. 2 illegible] I shall not of altered to I shall not, of Leon Edel (19 Oct. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH9; 3 sheets. 227 was, indeed,] was indeed, p. 13] p 13 (Messiah ... p. 118)] Messiah ... p. 118) 228 synonym, [.] altered to synonym, in spirituality).] spirituality) pp. 52–53] p 52–53 p. 93] p 93 p. 197] p 197 Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (19 Oct. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH10; 2 sheets. Marginal note upper right corner, page 1, ‘HW 10-22-51.’ 229 answer. (Who] answer. (who Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (25 Oct. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH9, with telephone number blacked out and ‘UN. 6-9567’printed above. Marginal note above letterhead, ‘ck ‘ [.. .]?’ Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (1 Nov. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH10. Marginal notation in the top left corner to William A. Koshland in Knopf’s copyright department: ‘WAK / Please – as Pat / says see me / HW / 11/2/51’; and, in the top right corner, ‘HW / 11/5/51.’ Earle Birney (12 Nov. 1951). Birney, FRBL. Handwritten, LH11. Leon Edel (12 Nov. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH10. 232 then follow, lig altered to then see him follow, like

318

Textual Notes pp. 232–9

Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (12 Nov. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Typed by ‘RW,’ LH10. Marginal notation to ‘WAK’ – William A. Koshland of the copyright department – in upper left corner; in the top right corner, ‘HW 11/15/51.’ ‘American Fund’ and ‘Israel Life and Letters’ are underscored in the same hand, with an illegible notation in the left margin opposite the latter. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (13 Nov. 1951). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH9, with telephone number blacked out and ‘UN. 6-9567’ printed above. Marginal notation left of the letterhead, ‘WAK / [arrow pointing upward to the initials]’; right of return address, 11/15 / [..]’; opposite closing, ‘letter to Copyright Office / 11/15/51.’ Irving Layton (21 Nov. 1951). Layton, Concordia. Handwritten, LH10. 233 battle would altered to battle – witnessed 234 and, fifteen altered to and, one for fifteen Leon Edel (30 Nov. 1951). Leon Edel. Handwritten, LH10; 2 sheets. 234 embarrassingly] embarrasingly [sic] 235 indicating the altered to indicating myself and others.)] and others). book’s various levels] the books various levels Morris Laub (14 Dec. 1951). Morris Laub. Published in ‘A.M. Klein: A Recollection,’ Congress Bi-Weekly, 8 Oct. 1951, pp. 20–1. Laub’s inquiry of 8 October and Klein’s replies of 9 October and December 14 are included in the article. Maurice Schwartz (14 Jan. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 606–10]. Typed, plain paper; 5 sheets, numbered; unsigned carbon copy. 237 medical practice] medical practise [sic] sees Eurydice] sees Euridice father-in-law] fayher-in-law [sic] means ‘Light’ altered to means ‘light’ 238 rolled] folled [sic] Sisyphus then] Sysyphus [sic] then of Sisyphus] of Sysyphus [sic] in hell.)] in hell) which seem] shich [sic] seem 239 upon him] upon his

Textual Notes pp. 239–48

319

239 derangement) fight altered to derangement) right EURYDICE] EURIDICE Maurice Schwartz (28 Jan. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 617]. Typed, plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (31 Jan. 1952). Pierce, QueensU. Handwritten, LH10. Stamped ‘RECEIVED / FEB 4 1948 / GENERAL OFFICE.’ Alfred A. Knopf (15 Feb. 1952). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH9; 2 sheets. Marginal notations: to right of letterhead, ‘2/18’; upper right corner, ‘k 2/20.’ Maurice Schwartz (20 Feb. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 620–4]. Typed, plain paper; 5 sheets, numbered; unsigned carbon copy. Notation in upper left margin: ‘26 – E 10th St.’ 242 there works [sic] altered to there work 243 unkep altered to unkempt where I l[......] altered to where I live. Rober[.] altered to Robert duty altered to duty and guilt 245 elementary thi altered to elementary things one bew[…] of o[…]simplification altered to one beware of oversimplification William A. Koshland, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (2 Mar. 1952). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH10. Marginal notation, upper right corner, ‘WAK / 3/6.’ 245 [ ] [final line illegible] Maurice Schwartz (14 Mar. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 635–7]. Typed, plain paper; 3 sheets, numbered; unsigned carbon copy. 246 but take the [..] altered to but go over big Portuguese] Portugese [sic] 36 pages altered to 36 long pages altered to 36 pages legal-sized one-third] one-thir [sic] 247 it’s important] its [sic] important Melech Ravitch (21 Mar. 1952). Melech Ravitch. Handwritten, LH10.

320

Textual Notes pp. 248–55

Maurice Schwartz (2 Apr. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 644–6]. Typed, plain paper; 2 sheets, numbered, and enclosure; unsigned carbon copy. 249 practice] practise [sic] deleted heading: A.M. Klein recently acclaimed altered to recently acclaimed novel Leon Edel (26 Apr. 1952). Leon Edel. Handwritten: sheet 1, LH10; sheet 2, plain paper. 250 2 intera[.] altered to 2 international Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (30 May 1952). Knopf, HRC. Handwritten, LH10; 2 sheets. Marginal notation above letterhead: ‘Mrs. Shirley Collier / 321 So Beverley Drive / Beverley Hills, Calif.’ Upper right corner of page, ‘HW / 6-16-52.’ 251 intended to altered to intended understanding altered to understand 3rd altered to 2nd peren altered to perennial Strauss et.? altered to Strauss etc.? Maurice Schwartz (2 June 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 644–6]. Typed, plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. 252 recital at which altered to recital is Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (21 Aug. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 711]. Typed by ‘RW’ on plain paper; carbon marked in left margin as ‘COPY’; unsigned. Samuel H. Abramson (27 Aug. 1952). Samuel Abramson. Handwritten, LH10; 1 sheet. Leon Edel (2 Oct. 1952). Leon Edel. Typed: sheet 1, LH10; sheets 2 and 3, plain paper, numbered. 254 Three wkk[..] [sic] altered to Three weeks ‘an instigator’. altered to ‘an instigator’? special name. altered to special name? 255 to Gieldion-Welckers altered to to the Gieldion-Welckers page 31. altered to page 31? racking of brains altered to racking of memory his recollections altered to his Recollections

Textual Notes pp. 255–63

321

255 Parice [sic] altered to Patrice the first line altered to the first line Ellsworth Mason (2 Oct. 1952). Mason, LAC. Typed, LH10; handwritten postscript. 256 long pa altered to long lapse Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (14 Oct. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 755]. Typed by ‘RW’ on plain paper; carbon marked in left margin as ‘COPY’; unsigned. Leon Edel (15 Oct. 1952). Leon Edel. Handwriten, LH10. Melech Ravitch (26 Feb. 1953). Melech Ravitch. Typed by ‘LL,’ LH10. Robert M. MacGregor, New Directions (16 Nov. 1953). New Directions. Typed by ‘LL,’ LH10. 259 myself of altered to myself with than him altered to than he Satan [..] altered to Satan, too Lavy Becker (4 Jan. 1954). Becker, LAC. Handwritten, LH10. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (19 Nov. 1954). Klein, LAC [MS 807]. Typed by ‘MP’ on plain paper; carbon marked in left margin as ‘COPY’; unsigned. Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs (19 Nov. 1954). Klein, LAC [MS 809]. Typed by ‘MP’ on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs (19 Nov. 1954). Klein, LAC [MS 808]. Typed by ‘MP’ on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs (19 Jan. 1955). Klein, LAC [MS 820]. Typed by ‘MP’ on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Melech Ravitch (28 Feb. 1955). Melech Ravitch. Handwritten, LH10. 263 This is to altered to This is just and M[.] altered to and Rachel

322

Textual Notes pp. 263–70

Harold Clurman (17 Oct. 1955). Klein, LAC [MS 836–7]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. 264 court jester] courtjester comedy,] comedy Father Stanley Murphy, S.J., Assumption College (24 Jan. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 841]. Handwritten, plain paper; marked as ‘copy’ in top left margin; unsigned. 265 to your achedule altered to to the schedule Harry Aronovitch (6 Mar. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 854]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Samuel Chait (6 Mar. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 853]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Bar Association of Montreal (6 Mar. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 852]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. 266 5th altered to 6th Bar Association of the Province of Quebec (9 Mar. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 857]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen and Parton (14 Mar. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 859]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. Father Stanley Murphy, S.J., Assumption College (28 June 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 894]. Typed, plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. 269 salaried employee] salaried employe [sic] Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen and Parton (28 June 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 895]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy. 269 200p altered to 2000 words Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen and Parton (21 Aug. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 918]. Typed by ‘BK’ [Bessie Klein] on plain paper; unsigned carbon copy.

Textual Notes pp. 271–2

323

Mrs. Métivier, Royal Society of Canada (26 July 1957). Klein, LAC [MS 981]. Handwritten draft, LH11. There are also two partial drafts: (1) MS 980, handwritten on lh11, a draft of the letter’s opening up to ‘its Medal’; and (2) ms 982, a handwritten note on plain paper, not included in the final draft, thanking Mrs Métivier for ‘offering to mail the medal on to me.’ 271 sorry, indeed, ] sorry MS 980 Samuel Bronfman (7 Aug. 1957). Klein, LAC [MS 985–7]. Typed, LH11; 3 sheets, numbered. Handwritten draft [MS 983–4], LH11. 271 that the annual report story be delayed] to delay for altered to that the annual report story be MS 983 I have] the essay on the history of Canada for the last hundred years altered to I have MS 983 this matter] the writing of the story on altered to the writing of history of Canada for the last hundred years MS 983 ¶ I know] ¶ 1) The altered to ¶ I am not a historian, and the field altered to ¶ 1) I know MS 983 does;] does; and altered to does; MS 983 professional knowledge] knowledge. altered to professional knowledge. MS 983 which I realize I do not have.] Such knowledge is acquired only after years deleted MS 983 select properly] select MS 983 neither I nor altered to neither nor I, since] nor I [...] altered to nor I, since MS 983 make defense.] defend altered to make defense. MS 983 272 further] further, MS 983 this story] in telling this story MS 983 come] [....] altered to come MS 983 questions] political altered to questions, MS 983 loom up additional risks] appear further risks MS 983 ¶ Apart] ¶ 2. Since altered to ¶ 2. Apart MS 983 the writing of history] history altered to the writing of history MS 983 report – though Seagram’s annual reports … ordinary – ] report, MS 983 met,] met MS 984 in Canadian] in [..] altered to in Canadian MS 984 his studies] his [..] [.....] altered to his studies MS 984 are considered] are MS 984 occasions, in Canadian] occasions in our MS 984 and who] write the st altered to and who MS 984

324

Textual Notes pp. 272–3

272 have behind] be those of a [..]gi[....] unaccepted altered to have behind MS 984 would] is altered to would MS 984 anti-climax] anticlimax MS 984 Seagram,] Seagram MS 984 publish on this occasion] issue, on this occasion, MS 984 written by me.] which, if written by me, would naturally be printed anonymously altered to a story written by […] altered to a story written by me. MS 984 that I suppose,] that, I suppose, MS 984 arranged] arranged deleted and replaced MS 984 have to be indicated is that there is desired] we would have to tell him is that we desire MS 984 essay which] essay, which MS 984 directs] places it[..] [..] streams altered to directs MS 984 introduction] foreword MS 984 but coming] but it is better, I think altered to but coming MS 984 that ignoring such] that, ignoring [...]ling altered to that, if any MS 984 difficulties we] difficulties aside, pu[..] difficulties; that we MS 984 which would] which would altered to which [...]g [...] would MS 984 obtaining] get altered to obtaining MS 984 desired.] desired ¶ I h[...] t[..] you [.] altered to desired. MS 984 With kindest regards deleted ] Sincerely MS 984 ¶ I am ... I can?] not in MS 984 can? This would run the risk, however, that if the essay doesn’t turn out the way we want it to, we will have lost time. altered to can? Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (28 Aug. 1957). Pierce, QueensU. Handwritten, LH11. Samuel Bronfman (6 Jan. 1958). Klein, LAC [MS 1042–7]. Typed, plain paper: the letter is 3 sheets, numbered; the enclosure, 2 sheets. There are two handwritten drafts of the letter [MS 1036–7 and 1038–9] and a draft of the enclosure [MS 1040] on 5 sheets of legal-sized, lined paper, as well as a set of handwritten page references on plain letter-sized paper [MS 1041]. MS 1036–7 is a complete draft of the finished letter. MS 1038–9 is earlier, and more frank about Klein’s misgivings about Seagram’s publishing the Proceedings of the scientific symposium and his own difficulties ghost-writing Bronfman’s preface. 273 some notations] notations altered to some notations MS 1036

Textual Notes pp. 273–5

325

273 so treated] so indicated altered to so treated MS 1036 274 now say,] now say, however, altered to now say MS 1036 that I am] that I proved altered to that I am MS 1036 of The House] of the House MS 1036 What The House] What the House MS 1036 next century.] next century. Take altered to next century. picture of certain] picture of p[.] altered to picture of certain MS 1036 emerges from a] emerges from cert altered to emerges from a very large] a very large MS 1036 33] 32 altered to 33 MS 1036 validity,] validity; MS 1036 birth control … etc.] test-tube procreation; birth from deceased a[..]t[..] s; art[...] [..] birth altered to birth-control; test-tube procreation; foster pregnancy; etc. – MS 1036 strives. Such a reaction … ideals.] strives. altered to strives. Such a reaction … ideals. additional text in left margin of MS 1036 such ideas by] these ideas are by altered to such ideas by left margin, MS 1036 behaviour,] behaviour MS 1036 resentment from] resentment in altered to resentment from MS 1036 The expressions] These ideas, mor altered to The expressions MS 1036 p. 31,] p. 31 MS 1036 Dr. Bonner too] Dr. Bonner, too MS 1036 stabilization of world] stabilization of American altered to stabilization of world MS 1037 p. 49,] p. 49 MS 1036 genetic] gentic [sic] altered to genetic MS 1037 was a] was an altered to was a MS 1037 that such] that it w altered to that such MS 1037 be taken then] then be taken MS 1037 275 may be understood] may be taken [alternate word-choice above line: understood] MS 1037 so be understood] so be taken altered to so be understood MS 1037 here outlined] outlined altered to here outlined MS 1037 sponsored; now] sponsored; altered to sponsored; now MS 1037 censor what] censor Dr. Muller’s remarks, altered to censor what principle. I] principle, and from you I altered to principle. I MS 1037 it was time] it was the exigency of time altered to it was time MS 1037 only be] only se altered to only seem MS 1037 the guest-panelists] [...] guest-panelists altered to the guest-panelists MS 1037

326

Textual Notes pp. 275–6

275 serve only altered to serve also But since] But although altered to But since MS 1037 document, – ] document – the altered to document – indeed, the opposite impression is given – MS 1037 Yours,] Yours, ¶ As ever. MS 1037 Enclosure: A draft introduction to the Proceedings arranged] thought it appropriate altered to arranged, MS 1040 for the publication of] to publish altered to for the publication of MS 1040 panoramic survey] general survey, altered to panoramic survey, MS 1040 of the achievements] [.......]ed altered to of the achievements MS 1040 276 To provide] It was altered to To provide MS 1040 possible, The] possible, that altered to possible, The MS 1040 of endeavour,] of knowledge, altered to of endeavour, MS 1040 as well as] together with altered to as well as MS 1040 founded on knowledge] based on scientific calculation altered to founded on knowledge MS 1040 ensued] ensued were such as made for altered to ensued MS 1040 Covering the widest …] Covering a wide area of human affairs and interest, the participants in the panel considered, in their greatest variety the potentialities of the future, both its challenge and its promise. altered to Covering the widest … there emerged] their [sic] emerged altered to there emerged MS 1040 predictions] informal predictions altered to predictions MS 1040 themes: – ] themes, – MS 1040 may well] be practically altered to may well MS 1040 Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1958). Klein, LAC [MS 1060–1]. Handwritten draft on plain paper. Two earlier drafts survive, both handwritten: the first [MS 1057–8] on plain paper, and a second [MS 1059] on lined legal-sized paper. The first draft of the letter accompanying Klein’s gift of an antique scroll [MS 1057–8] concludes with a fulsome explication of the gift’s significance which does not appear in MS 1060–1 or MS 1059: It ill becomes the [gift altered to] giver to speak of the sense[?] of his gift; it is however [inserted] the motivation which prompted me to select this gift for you.which [I would communicate deleted] – perhaps unseriously[?], ‘for a heart to a heart is as a minyon’ – I write to communicate to you. First, because of all the megillahs, this is one of ‘joy, gladness, light, and honor,’ and tells of the frustration of those who would do us harm, and [is deleted] of [inserted] itself instituted [inserted] a day for the

Textual Notes p. 276

327

giving of gifts. Second, because the recipient, in the eyes of the giver represents in this generation the sage counsellor and wise leader who is the hero in that earlier generation. Third, because the scroll, illuminated in colour, illustrating things [that grow altered to] of life and growth, adds to a tale of triumph a painting[?] of hope. Fourth. Because the filigree[?] cylindrical case, is not a century old. And because the parchment manuscript, dating back to about the year of your birth, speaks in s[...]tal words[?] its story of perennial gladness. 276 Please accept … your birthday] added in MS 1059, and revised in MS 1060 good wishes and congratulations] congratulations and good wishes MS 1059 this present] this gift MS 1059 your birthday. ¶] your birthday. ¶ A present [altered to gift] is but a thing upon the wings of which we may send to a friend one’s sentiment [altered to feelings] of good will and affection. ¶ MS 1059 Because this year] This year, by a most happy coincidence, MS 1057 virtually coincides with] preludes by but a day MS 1057 the celebration of the Festival] the festi[....] altered to the celebration of the festival altered to the celebration of the joyous festival MS 1057 a joyous holiday, and because] a holiday which is altered to joyous holiday, and because MS 1059] that holiday, as you know, centres about the activities of a Jewish leader, Mordecai MS 1057 and because of you, too,] and because altered to and because of you, too altered to and because of you, too, it may be said MS 1059] who, like yourself, MS 1057 as of Mordecai the hero] like the hero altered to it may be said, as like the hero MS 1059 Jews, next unto the king accepted of the multitude MS 1060, 1059] Jews and accepted of the multitude, next unto the king, MS 1057 multitude,] multitude, his brethren, MS 1059 seeking the good] and seeking the good MS 1059] ever sought the best, succeeded in confounding altered to ever sought the best, MS 1057 I have chosen this] I have this year chosen MS 1059] Its story is told in the Megillah altered to Its story is told in the Purim Megillah, MS 1057 this antique scroll] this illuminated scroll altered to this illuminated antique scroll MS 1059] an illuminated scroll, MS 1057 of the Megillah] which I ask you to receive from me with MS 1057 to bring to you] to symbolize and to carry altered to to bear altered to carry MS 1059

328

Textual Notes pp. 276–8

276 feelings of admiration and good-will] sentiments and goodwill MS 1059] my admiration and best wishes on the occasion altered to my admiration and good wishes on [..]ke altered to my admiration and good wishes on this your birthday. MS 1057 I hope that that there altered to May there be] May there be MS 1059 birthdays] anniversaries altered to birthdays MS 1059 on which] upon which altered to for you upon which MS 1059 may] may, in health and happiness, MS 1059 look upon] [.....] altered to unroll MS 1059 this scroll, … accompany it.] this scroll. altered to this. MS 1059 Yours … Abe] Samuel H. Abramson (11 May 1959). Samuel Abramson. Handwritten, LH5; 1 sheet. Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1966). Klein, LAC [MS 1208]. Handwritten draft in pencil on half a sheet of 3-hole punched paper. 278 your friend.] your friend Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1967). Klein, LAC [MS 1209]. Handwritten draft of a cable message on plain paper. 278 Many Happy Returns of the day altered to Happy Birthday to you, prompiled and so phrased altered to inspired whom gives [....] altered to who such prizes and altered to in this realm and many altered to phrased that they be altered to they win only joy altered to only good

Explanatory Notes

Harriet Monroe, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (13 May 1928) Miss Monroe: Harriet Monroe (1860–1936), American poet best remembered as the founder of the influential Chicago-based magazine Poetry: A Magazine of Verse in 1912. Poetry provided an outlet for modernist poets. my ‘Sequence of Songs’: ‘A Sequence of Songs’ – ‘Exultation,’ ‘Love Call,’ ‘Festschrift au Coeur.’ ‘First Sight,’ ‘Song of Love,’ ‘Quarrel,’ ‘New Version,’ ‘Doubt,’ ‘Home’ and “Finale’ – was published in Poetry 35 (Oct. 1929), pp. 22–3 [CP 1.73–6]. Barkis … willing: Mr. Barkis’s cryptic message to Peggoty in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, chapter 5 suggestions … corrections: The original typescript is lost; there is no record of the changes. Rose Carlofsky (22 Dec. 1928) Rose Carlofsky (1908–70): Ottawa-born poet and short-story writer. Although little of her work was published, several of her short stories were broadcast on CBC’s Stories with John Drainie in 1966. exams … exams … exams: Klein was an undergraduate at McGill. one … in the Vanguard: possibly Jewish Vanguard, the Poale Zion newspaper published in London, England poetical novitiate … two years ago: Typescripts are enclosed of ‘Symbols’ [CP 1.31–2], ‘Last Will and Testament’ [CP 1.27], ‘Sonnet’ [‘Dissolution,’ CP 1.26] ‘Midnight Awakening’ [CP 1.28–9], and ‘Discovery of Spring’ [CP 1.26–7]. excise department: a reference to the censorship of avant-garde literature by the Department of National Revenue, which controlled customs punctured stationery: The letter is written on paper from a three-hole binder.

330

Explanatory Notes pp. 4–6

Harriet Monroe, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (19 Apr. 1931) your invitation ... a set of poems: None of the poems grouped here under the heading ‘Heirlooms’ were accepted by Poetry. All eventually appeared in Jewish publications: ‘Ave Atque Vale’ in MJ 23 (Spring 1935), pp. 44–5 [CP 1.191–3]; ‘Reb Levi Yitschok’ in Opinion 1, 10 (Feb. 1932), p. 16 [CP 1.243–5]; ‘Plumaged Proxy’ in Opinion 1, 23 (May 1932), p. 11 [CP 1.179]; and ‘Scribe’ in Jewish Standard, 30 Oct. 1931, p. 360 [CP 1.213–15]. apologia pro versis meis: (Lat.) defence (or apology) for my verses Jewish Publication Society (16 Sept. 1931) manuscript … ‘Greeting on this day’: The path travelled by this manuscript was typical of the reception of Klein’s work by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) [PJAC, JPS Papers, box 24]. Dr Julius Grodinsky, secretary of the JPS (1926– 36), sent a letter of acknowledgment on 18 October 1931: ‘We will be glad to submit the manuscript … to our Publication Committee, which will meet some time in October.’ JPS files show that the manuscript was sent to readers on 18 December, and that Klein was notified on 5 February 1932 that the manuscript would be considered at the next meeting, 7 February. The manuscript was sent to a second group of readers between 8 and 19 February. Finally, 20 June 1933 – nineteen months after its submission – Grodinsky informed Klein that ‘our Publication Committee has given earnest and long consideration to your manuscript, “Greeting on this Day.” Our readers were impressed with many of the poems in your manuscript … In view of the character of our work and the obligations at present confronting the Society, the Committee regrets keenly its inability to accept the manuscript for publication.’ Consideration had indeed been both ‘earnest and long.’ The two sets of readers agreed that Klein had ‘genuine talent,’ but were disturbed both by the intricacies of his vocabulary and the ‘gross and sensual,’ ‘bitter,’ and ‘vindictive’ notes in the verse [Harry W. Ettelson to Dr Grodinsky, 30 Mar. 1932]. Rabbi Max D. Klein found Klein ‘too intellectual for our readership’ and the collection ‘sombre, pessimistic, cynical, at times agnostic and often repellant’ [13 Apr. 1933]. Dr Solomon Solis-Cohen suggested that ‘the author be requested to make a selection of the most cheerful (or least dismal) poems’ [8 Feb. 1932]. Only Oscar Loeb recommended publication ‘unhesitatingly’: ‘Abraham Klein might easily climb to greatness, in my opinion’ [undated]. Cyrus Adler’s comments summarize the committee’s attitude: ‘the man has talent and yet the book is not ready’ [15 Apr. 1932]. Braithwaite’s Anthology: William S. Braithwaite’s annual Anthology of Magazine Verse and Year Book of American Poetry shalom: (Heb.) greeting

Explanatory Notes pp. 6–8

331

Bessie Kozlov (Oct. 1931) To Bessie ... Abbie: Klein was introduced to Bessie Kozlov by Sophie Carson, who married his good friend David Lewis in 1934 [LOTD, pp. 36–9, 67]. See Klein’s letter of congratulations, 24 Nov. 1934 [p. 8]. The poems ‘Here they are – all those sunny days’ [CP 1.215] and ‘Think not, my dear, because I do not call’ [CP 1.217] were inscribed to Bessie Kozlov in a gift copy of Edna St Vincent Millay’s Poems. As love letters in verse, they are included in this volume. Jewish Publication Society (3 Feb. 1932) August 1931: The manuscript was submitted in September; see the letter to the JPS, 16 September 1931 [pp. 5–6]. reply … intentions: On 5 February 1932, Dr Julius Grodinsky replied that the Publication Committee would consider readers’ reports on the manuscript at its meeting of 7 February 1932. The manuscript was ultimately rejected in June 1933. Joseph Frank (25 Sept. 1933) Joe Frank: an old friend from Canadian Young Judaea christener (?): As Klein’s neologism indicates, there is no equivalent to the role of godparent in Judaism, but the Franks had evidently asked Klein to help to educate their daughter in the Jewish culture and religion. Bessie: Bessie Kozlov, Klein’s high school sweetheart, whom he married in 1935 David Lewis (24 Nov. 1934) DAVID LEWIS … CONGRATULATIONS: (1909–81) Politician, labour lawyer, and professor, Lewis was active in Canada’s first socialist party, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and one of the founders of its successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP), which he led from 1971 until his retirement in 1974. One of Klein’s best friends through high school and university, Lewis was attending Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship (1932–5) when he married Sophie Carson. PRESIDENT OF A UNION: Klein married Bessie Kozlov on his birthday, 14 February 1935. The allusion is to Lewis’s having been elected in late November 1934 to the position of president of the Oxford Union for Hilary Term (January to April 1935). This prestigious debating society, founded in 1823, is a famous training ground for politicians. Jewish Publication Society (1 Mar. 1935) Dr. Isaac Husik: (1876–1939) Editor of the jps (1924–39) and professor of phi-

332

Explanatory Notes pp. 8–10

losophy at the University of Pennsylvania; author of History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy [Philadelphia: 1916] Ludwig Lewisohn: (1882–1955) Author, editor, and translator of German literature, and a major influence on Jewish-American writing ‘Gestures Hebraic’: See CP 2.1065–8 for the contents of the manuscript ‘Gestures Hebraic and Poems.’ reactions … to this volume: As with Klein’s 1931 submission, the evaluation process was complicated by the jps’s mandate to represent the values of the Jewish community [JPS, PJAC]. On 1 May, Dr Husik acknowledged receipt of the manuscript; on 2 May, it was sent to four members of the Publication Committee for review: Dr Solomon Solis-Cohen, Dr H.W. Ettelson, Rabbi Max D. Klein, and Mr Oscar Loeb. The readers appreciated Klein’s talent, but objected to the artificiality of his poetic diction, occasionally ‘blasphemous’ parts, ‘stress on grim and gloomy pictures,’ and anti-Arab sentiments of some poems [Dr Solis-Cohen, 11 June 1935]. On 17 July 1935, Husik writes: ‘I am sorry to inform you that the Publication Committee has decided that it will not be possible for the Society to publish your manuscript, ‘Gestures Hebraic,’ though there is no doubt of the poetic merit of many of your poems.’ W.E. Collin (13 July 1936) Professor Collin: William Edwin Collin (1893–1984) taught Romance languages at the University of Western Ontario, and wrote the review of French-Canadian literature for the annual ‘Letters in Canada’ number of the University of Toronto Quarterly. His White Savannahs [Macmillan 1936] was the first major assessment of Canadian literature from a modernist perspective. White Savannahs … contents thereof: Collin’s book was focused on the ‘Montreal poets’ – A.J.M. Smith, F.R. Scott, Leo Kennedy, and A.M. Klein – as well as E.J. Pratt and Dorothy Livesay. In the chapter on Klein, entitled ‘The Spirit’s Palestine,’ Collin wrote: Klein’s soul, without a doubt, is an ardent symbol of the spiritual rebirth of the Jewish people; the resounding anger and the prophetic vision, the impassioned lyricism of his poetry witness to the depth and the intensity of Israel’s awakening to a realization of her ancient and splendid destiny, yet one of the qualities his poetry possesses – although it is not my intention to stress it unduly – is the tone, the mature, the gentle tone due indisputably to a power his soul acquired through intimate association with the literatures of Europe. Klein will not let us forget this. [pp. 208–9]

Explanatory Notes pp. 10–11

333

David Lewis (5 July 1937) CARE SMART AND BIGGAR: the law firm for which Lewis was working SON BORN: Klein’s son Colman was born on 5 July 1937. Joseph Frank (8 Jan. 1938) C.Y.J.: Canadian Young Judaea vox populi: (Lat.) ‘voice of the people’ like Caesar, twice refused the crown: Caesar actually refused ‘thrice’ [Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 3.2.97] Nordic environment: In May 1936, Klein and Max Garmaise, after practising law together for two years in Montreal, opened a branch office run by Garmaise in the mining town of Rouyn. Klein followed in October 1937, but confessed to Frank in his letter of 5 August 1938 that he missed ‘the Montreal scene’ [p. 14] and returned to the city after only a year. Owing to the geographic division of the firm, the partnership was dissolved in 1940, but the two remained good friends. doing justice … unto ourselves: a play on the ‘Golden Rule’ sacred ore of our ancestors: gold, the metal from which Moses fashioned the tabernacle of the ark of the covenant [Exodus 36–8] Max: Max Garmaise, Klein’s law partner play in verse … ‘Barricade Smith’: later published as a series of ten poems under the title ‘Barricade Smith: His Speeches’ [CP 2.463–72]. See the letter to Frank dated 5 August 1938 [p. 13]. Samuel Abramson (4 June 1938) Abramson: a boyhood friend who had enlisted on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. On 12 July, Abramson wrote from Spain: he had been at the front driving an ambulance, but was now stationed in Catalan [Klein, LAC – MS 60–3]. Rouyn, Que.: Klein and his partner Max Garmaise had moved their law practice to Rouyn in Northern Quebec. See note to ‘Nordic environment’ in the letter to Joseph Frank of 8 January 1938 [p. 333]. sodality: ‘brotherhood, companionship, fellowship’ [OED] Homer ben Homer, nodded: An allusion to Horace’s Ars Poetica: ‘Sometimes even good old Homer nods.’ three poems dedicated to S.H.A: The poems dedicated to Samuel H. Abramson (S.H.A.) are ‘To One Gone to the Wars,’ ‘Toreador,’ and ‘Sonnet without Music,’ all of which appeared in CF 18 (June 1938). The poem ‘To One Gone to the Wars’ reiterates the notion expressed in this letter that Klein himself is

334

Explanatory Notes pp. 12–13

a ‘noble talker’ or ‘polisher of phrases,’ who is ‘shamed’ by those who exhibit ‘courage high’ in battle. Francruptcy: a portmanteau word combining ‘Franco’ and ‘bankruptcy’ fessistes … from the French fesse, a tochos: Both fesse (French) and tochos (Yiddish) mean bottom or buttocks. à la Louis Fitch: King’s Counsel, Member of the Legislative Assembly, and member of the Dominion Council of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Eastern Division marranos: ‘a name applied in medieval Spain to a christianized Jew or Moor, esp. to one who merely professed conversion in order to avoid persecution’ [OED]. the Torquemados and Don Pedros: Tomas de Torquemada (1420–98) was the first, and most ruthless, Grand Inquisitor of Spain. Don Pedro may be simply a generic name for a Spanish nobleman, or may refer to Don Pedro José Bermudez, whose description of an auto-da-fé in Lima, Peru, is the fullest surviving record of the practice. as for Zionism: Zionism was a focus of ongoing disagreement between the correspondents. On 12 July 1938, Abramson replied: ‘I’m afraid I don’t agree with your views on Zionism for several reasons. I’ll give only two. 1st Zionism will not solve the Jewish problem. 2nd there are more important takes in the world today, the fight against fascism, for instance. The rest will have to wait for some future date when we can get together and discuss a few things’ [Klein, LAC – MS 62]. sybarite: ‘a native or citizen of Sybaris, an ancient Greek city of southern Italy, traditionally noted for its effeminacy and luxury’; hence, one ‘devoted to luxury or pleasure’ [OED]. a lovely son: Colman Klein, born 5 July 1937 Max: Max Garmaise, Klein’s law partner shidduch: an arranged marriage Habonim: the youth division of the Labour Zionist Movement mizrach: a modern Hebrew word derived from the ancient Hebrew mizr¯ah ‘east,’ and zar¯ah, ‘to rise’ [OED]; a decoration hung on the walls of a home or synagogue to indicate the proper orientation for prayer, facing east towards Jerusalem Joseph Frank (5 Aug. 1938) a Pharaoh who knows not Joseph: After Jacob and his sons move to Egypt, ‘there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph’ [Exodus 1.8] oft in the stilly watches of the night: possibly an allusion to the lyric by Irish poet

Explanatory Notes pp. 13–14

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Thomas Moore (1779–1852): ‘Oft, in the stilly night, / Ere Slumber’s chain has bound me, / Fond Memory brings the light / Of other days around me.’ ‘lands of gold’ … Keats: the description of the imaginative landscape of classical literature in the opening line of ‘Upon First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’ by John Keats (1795–1821) a Dutch Mynherr … chaffering … Amsterdam exchange: In the seventeenth century, speculation in tulip bulbs resulted in the collapse of the economy of the Netherlands. To ‘chaffer’ is to ‘trade, buy and sell, deal in merchandise; to traffic’ [OED]. three poems … dedicated to Sam: See note to ‘three poems dedicated to S.H.A’ in the letter to Samuel Abramson, 4 June 1938 [pp. 333–4]. ‘Barricade Smith: His Speeches’: The poem was published in four instalments in CF 18 (1938): sections I and II in the August number [pp. 147–8]; sections III and IV in September [p. 173]; sections V to VII in October [p. 210]; and sections VIII to X in November [pp. 242–3]. tzitzith and tfillin: Tzitzith are the fringes of the prayer shawl; t’fillin or phylacteries are two black leather boxes containing biblical texts written on parchment which are worn on the forehead and left arm by Jewish men during morning prayers. Bratzlaver’s ‘Tale of Seven Beggars’: Klein wrote five ‘Bratzlaver’ poems based on the famous tale ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, a Parable’ [CP 2.486]; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Touching a Good Gardener’ [CP 2.489–91]; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, When He Considered How the Pious are Overwhelmed’ [CP 2.487–8]; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Which He Wrote Down as the Stammerer Spoke’ [CP 2.491–2]; and ‘Of Remembrance’ [CP 2.488–9]. autochthonous: ‘consisting of or formed from indigenous material’ [OED] Rabbi Jehuda Halevi: Philosopher, physician, and poet, Yehuda Halevi (c. 1075– 1141) lived in the golden age of medieval Jewish culture in Spain. His most famous poems express a longing for Zion, and at the end of his life he set out on a pilgrimage for Jerusalem from which he did not return. Rubaiyat form: The translation Klein refers to is the ‘Rubaiyat of Yehuda Halevi’ [CP 2.773–5] published in the Reconstructionist 3, 20 (11 Feb. 1938), pp. 10– 11. The poem was written in the stanzaic form used by Edward Fitzgerald in his translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (quatrains in iambic pentameter, with the rhyme scheme aaba). yarmulka: (Yid.) ‘the skull-cap worn by Jewish men’ [OED] ‘Child Harold’s Pilgrimage’ … Opinion: published in Opinion 8, 8 (Sept. 1938), pp. 15–16.

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Stephen Wise: (1874-1949) a major force in Reform Judaism and the American Zionist Movement publisher … the runaround: The book mentioned here is Klein’s Hath Not a Jew [New York: Behrman’s Jewish Book House 1940]. As Caplan writes, ‘After Klein had been turned down by the Jewish Publication Society, [American author and editor Leo W.] Schwartz put him in touch with Jacob Behrman, a New York publisher who specialized in Jewish books. Behrman accepted Klein’s manuscript in 1936, hastily obtained Lewisohn’s preface, and scheduled the publication of a volume tentatively entitled Selected Poems for 1937. At the last moment, however, financial difficulties arose and Behrman was forced to delay the book’s appearance for several more years.’ [LOTD, pp. 71–2] shtunks: (Yid.) someone who smells bad; a lousy human being jettatura: ‘evil eye’; or ‘a person who brings bad luck’ [OED] Habonim Convention: Habonim was the youth group of the Labour Zionist Movement. As Klein informed Samuel Abramson in his letter of 4 June, he had established a Habonim Lodge in Rouyn [p. 12]. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (29 Dec. 1938) H.M. Caiserman: Hananiah Meyer Caiserman (1884–1950) was General Secretary of the CJC from its founding in 1919 until his death. He was an ardent Zionist, and supporter of Yiddish literature and Jewish culture. Mr. Figler: Bernard Figler (1900–80), a lawyer and social worker, was national director of the Zionist youth organization Habonim, an organizer of Young Judaea, and director of adult education for the Montreal YMHA. letter … in the Canadian Jewish Eagle: Klein had been appointed editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, the English weekly counterpart of the Eagle (the Yiddish daily Kanader Adler), in October 1938. The letter in question challenged Jews who were not observing a boycott of German goods and services. Klein questions the wisdom of printing a translation in the English-language journal which was widely read by non-Jews. 30 pieces of German silver: Jews purchasing German goods or doing business with German companies are compared to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus – whom he believed to be the Messiah – for ‘thirty pieces of silver’ [Matthew 26:15]. drastic measures … betrayers of the boycott: Although he argues against publication of the letter in the Chronicle, Klein proposes a wide private circulation. On 5 January 1939, Caiserman wrote that he had sent the letter to the CJC’s Boycott Committee.

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Leo Kennedy (2 June 1939) Leo Kennedy: Poet and short-story writer, Leo Kennedy (1907–2000) attended the Université de Montréal rather than McGill, but became involved with the group of poets associated with the McGill Fortnightly Review in the 1920s. His only volume of poetry, The Shrouding [Toronto: Macmillan 1933], shows the influence of metaphysical and modernist verse. He was the founding editor of the left-wing journals Canadian Mercury and New Frontier. When he moved to Chicago in 1940 to work in advertising, he continued to write stories and reviews under a variety of pseudonyms. ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’: The poem [version 1, CP 2.475–80] appeared in Opinion 8, 8 (Sept. 1938), pp. 15–16 and Canadian Jewish Chronicle,18 Nov. 1938, p. 6. ‘New Writing’: Kennedy had written on 20 May 1939 to tell Klein that he and Dorothy Livesay were ‘whipping into shape an effort at a Canadian version of the New Writing books,’ referring to the British anthologies New Signatures (1932) and New Country (1933) [Klein, LAC – MS 72–3]. He continued: ‘What will you have available for inclusion? The Barricade Smith poems? What? I would like to put in a substantial slab of your later poems and a short story. Friends and Romans is all I have here. Have you anything you like better?’ Klein sent ‘Childe Harold,’ but on 14 June, Kennedy responded that, while ‘Childe Harold’ is ‘a very fine poem,’ he preferred ‘Barricade Smith: His Speeches’ [CP 2.463–72] and requested a full manuscript of the poem: ‘It’s swell, biting, up-lads-and-at-’em stuff’ [Klein, LAC – MS 74]. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (22 Aug. 1939) Oscar Cohen (1908–85) was affiliated with the Central Division of the CJC, based in Toronto appointment of a Director … Saul Hayes: Saul Hayes (1906–80) was appointed executive director of the CJC, serving until his retirement in 1975. At the time of this letter, Hayes was a young lawyer, a recent graduate from McGill. In 1938, he had begun working for the United Jewish Relief Agencies of Canada, and became its director in 1940. Mr. Bronfman … returns: Samuel Bronfman (1889–1971), head of Joseph E. Seagram Distilleries had recently been made president of the CJC, a position which he held from 1939 to 1962. He was attending the Western Division conference in Calgary. See the letter to Oscar Cohen, 25 August 1939 [p. 18]. From 1939 to the mid-1950s, Klein was Samuel Bronfman’s speech-writer and adviser.

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Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (24 Aug. 1939) enclosure: This may have consisted of press clippings on Jewish issues from the Ontario press. See Klein’s letter to Cohen of 22 August 1939 [pp. 16– 17]. Mr. Bronfman’s address: A summary of Bronfman’s address to the Western Division Conference in Calgary appeared under the headline ‘Sam Bronfman Calls Empire, Liberty’s Bulwark’ in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle for 11 August: ‘While some people consider it fine sport to criticize contemporary British politics, all minorities should be thankful that the Empire is “a bulwark against intolerance and the practice of inhumanities”’ [p. 5]. Klein’s page 3 editorial – ‘Words in Their Season: Mr. Samuel Bronfman’s Congress Address’ – reinforced the message that, despite the Jewish community’s ‘disappointment … in the foreign policy of England, as it is applied to Palestine,’ ‘we’ are a ‘loyal opposition.’ See the Introduction for a discussion of Klein’s handling of the issue [pp. xi–xiii]. international situation: On 24 August 1939, the German-Russian non-aggression pact was signed and published. New Year’s message … next week: Klein was the author of the official Passover and New Year’s messages from Samuel Bronfman as national president of the CJC. Mr. John Hope Simpson’s book: Refugees: A Review of the Situation since September 1938 [London: Royal Institute of International Affairs 1939]. Hope Simpson was lauded as the spokesman for the League of Nations refugee assistance efforts, but was distrusted by Jewish activists because of the effect on British policy of an earlier report, Palestine, Report on Immigration, Land Settlement and Development [Command Paper no. 3686, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, August 1930], in which he had argued that the territory could not support further agricultural development. Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (25 Aug. 1939) Calgary Conference: of the western division of the CJC Mr. Caiserman: general-secretary of the CJC Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (16 Oct. 1939) enclosures: In his letter of 22 August 1939, Klein requested clippings of news items in the Ontario papers on Jewish issues [pp. 16–17]. National Refugee Committee in Toronto … October 22nd: In his letter of 11 October 1939, Klein had assumed that there would be a general meeting in Toronto on 15 October [Appendix C, p. 494]. Now scheduling conflicts were leading to another delay.

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United Jewish War Relief Societies (sic): The United Jewish Relief Agencies, of which Saul Hayes was director. The ‘(sic)’ may express Klein’s opinion that little ‘relief” was being provided. disbursement committee: Central Division was awaiting approval by the National Organization’s finance committee of their budget for refugee relief. See letter to Cohen, 11 October 1939 [Appendix C, p. 494]. enemy aliens … visas to Canada: From the early 1920s, Canada had restricted immigration of eastern Europeans, and Jews in particular; with the Depression, controls became more rigid. Despite Canada’s participation in the Evion Conference in 1938, immigration policy was not relaxed to accommodate European refugees. However, during the war, the CJC was able to win some concessions in individual cases. suggestion … National Emergency Council: Cohen had suggested that the Congress communicate concern over the difficulties experienced by refugees immigrating to Canada to the federal government. Premier Hepburn: Mitchell F. Hepburn (1896–1953) was premier of Ontario from 1934 to 1942. Leon Edel (13 Dec. 1939) Leo Edel: Leon Edel (1907–97), known in his university days as ‘Leo,’ was born in Pittsburgh and raised in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. At McGill University, Edel, A.J.M. Smith, and F.R. Scott founded the McGill Fortnightly Review (1925–7) and formed the core of the group of young poets, including A.M. Klein and Leo Kennedy, who were associated with the publication. Although Edel settled in New York, and then Hawaii, he and Klein did not lose touch until the 1950s, when Klein began to terminate most of his correspondence. Edel is best known for his biographies of Henry James (for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize) and James Joyce. He introduced Klein to both James Joyce’s novel Ulysses and Ellsworth Mason, another of Klein’s major correspondents on the subject. See Edel’s essay ‘The Klein-Joyce Enigma,’ Journal of Canadian Studies 19, 2 (Summer 1984), pp. 27–33. article … Fortnightly Review: Edel had sent Klein an offprint of ‘The McGill Fortnightly Review: A Casual Reminiscence,’ McGill News 21, 1 (1939–40), pp.19–22, 61. The section of the article Klein addresses here is reprinted in Caplan’s biography [LOTD, p. 51]. refusing to change … my sonnet: Klein may be referring to the early sonnet ‘Last Will and Testament,’ which exists in two versions [CP 1.27–8]. In the first version, the final line reads, ‘And feel her breath and blush and all her soul …’; in the second, possibly showing the influence of Smith’s critique, ‘And I will filch my small Elysian dole!’ Another candidate is the sonnet ‘Business,’ also

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written in the latter 1920s, which concludes with the lines ‘And I would buy a poem any time / And gladly pay for it with my own soul’ [CP 1.93]. Finnegans Wake: Klein consistently corrects Joyce’s grammar with an apostrophe – Finnegan’s Wake. your essay … Finnegans Wake: ‘James Joyce and His New Work,’ University of Toronto Quarterly 9, 1 (Oct. 1939), pp. 68–81. Edmund Wilson’s article in New Republic: In his review of Finnegans Wake – published in two parts in the New Republic [28 June and 11 July 1939] – Wilson expresses admiration for the novel, but concern that Joyce is losing touch with the needs of his readership. Padrack Column: (sic) Irish poet Padraic Colum and his wife Mary later published reminiscences of their long-time friendship with Joyce in Our Friend James Joyce [New York: Doubleday 1958]. ‘Exagimination’: Our Exagimination Round his Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress by Samuel Beckett, and other friends and acquaintances of Joyce, including Frank Budgen, Stuart Gilbert, Eugene Jolas, Robert McAlmon, and William Carlos Williams, was originally published in Paris by Shakespeare and Company [1929]. ‘Calling all dawns’: the final chapter of Finnegans Wake anthology … of the intelligible portions: The notion of an anthology of the best of Finnegans Wake is repeated in Klein’s unsuccessful Guggenheim application for 1944, where he writes that ‘Joyce’s paragraphs of double-and-triple entendre, taken separately and without relation to the whole book, would make a splendid anthology of original verse’ [p. 77]. See the notes to the letter to E.K. Brown, 21 April 1944 [p. 393]. Hound and Horn … C. Foster Damon: A reference to Damon’s article ‘The Odyssey in Dublin,’ published in Hound and Horn 3 (Oct.–Dec. 1929), pp. 7–44. In the notes to his essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ Klein writes: ‘What S. Foster Damon … sensed intuitively – that a great Christian parable is concealed in Ulysses is thus, through the manifold techniques here discussed, explicitly stated’ [LER, p. 320]. Shylock’s … rhetorical questions: The violent anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany raised the same questions as Shylock had in Act 3, scene 1 of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice : ‘Hath not a Jew eyes? … If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example?’ Samuel Abramson (6 Jan. 1940) back to Toronto: See the note to ‘Abramson’ in Klein’s letter to him of 4 June 1938 [p. 333]. In 1940, Abramson was working as assistant executive secretary of the CJC, Central Division (Toronto).

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shreibers: (Yid.) writers Segal: Jacob Isaac Segal (1896–1954), a Montreal Yiddish poet and friend of Klein. Klein translated a number of his poems [CP 2.804–16] and eulogized him in ‘In memoriam: J.I. Segal’ [LER, pp. 87–90]. Leo Kennedy (15 Mar. 1940) August 1st, 1939 … March 8th: On 8 March Kennedy had written that he was resuming work on his proposed anthology of ‘New Writing’ [Klein, LAC – MS 77]. (See Klein’s letter to Kennedy, 2 June 1939 [pp. 15–16].) Klein had submitted ‘Child Harold’s Pilgrimage’ for inclusion. However, as a committed Marxist, Kennedy objected strongly to a passage which was a thinly veiled rehearsal of his ongoing debate with Klein about the rights of Jews in Communist Russia: Aye, but thy fell is somewhat safe in Muscovy! Quoth Kamenev to me. But truth it is, as all the world avows: Provided I cast off my divine impediments, And leave my household gods in the common house. [ll. 24–9] On 20 March Kennedy replied: ‘I suggested in August 1939, politely, that I had no wish to be a party to the libelling of 180,000,000 people by the poet Klein, good poem or bad poem. I believed you might, in decency, retract the slander. I still think you should’ [Klein, LAC – MS 80]. red-pencilling … censorship: As Kennedy’s anthology never appeared, the argument is moot. However, as Pollock observes, ‘Klein did, in fact, delete lines 24–9 (as well as the following lines on British policy in Palestine) when he revised the poem in the early fifties’ [CP 2.958]. a fortiori: (Lat.) ‘with stronger reason’; a logical principle indicating proof of one claim on the basis of another already established. excerpt from the Canadian Jewish Chronicle: On 8 March, in support of his request, Kennedy had enclosed with his letter a copy of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle for 1 March with two passages underlined: ‘It would have been very easy to send you chapter and verse from left sources, to insist that the Jew in Muscovy need not check his beliefs and practices at the Customs Office … I preferred to wait for a statement which you would be more likely to attend. Well, Abe, here it is: from the very paper in which your weekly, signed, comments appear’ [Klein, LAC – MS 77]. The specific passages marked by Kennedy are not indicated. However, it is likely that they came from an article by Boris Smolar, ‘Jews Barred from Public Posts in Soviet Poland’ [CJC (1 Mar. 1940), p. 5], in which he writes

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that Jews ‘enjoy religious and cultural freedom, except for a ban on Hebrew teaching,’ although they are banned from public office because they are ‘middle class’ and active in ‘political organizations.’ Overall, this is ‘a lesser evil’ than Nazi persecution, as ‘Jewish religion is considered a private affair and no one is persecuted for being religious.’ British policy in Palestine … mixed reactions: Kennedy had written on 8 March: ‘I am waiting patiently to see what you are going to write about the latest British move in Palestine. It is my impression that British opportunism is not working for the benefit of those self-sacrificing idealists who have given so much to make a homeland’ [Klein, LAC – MS 77]. ‘Crocodile Tears’ [BS, pp. 68–9], Klein’s editorial in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle for 15 March, seems to be a direct response: When the infamous pact between the world’s pioneer Jew-baiter and Stalin was consummated, then the cat was out of the bag. Then one knew that Russia was as imperialist as any other European state, and that in its expansionist realpolitik, it would throw overboard any and all of the ideals which it carried as ornamental baggage. Hence the silence in the Soviet press on the Jewish question. [BS, p. 68] Molotov … Ribbentrop: Soviet Foreign Commissar Vacheslav M. Molotov (1890– 1986) and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893–1946) negotiated a ten-year non-aggression pact between Russia and Nazi Germany in August 1939. right to purchase land … to breathe and live: The MacDonald White Paper of 17 May 1939 limited Jewish emigration and ownership of land and envisaged the creation of an Arab state in Palestine within ten years. In lines 30 to 35 of ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ – immediately following the section about Russian anti-Semitism which Kennedy found so objectionable – Klein voiced his concerns with British policy: And there is also Palestine, my own, Land of my fathers, cradle of my birth, Whither may I return, king to his throne, By showing the doorman, Mr. Harold’s worth Several thousand pounds (and not by loan!) Redemption for the pawned and promised earth! massacres of 1929 … ‘arab revolution’: In ‘Crocodile Tears.’ Klein writes: We remember too keenly and too bitterly the attitude of the Soviet theoreticians when the riots of 1929 took place. Then it was that the Freheit, with a despicable heartlessness and treachery which it has since, for reasons of convenience repented, announced to the world at large that the uprising of Arab bandits was a revolutionary movement. Then it was that

Explanatory Notes pp. 23–4

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they would have had us believe that the Yeshiva-bochur of Hebron was a reactionary capitalist, that the Chalutz of Galilee was a tool of imperialism, and that the shamas of Petach-Tikvah was working hand in hand with international finance. Accordingly, they justified the arson, the murder, the slaughter. It was not a pogrom, they said; it was a loftily-inspired revolution! To-day, they dissolve in tears because a land ordinance has been passed. Their sensitive hearts cannot stand it; the woe of Israel is their woe! [BS, p. 69] feet of clay: Daniel 2.32–3 Tolstoi’s son: Russian novelist Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1883–1945) wrote stories eulogizing Stalin. He was a distant relative of the revolutionary Leo Tolstoy (1882–1910). Leo Kennedy (29 Apr. 1940) Hath Not a Jew: Published by Behrman’s Jewish Books House in New York. Kennedy responded: ‘Here is your book at last, a collection of your best Jewish poems, well printed by an American publisher, well introduced by a Name in the community, a nice, fat, balanced text that, I estimate, represents about a third or so of your volume.’ But his parting advice was to avoid ethnic categorization: ‘Now Abe you have to get a follow-up volume with your non-sectarian stuff, your Spanish poems, etc.’ [6 May 1940; Klein, LAC – MS 83]. article … Canadian Forum: unidentified write about the volume: Kennedy writes on 6 May that he had written ‘Ned’ Pratt and asked him to review the poem [Klein, LAC – MS 83]: the review appeared in Canadian Poetry Magazine 5, 1 (Sept. 1940), pp. 39–40. He had also written B.K. Sandwell at Saturday Night suggesting that either he or Louis McKay write a review, and asked Pratt to notify E.K. Brown at the University of Toronto Quarterly. Samuel Abramson (6 May 1940) kind sentiments … of May 3: congratulations on the publication of Hath Not a Jew Benny’s: Ben’s Deli in Montreal (established in 1908), known for its smoked meat Galitzianers: Many of the Jews in Toronto had emigrated from Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Abramson was from Romania. the Eagle: The Canadian Jewish Chronicle was the English-language counterpart of the Yiddish Der Kanader Adler (The Canadian Eagle). The two journals shared office space.

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Samuel Abramson (31 May 1940) Abrahamson: an allusion to the biblical patriarch’s transformation from ‘Abram’ (Heb. ‘exalted father’) to ‘Abraham’ (‘father of many nations’) [Genesis 17.5] recent communication: Abramson had written on 30 May requesting a copy of Hath Not a Jew which he had not been able to purchase in Toronto [Klein, LAC – MS 88]. Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] (7 June 1940) S. Charney … S. Niger: Samuel Charney (1883–1955), prominent New York critic of Yiddish literature and theatre, wrote under the pseudonym of Shmuel Niger. In ‘Proletarian Poetry’ [CJC (5 Aug. 1932); LER, p. 161], Klein had commended Niger for his stand against the invasion of art by propaganda. Shloime Wiseman: Wiseman reviewed Hath Not a Jew for the Canadian Jewish Chronicle [14 June 1940, pp. 6, 14]. Jewish People’s Schools: The Jewish ‘People’s Schools’ (Yidishe Folkshuln) offered a combination of the secular program set by the provincial ministries of education and a component emphasizing Jewish history, culture, and customs. Shloime Wiseman was principal of the People’s Schools in Montreal. incognical: an allusion to Charney’s assumed identity as critic Shmuel Niger E.K. Brown (17 Oct. 1940) E.K. Brown: Edward Killoran Brown (1905–51) was one of the first critics to write seriously about Canadian literature, winning the Governor General’s Award for 1943 for his collection of essays On Canadian Poetry. As an editor of the University of Toronto Quarterly (1932–41), he produced an annual survey of Canadian literature. your letter of October 11th: Brown had written to thank Klein for an inscribed copy of Hath Not a Jew: ‘It has always been my idea, in private, that you had the making of the greatest poet this country has ever had, and in public, that you have actually done more good things than any one but, perhaps, Pratt. Well; this book comes along to make it easier for me to hold forth about you, as I do to my classes and friends. Some of those old Forum numbers are getting rather yellow …’ [Klein, LAC – MS 95]. Canadian issue … Poetry Magazine: Brown had been invited by George Dillon, editor of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, to edit a special issue devoted entirely to Canadian poetry and criticism [Poetry 58, 1 (April 1941)]. He wrote: ‘Probably I should like something of substantial length; but the entire amount of poetry is to be limited to 700 lines. Could you let me have something running to 50 or 75? I think your best work … is that in which you have space to spread’ [11 October 1940; Klein, LAC – MS 95].

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poems I am submitting: Grouped under the title ‘The Psalter of A.M. Klein,’ Brown published Psalms 151 (later titled ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Touching His Green Pastures’ [CP 2.513–14]), 154 (‘To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Song of Loves’ [CP 2.504–6]) and 155 (‘To the Chief Musician, AlTaschith, Michtam of Abraham, When One Sent, and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [CP 2.521–2]). review of my book: Brown indicated that he hoped to include a review of Hath Not a Jew in the special issue of Poetry, and arranged for Leon Edel to write it [‘Poetry and the Jewish Tradition,’ pp. 51–3]. Klein’s list of the journals which had not yet published reviews was specifically tailored to Brown, who contributed to Canadian Forum, edited the University of Toronto Quarterly, and was to be guest editor of Poetry. The hint was taken: in his next letter, Brown announces that ‘[t]he UTQ will review your volume in the April number – i.e., in Letters in Canada’ [12 Nov. 1940; Klein, LAC – MS 113]. Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] (31 Oct. 1940) another copy … unnecessary embarrassment: The copy of Hath Not a Jew which Klein promised to send in his letter of 7 June had not reached Charney. your … review of Roback’s book: Unidentified. Klein’s own review of A.A. Roback’s The Story of Yiddish Literature [New York: Yiddish Scientific Institute, American Branch 1940] was published in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle on 3 January 1941 [pp. 4, 16]. Curiosities of Yiddish Literature: [Cambridge, Mass.: Sci-Art Publishers 1933] mit leiten gleich: (Yid.) literally ‘equal to people’; ‘as good as the best’ Leo Kennedy (31 Oct. 1940) activities on behalf of poesy: In early October, worried that no reviews had appeared, Klein wrote Kennedy asking whether anything had come of his activities on his behalf. (See the letter to Kennedy, 29 April 1940 [pp. 23–4].) On 12 November, in response to this letter, Kennedy writes with some hard advice: ‘You say that you are interested in being reviewed in other journals than the Anglo-Jewish group. I don’t know what you’re writing in addition to poems in this genre, but if you’re not publishing other than the Menorah or Jewish Opinion type of thing, the answer is that you won’t get reviews outside of the Anglo-Jewish field, unless they’re written by pals like myself’ [Klein, LAC – MS 110–12]. identity of Poetry Magazine: In his letter of 26 October, Kennedy apologizes for confusing the Chicago-based Poetry Magazine with Canadian Poetry Magazine when he received a request for poems for E.K. Brown’s special Canadian number of Poetry – and then continues to assume that Brown will be guest-editing CPM: ‘Guess I didn’t look at the signature: I didn’t realize that the letter

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was from E.K. Brown. What’s he doing with the Poetry Magazine? It should be better than usual if he exercises his customary acumen. This is no aspersion on Ned Pratt; he has to work with what he gets (sic). If you’ve sent, I’ll send too. Though the stuff I’ve written lately can’t be published this side of Paradise. You see, I don’t hate my fellow men enough’ [Klein, LAC – MS 100–1]. unpublishable this side of Paradise: a paraphrase of Kennedy’s judgment of his recent verse in his letter of 26 October (see preceding note) galleys … Menorah Journal: ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’ appeared in MJ 28, 2 (Summer 1940), pp. 138–42. Kennedy admired the poem and asked to keep the galleys, but again warned Klein that ‘it is the same poem you’ve been writing for thirteen years by my count. Your Jew has been persecuted in Prague of the middle ages, in Amsterdam, in the bailiwick of Pan Stanislaus, in Palestine, and now in latter-day Warsaw. Intentionally or not, you are a writer of propaganda poems, and the propaganda appeals only to a small group, the middle-class Jews. If you’re content to be another Ludwig Lewisohn, it’s all right. But I know you’ve no kidney for that cheap faker, and so I say, Abe, my friend, if you want a wide audience, you have to write more widely’ [Klein, LAC – MS 100–1]. good review: Libby Benedict’s review, ‘Hail Poet!’ MJ 28, 2 (Summer 1940), pp. 218–20 psalms … beginning at 151: published in 1944 as the ‘The Psalter of Avram Haktani,’ the first section of Poems My son: Colman Klein, born in 1937 Seven Arts Features Syndicate (6 Nov. 1940) Seven Arts Features Syndicate: a news agency specializing in items of interest to the Jewish press subscriber to your service … Editor: Klein addressed this inquiry in his capacity as ‘Editor’ on Canadian Jewish Chronicle letterhead. reviewed in the Menorah Journal: The review by Libby Benedict. See the note to ‘good review’ in the letter to Kennedy of 31 October 1940 [p. 346]. Editor, OPINION (21 Nov. 1940) your letter of November 18th: E. Walker, editorial secretary, had written to accept the following poems for publication in Opinion 11, 12 (Oct. 1941) [Klein, LAC – MS 115]: ‘For the Chief Physician’ [p. 28; CP 2.505]; ‘A Prayer of the Afflicted, When He Is Overwhelmed’ [p. 28; CP 2.508]; ‘A Psalm of Abraham, When He Was Sore Pressed’ [p. 28; CP 2.514]; ‘Shiggaion of Abraham, Which he Sang unto the Lord’ [p. 28; CP 2.519]; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of Israel, to Bring to Remembrance’ [p. 26; CP 2.522–3]; and ‘To the Prophets, Minor and Major, a Psalm or Song’ [p. 28; CP 2.524].

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Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST (21 Nov. 1940) Rabbi Ira Eisenstein: Rabbi Eisenstein (1907–2001) was co-founder of the Reconstructionist movement (see the note on Rabbi Kaplan below) and editor of the movement’s magazine, the Reconstructionist, from 1935 to 1981. submitting … a number of psalms: ‘Psalm 152’ (later renamed ‘Maschil of Abraham: A Prayer When He Was in the Cave’ [CP 2.506–7]) was published in Reconstructionist 6, 18 (10 Jan. 1941), 12; ‘A Song of Degrees’ [CP 2.520] appeared in Reconstructionist 7, 3 (21 Mar. 1941), 6. Hath Not a Jew: No review of the book appeared in The Reconstructionist. Rabbi Kaplan: Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881–1983) was Rabbi Eisenstein’s close collaborator and, as the author of Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life [New York: Macmillan 1935], the philosopher of the Reconstructionist movement. Mr. Behrman: Louis Behrman (1872–62), founded New York–based Behrman’s Jewish Book House (publisher of Klein’s Hath Not a Jew) in 1921. Henry Hurwitz, MENORAH JOURNAL (5 Dec. 1940) H. Hurwitz, Menorah Journal: Henry Hurwitz (1886–1961) was editor of the Menorah Journal from its inception in 1915 until his death. The journal’s mandate was to encourage the evolution of Jewish culture and identity. In voicing the opinion in this letter that ‘the centre of Jewish world culture is now America,’ Klein is echoing Hurwitz’s editorial position that America had become one of ‘the great creative centres of Jewish culture in the Diaspora’ [‘To a Renaissance,’ MJ 27, 1 (January–March 1939), p. 6]. See Lewis Fried, ‘The Menorah Journal: Yavneh in America, 1945–1950,’ American Jewish Archives 50 (1998): 77–108. a series of poems: The poems were from Klein’s series of ‘psalms.’ Six appeared in MJ 29 (Autumn 1941): ‘A Prayer of Abraham That He Be Forgiven for Blasphemy’ [pp. 280; CP 2.508]; ‘A Psalm for Five Holy Pilgrims, Yea, Six on the King’s Highway’ [pp. 280-1; CP 2.509];‘A Psalm of Abraham, Which He Made Because of Fear in the Night’ [pp. 281-2; CP 2.515–16]; ‘A Psalm of Justice, and Its Scales’ [p. 282; CP 2.516]; ‘A Psalm to Teach Humility’ [pp. 284N5; CP 2.518–19]; and ‘A Psalm of Resignation’ [p. 285; CP 2.517]. Four were not accepted: ‘A Psalm of Abraham Concerning the Arrogance of the Son of Man’ [CP 2.510]; ‘A Psalm of Abraham of That Which Was Visited upon Him’ [CP 2.510–11]; ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Praying a Green old Age’ [CP 511]; and ‘To the Chief Bailiff, a Psalm of the King’s Writ’ [CP 2.521]. Leo Kennedy (7 Jan. 1941) paper … about yours truly: On 12 November 1940, Kennedy had written: ‘I’m going to write an article about you that won’t be the kind of thing we wrote

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about each other ten years ago. I think it high time that someone wrote a considered, full-length paper on you, your work, what you’ve done (those editorials in the Chronicle, Abe, are even lower than my copywriting), and what you can do. I’ll send you a copy for good or ill and see if I can place the manuscript on its own merits in a good journal. I’ll probably lambaste you somewhat because I think you’re endangering your early success in a narrow confinement. I have done crazy things with my life but you are doing crazy things with your talent, which is very much worse’ [Klein, LAC – MS 111–12]. The article never appeared in print. ballads: Kennedy had promised to send ‘some ribald and satirical ballads,’ although he was ‘mostly’ trying to write fiction which would pay better and allow him to escape ‘the advertising whore house’ [12 Nov. 1940; Klein, LAC – MS 112]. Bernard G. Richards, Jewish Information Bureau (7 Jan. 1941) Bernard G. Richards: (1877–1971), Lithuanian-born essayist, one of the founders of the American Jewish Congress in 1915, and its executive director until 1932. He had founded the Jewish Information Bureau to support the growing American Jewish community. your letter of January 3rd: Richards had written to say that he appreciated Michael Garber’s review in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle of The Canadian Jewish Yearbook because it explained ‘the curious sudden appearance of bulky annual publications – almost three in a row – apparently without the expected participation of organized Canadian Jewry itself.’ In spite of its failings, ‘I would rather see a poorly organized reference book brought out than none … at all’ [Klein, LAC – MS 122]. Mr. Garber: Michael Garber (1892–1977), lawyer and community leader; a founder of the CJC. Garber wrote a regular column in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle and contributed to Kanader Adler. Canadian Jewish Yearbook: A compendium of information on Jewish organizations, with brief descriptions and histories, and a list of books published that year; the yearbooks were printed in Montreal by the Zionist-Revisionist Organization of Canada. Gibbon … rise and fall: English historian Edward Gibbon (1737–94) is best known for his exhaustive The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. aliyah or even mafter: An ‘aliyah’ (Heb.) is the calling up of members of the congregation – often patrons of the synagogue – to recite the blessings over the portions of the Scroll that are being read; a ‘mafter’ is a special aliyah before the reading of the haftorah, the Books of the Prophets.

Explanatory Notes p. 33

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the deuteronomy of malediction: Deuteronomy 28.15–68 contains an extensive list of curses on those who disobey God. Bennett: Archibald B. Bennett (1891–1980), philosopher, historian, and journalist; a founder of the CJC in Ontario Roback by proxy: American psychologist and critic of Yiddish literature, A.A. Roback (1890–1965) was an occasional contributor to the Canadian Jewish Chronicle. (See the letter to Charney [Niger], 31 October 1940 [pp. 27–8].) Mermaid Tavern (kosher): a tavern in Cheapside which in 1603 became the regular meeting place of a prominent group of writers, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, John Donne, Robert Herrick, and William Shakespeare. Wolofsky: Harry (Zvi Hirsch) Wolofsky (1876–1949) was the founder, owner, and publisher of Kanader Adler (the Canadian Jewish Eagle), Canada’s most important Yiddish newspaper, as well as the English-language weekly Canadian Jewish Chronicle. Ralph Gustafson (14 Jan. 1941) Ralph Gustafson: (1909–95) Poet, essayist, and short-story writer, Gustafson edited several notable anthologies, including the Pelican Anthology of Canadian Poetry [Penguin Books 1942]. Pelican Anthology of Canadian Poetry: Gustafson had written Klein on 11 January 1941 [Gustafson, USask]: ‘I feel no anthology could truly represent Canadian poetry without you, and am asking if you would be good enough to allow me to include the complete DESIGN FOR A MEDIAEVAL TAPESTRY?’ In addition, ‘[i]f this is agreeable,’ he requested ‘copyright permission for Canada, England, and the United States to reprint this poem in the Penguin Anthology’ and ‘data for the Biographical Notes.’ On 17 January 1941, Gustafson indicated in a letter to A.J.M. Smith that Klein’s participation was significant to his planning for this anthology: ‘There will be much gnashing of teeth, I’m afraid, among C.A.A. poets and poetesses when they get it in their hands! I’ve tried to rip up the upholstery that has smothered our other anthologies (apart from New Provinces). I’d have preferred to confine mine to poetry since 1925 when there were signs that we had got out of puberty – but they wanted it from Confederation and I’ve done my best. The shock when they see that I’ve given more space to Klein than either Carman or Roberts should be salutary’ [Smith, FRBL – box 1]. Gustafson also wrote to request a contribution the following year when compiling his Contemporary Canadian Writing for Penguin Books. (See Klein’s letter to Gustafson, 1 April 1942 [pp. 42–3].) copyright … DESIGN FOR A MEDIAEVAL TAPESTRY: The poem [CP 1.195–202]

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had been published in American Caravan 4 (1931), pp. 351–7, as well as in Hath Not a Jew. Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] (21 Jan. 1941) your very serious letter: In his letter of 16 January 1941 [Klein, LAC – MS 130–1], written in Yiddish [translated here by Mildred Gutkin], Niger questioned whether Hath Not a Jew would be accessible to non-Jews: Whether you achieved the synthesis between Yiddish and English (in cultures as in languages) I do not know. It seems to me that your problem, and the difficulty in the problem, lies in wanting to unite the culture of one people with the language of another people. Is it possible? And something else: Will the English readers not need the Yiddish-Hebrew dictionary, as I needed an English one? I do not think that it would be enough for them. In his reply to this letter, dated 28 February [Klein, LAC – MS 135–7], Niger elaborates: We are not talking here about the literary allusions, and about the need to know facts and the translations of words. This would not be such an impediment, as it is not an impediment with the biblical or the GraecoRoman mythology, and the ancient English (and not only English) poetry. In this particular you are right. But in order to be able to identify with a great many of your poems one needs not only the translation of this or that word, the significance of this or that name, one needs to have lived in the atmosphere that nourishes your creativity and fills it with life. In this no dictionaries or study will help. One needs to have imprinted on oneself the [joy?] of learning Gemarra, or of Chassidism, or the Yiddish folklore …    : tzena v’rena (Yid.), a translation of the Song of Songs 3.11: ‘Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion and gaze upon King Solomon.’ The phrase refers to a Yiddish translation of the Pentateuch, accompanied by illustrative stories, read chiefly by women who did not read Hebrew. Yiddish of this ‘school’ would be old-fashioned [Pollock]. See Klein’s comment on his mother, who ‘sits reading, weeping the old-fashioned Yiddish of the seventeenth-century prayerbooks’ [NB, p. 34]. gemara … Aramaic: The Talmud consists of the mishna and the Aramaic commentary on it, the gemara. The term gemara is also often used to refer to the Talmud as a whole.    : girsa d’yankuta (Aramaic), ‘knowledge acquired in childhood’ [Pollock] Rilke: Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), German lyric poet Mithnagid: the language of the mishna, the text of the Talmud

Explanatory Notes pp. 35–6

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Chassidic: chassidim are literally ‘righteous men’; a sect of Jewish mystics founded in eastern Europe in the mid-eighteenth century, whose followers emphasize ecstasy in prayer, charismatic leadership, and learning Yehuda Halevi: (c. 1075–1141) Jewish poet and philosopher in medieval Spain. See Klein’s poem ‘Yehuda Halevi, His Pilgrimage’ [CP 2.544–6]  : L’havdil (Heb.), literally ‘to separate’; ‘not to mention in the same breath.’ The phrase is used – often semi-humorously – to separate two things that it is almost sacrilegious to mention together, e.g. sacred and profane subjects [Pollock]. Immanuel of Rome: (c. 1261–1328) Italian Hebrew poet, a friend of Dante Alighieri the parallel construction of the Bible: In ‘The Gesture of the Bible,’ Klein argues that the characteristic parallel constructions of biblical prose are Jewry’s answer to the second commandment: ‘the parallelismus membrorum is to prosody what the image is to sculpture and painting’ [LER, p. 133]. my book: Hath Not a Jew; see the note to ‘your very serious letter’ above. James Joyce’s attempt … Finnegans Wake … Ulysses: Klein makes a similar argument in his letter to James Laughlin of New Directions, 3 November 1942 [p. 58]. Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed: Moses Maimonides (1135–1204), Spanish-born Jewish religious philosopher and legal scholar. In his Guide to the Perplexed, he worked to reconcile Talmudic scripture with the philosophy of Aristotle. Main Leib … Moishe Leib Halpern … Yehoash … Segal: Klein groups these writers again in a review of J.I. Segal’s Lidur un Loiben – ‘The Poetry Which Is Prayer’ [CJC 2 Nov. 1945; LER, p. 50]: ‘Segal is unique in Yiddish literature. No other contemporary poet has developed so authentically Yiddish a muse – it is not the muse of Mani Leib, which is essentially Slavic, not that of the late Moishe Leib Halpern, which is much worldlier, nor that of the Russian Yiddish poets, who show perhaps a wider scope, but certainly a thinner intensity.’ Mani Leib: Mani-Leib Brahinsky (1886–1953) Yiddish neo-Romantic poet particularly known for his ballads and children’s poems. Klein translated his ‘Sunset’ [CP 2.804]. Moishe Leib Halpern: (1886–1932) American Jewish poet, who with Mani-Leib was one of the leading members of Di Yunge (‘the young ones’), a modernist Yiddish literary group based in New York. Klein translated several of his poems [CP 2.795–800]. Yehoash: The pen name of Yehoash Solomon Bloomgarden (1872–1927), Yiddish poet and translator. See Klein’s review ‘Poems of Yehoash: Review of Poems of Yehoash selected and translated by Isidore Goldstick, with a biographical sketch by Evlin Yehoash Dworkin’ [CJC 26 Sept. 1952; LER, pp. 83–4].

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Segal: Jacob Isaac Segal (1896–1954), Canada’s pre-eminent Yiddish poet and Klein’s good friend. Klein translated eleven of his poems [CP 2.804–16]. Bialik’s hamathmid: ‘The Diligent Student,’ a poem by Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873–1934), Russian-born poet, essayist, and editor. Klein called Bialik ‘the personification of the Hebrew Renaissance’ [‘Chaim Nachman Bialik,’ LER, p. 14]. Like James Joyce – Bialik provided him with a model of what a poet should be – regardless of the language in which he composed. Klein translated many of Bialik’s poems in the mid-1930s [CP 2.725–64]. In the mid-1950s, as Zailig Pollock argues in A.M. Klein: The Story of the Poet, ‘Klein once more turns to Bialik as a kind of surrogate who enables him to give voice to feelings too painful to express directly in his own poetry,’ and revisions of earlier translations such as ‘O Thou Seer, Go Flee Thee’ [version 2 of ‘Seer, Begone,’ CP 2.756–7] and ‘A Spirit Passes Before Me’ [version 2 of ‘Thy Breath, O Lord, Passed Over and Enkindled Me,’ CP 2.761–3] stand as ‘Klein’s most powerfully disturbing admissions of the complete failure of his ambitions as a poet’ [p. 254]. The Day: The Jewish Daily Forward, a Yiddish newspaper based in New York Samuel Abramson, Canadian Jewish Congress (24 Mar. 1941) adjunct chaplain to Jewish soldiers in Ontario: Their friend Rabbi S. Gershon Levi – another occasional contributor to the Canadian Jewish Chronicle – had been appointed chaplain for Jewish troops in the Canadian armed forces [‘What Price Freedom? Reflections before the Seder,’ CJC (4 Apr. 1941), pp. 4, 90] Samuel Bronfman (24 Mar. 1941) Passover message: As a major spokesman for Canadian Jews from 1939 to 1962, Bronfman distributed press releases on significant days in the religious calendar. For the text, see the letter to H.M. Caiserman, 26 March 1941 [pp. 38–9]. parallel … events … Passover celebration: This was a favourite theme of Klein’s editorials for the Passover issue of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle throughout the Second World War and into the mid-1950s. A few weeks later he published ‘And it was at Midnight’ [CJC (11 Apr. 1941), 3], in which he argued the ‘symbolism and hope’ of Passover as Jews were rising to ‘the task of winning for our people its proper place upon God’s world’ [BS, p. 98]. Your very candid letter: In his letter dated 18 March [Klein, LAC – MS 139], Bronfman wrote: ‘I am sure that you know how much I appreciate your ever readiness to be helpful from time to time when I seek your counsel and assistance on matters of mutual interest to us in relation to Communal affairs.’

Explanatory Notes pp. 37–40

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In particular, he thanks Klein for his involvement in the arrangements for his birthday celebration on 4 March, a lavish dinner to which ‘representatives of important Jewish organizations and individuals throughout Canada’ had been invited [letter to Klein from D. Kirsch, chairman of the Committee on Arrangements, Montefiore Club; Klein, LAC – MS 134]. Bronfman closed with ‘the warmest expression of friendship and deep regard … [W]hat a pleasure it has been for me to learn to know intimately a man of such depth of thought, intellect and character …’ knacker: Possibly ‘a trickster or deceiver,’ or even ‘an old worn-out horse’ [OED]. However, given the allusion to his wife’s ‘vocabulary’ had he refused the money, Klein may intend a cruder reference to ‘the testicles’ [OED]. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (26 Mar. 1941) Passover message … Samuel Bronfman: Klein was the ghostwriter of Bronfman’s annual message as national president of the CJC for many years. (See letter to Bronfman, 24 Mar. 1941 [pp. 37–8].) The enclosed message is typical of the genre. gauleiters: (Ger.) ‘a political official controlling a district under Nazi rule; … a local or petty tyrant’ [OED]. George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (13 Aug. 1941) George Dillon: (1907–68) American poet who assumed the editorship of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse upon the death of Harriet Monroe in 1936 some further poems: Of the poems submitted, only two were accepted for publication in Poetry 59 (Mar. 1942): ‘A Psalm of Abraham, concerning That Which He Beheld Upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [pp. 315–16; CP 2.530–1] and ‘Sennet from Gheel’ [pp. 316–17; CP 2.543]. ‘Of the Friendly Silence of the Moon’ [CP 2.542] was never published; ‘Ballad of the Nursery Rhymes’ [CP 2.538–9] appeared in CF 21 (Nov. 1941), p. 244; and ‘Ballad of the Thwarted Axe’ [CP 2.539–40] in CF 21 (Oct. 1941), pp. 212. A.J.M. Smith (28 Nov. 1941) A.J.M. Smith: Arthur James Marshall Smith (1902–80), an old friend from Klein’s days at McGill, co-founder with F.R. Scott of the McGill Fortnightly (1925–7), and one of the ‘Montreal Group’ of poets. In 1936, Smith, Scott, Klein, and Leo Kennedy had joined with Toronto poets E.J. Pratt and Robert Finch to produce Canada’s first anthology of modernist poetry, New Provinces: Poems of Several Authors [Toronto: Macmillan]. In 1943, Scott would win the Governor General’s Award for News of the Phoenix and Other Poems [Toronto: Ryerson], and publish the influential anthology Book of Canadian Poetry:

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A Critical and Historical Anthology [Chicago: University of Chicago Press] in which he dubbed Klein ‘the greatest poet living today in Canada.’ Mr. Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation: See the note to ‘Henry Allen Moe’ in Klein’s letter to Moe, 17 July 1948 [p. 423]. application form: See Klein’s letter to Smith, 22 July 1942 [pp. 46–7]. Professor Collins’ White Savannahs: See the letter to W.E. Collin, 13 July 1936 [pp. 9–10]. Ludwig Lewisohn: See the note to ‘Ludwig Lewisohn’ in Klein’s letter to the JPS, 1 March 1935 [p. 332]. my next volume of poems … Jewish Publication Society: See Klein’s letter to Judge Louis E. Levinthal, 18 February 1942 [pp. 41–2]. American Continental prize … Yehuda Halevi: The contest was sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America to commemorate the eight-hundredth anniversary of the death of Yehuda Halevi (c. 1075–1141), philosopher, physician, and the greatest poet of the golden age of medieval Jewish culture in Spain. translation … of Chaim Nachman Bialik: See the note to ‘Bialik’s hamathmid’ in the letter to Samuel Charney, 21 January 1941 [p. 352]. By the time Klein submitted his formal application to the Guggenheim Foundation in the autumn of 1943, he had revised his plans, proposing instead to devote his time to a number of smaller projects [pp. 77–8]. your Anthology: Smith had received a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation for 1941 to compile his Book of Canadian Poetry. Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (18 Feb. 1942) Louis E. Levinthal: (1892–1976) Chair of the Publication Committee of the JPS (1939–49) and president of the Zionist Organization of America (1941–3). After retirement from his position as judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia (1937–59), he served as chairman of the board of governors of the Hebrew University in Israel. manuscript … ‘Poems by A.M. Klein’: Klein’s letter to A.J.M. Smith, 28 November 1941, suggests that this manuscript had been solicited [p. 41]. See CP 2.1070– 2 for a reconstruction by Usher Caplan, amended by Zailig Pollock, of the original typescript of Poems submitted in 1942. The volume was published in 1944. Included in your 1942 list: On 24 February 1948 [JPS, PJAC], Levinthal writes to Dr Solomon Grayzel, editor of the JPS series, ‘I am writing to Mr. Klein to tell him that it will be impossible, in any event, to include this work in 1942 in the list of publications.’ However, he expresses strong support for publication, perhaps anticipating that the readers will include Dr Solomon SolisCohen, whose reports influenced the rejections in 1932 and 1935 of Klein’s earlier submissions.

Explanatory Notes pp. 42–3

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‘In re Solomon Warshawer: Version 1 [CP 2.493–8]. The poem had been published in MJ 28, 2 (Summer 1940), pp. 138–42. ‘Murals for a House of God’: CP 1.265–75; previously published in Opinion 3, 9 (July 1935), pp. 18–21. ‘Yehuda Halevi, His Pilgrimage’: CP 2.544–56; previously published in CJC (19 Sept. 1941), pp. 9–12 and (9 May), p. 3. first prize … on Yehuda Halevi: See the note to ‘an American Continental prize … Yehuda Halevi’ in the letter to A.J.M. Smith, 28 November 1941 [p. 354]. Ralph Gustafson (1 Apr. 1942) letter of March 14th: Gustafson had written to inquire if Klein would contribute a poem to his new anthology for Penguin Books, Contemporary Canadian Writing: ‘I plan to include about 17 Canadians who will interpret Canada, abroad and at home, with some lively and muscular writing … My page runs to about 33 lines for poetry – but a run-over is o.k. too, if your subject demands’ [Gustafson, USask]. Satire on the Life of Hitler: Gustafson particularly wished ‘to include some sketches deriving out of experiences in the war services (can you put me on to any name?), about seven or eight poems, and some imaginative prose’ [Gustafson, USask]. Having heard from A.J.M. Smith of Klein’s ‘satire on the Life of Hitler’ (later titled ‘The Hitleriad’ [CP 2.581–606]), he inquired about including an excerpt. poems … published in Poetry Magazine: The enclosed poems were: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, concerning That Which He Beheld upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [Poetry 59 (Mar. 1942), pp. 315–16; CP 2.530–1], and ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Touching His Green Pastures’ [published as ‘Psalm 151,’ in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), p. 6; CP 2.513–14]. Ralph Gustafson (18 June 1942) your Anthology of Canadian Poetry: On 14 March, writing from New York, Gustafson had indicated that the ‘Anthology of Canadian Writing is out in England … The Canadian edition is being printed in Toronto’ [Gustafson, USask]. the pamphlet Preview: The first number of the Montreal-based periodical had been published in March 1942. Preview was intended as a forum for writers to share their work in progress. The editorial board included F.R. Scott, Margaret Day, Bruce Ruddick, Neufville Shaw, P.K. Page, and Patrick Anderson; Klein joined the board in March 1944. In December 1945, Preview would merge with its rival small magazine, First Statement, to form Northern Review. your Contemporary Canadian Writing: See Klein’s letter to Gustafson of 1 April [pp. 42–3].

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Abraham G. Duker, CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RECORD (26 June 1942) Abraham G. Duker: Editor of the Contemporary Jewish Record Contemporary Jewish Record: The journal ran from 1938 to 1945, when it was superseded by Commentary: A Jewish Review (1945–90). malicious squib … in this month’s issue: A ‘squib’ is ‘a common species of fireworks,’ but also in an obsolete usage, ‘an explosive device used as a missile or means of attack.’ Klein may also have in mind its figurative usage, as in ‘damp squib’: ‘something that fails ignominiously to satisfy expectations aroused by it; an anti-climax, a disappointment’ [OED]. In his review of Hath Not a Jew in Contemporary Jewish Record 5 ( June 1942) [p. 333], Allen Lesser wrote that Klein’s poems ‘attempt to depict East European Jews for the most part and achieve a certain old-world atmosphere almost in spite of the poet … [who] shows little sensitiveness to the value of words or their meaning.’ reliable source: That source was Samuel Abramson, now working at the Council Against Intolerance in America in New York, to whom Klein copied this complaint to Duker. In his letter of 10 July [Klein, LAC – MS 159], Abramson objects to its ‘tone’ as ‘too acrimonious’: ‘After all, Lesser isn’t Hitler.’ He also complains that ‘[y]ou had absolutely no right to drag me into the affair. True, you didn’t mention my name, but if Lesser sees the letter (which no doubt he will), he will have no difficulty in guessing the name of your “reliable source.” In addition, I distinctly remember having told you that Lesser did not hold your critical article against you, and that the review had been written before he saw the article in question. He claimed he had written an objective review. You ignored this information and placed me in a most embarrassing position.’ On 14 July, Abramson writes again [Klein, LAC – MS 160] – apparently in response to an intervening letter from Klein – apologizing for his previous letter and reporting on a meeting at the Record the previous evening: Duker had received Klein’s letter. Abramson explains that the delay in reviewing Hath Not a Jew was because no review copy had been received, adding that Lesser is not liked by the group. your assistant-editor … annoyed at an article: See the note to ‘reliable source’ above. In the article ‘Rabbi Steinberg’s Four Principals’ [CJC (2 Jan. 1942), p. 4; BS, pp. 127–30], Klein praised the content of a recent article by Rabbi Milton Steinberg in the Contemporary Jewish Record, but complained that the editors have mistakenly assumed that ‘to be serious is to be dull … O for a bit of verve, a suggestion of wit! The reader looks for these in vain’ [BS, p. 128]. this coinage is not phoney!: Lesser had accused Klein of ‘phoney coinings.’ Mr. Ludwig Lewisohn: Lewisohn had written the foreword to Hath Not a Jew. antics of Lesser breeds: a bad pun equating Lesser’s name and nature

Explanatory Notes pp. 45–6

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Klein’s Jews are not six-footers: Lesser had also noted Klein’s tendency to refer to the Jews in his poems as ‘little.’ compatriots of Allen: Allen Lesser’s fellow Jews yclept of yore Abie: a suggestion that ‘Allen’ Lesser had anglicized his name from ‘Abie’ (short for ‘Abraham’) ‘mottle’: Lesser had criticized Klein’s use of this word. In his first draft of this letter, Klein is more explicit: ‘I will not deign to discuss the other two paragraphs of misprint, save to say that “mottles” is just the precise word required to describe a greasy junk-dealer viewed from a bird’s eye, and that the archaic language quoted by your reviewer is there with a specific purpose – the same purpose which motivated the same kind of language in the Sixth Chapter of Joyce’s Ulysses’ [Klein, LAC – MS 155] analphabetic: illiterate he knows not what he does: An echo of Luke 23.34: ‘Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.’ A.J.M. Smith (7 July 1942) flat, stale and profitable: a reworking of Hamlet’s claim in his first soliloquy that ‘the uses of this world’ are, for him, ‘flat, stale and unprofitable’ [1.2.133–4]. ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’: Version 1 [CP 2.493–8] appeared in the first edition of Smith’s Book of Canadian Poetry, pp. 391–5; version 2 [CP 2.498–504] appeared in the 1957 edition [pp. 352–6]. ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’: Version 1 [CP 2.475–80]. This poem did not appear in Smith’s anthology. the Psalm: See the note to ‘that Bratzlaver poem’ in the letter to Smith of 22 July [p. 358]. the Guggenheim matter: See Klein’s letter to Smith of 28 November 1941 [pp. 40–1]. A.J.M. Smith (22 July 1942) Pratt: E.J. Pratt (1882–1964) edited Canada’s first magazine devoted entirely to verse, Canadian Poetry Magazine, from 1936 to 1942. Canada’s leading narrative poet, he had won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry for The Fable of the Goats and Other Poems [1932] and Brébeuf and His Brethren [1940], winning again for Towards the Last Spike [1952]. On 15 July Pratt had replied to Smith’s inquiry whether he would be willing to support Klein’s application for the Guggenheim Fellowship: ‘I think Klein is unique. He seems to have the whole racial territory to himself in this country. Will you let me know Moe’s address. I shall write him immediately,

358

Explanatory Notes pp. 46–8

strongly endorsing Klein. I have a high respect for his courage and intellectual power. The quicker we can get to work on Moe the better’ [Smith, FRBL – box 2]. misgivings as to … my project: See the note to ‘translation of the poems … of Chaim Nachman Bialik’ in the letter to Smith of 28 November 1941 [p. 354]. that ‘Bratzlaver’ poem: See the letter to Smith, 7 July [p. 46]. It is not clear to which of the five ‘Bratzlaver’ poems (each surtitled ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, …’) Klein refers. None appeared in Smith’s Book of Canadian Poetry, although they were included in the manuscript then under consideration by the JPS which Klein may have shown to Smith when he passed through Montreal on his way to his summer home in Magog. Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (7 Aug. 1942) communication of 21st of July … enclosure: The related correspondence is in the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center [JPS Papers, box 24]. Levinthal had sent Klein a copy of a highly critical report by an external reader, Robert D. Abrahams, without Abrahams’s name attached, clearly hoping that Klein’s response would prepare him to meet the objections to the manuscript posed by Abrahams and members of the Publication Committee. One reader, Mortimer J. Cohen, had asked to be replaced as ‘I’m decidedly hostile to the stuff’ with its ‘strange negativism’ [24 July 1942], while another, who recommended publication ‘unhesitatingly,’ had qualms about certain poems. In his letter of 16 August to Dr Grayzel, Levinthal comments on the division in the committee: ‘It all boils down to a matter of taste in poetry: Ettelson, Gerson, Spiegel and Hurwitz being in favour, while Cohen and Abrahams, who though an outsider cannot be dismissed, being opposed.’ However, Levinthal is clearly Klein’s champion: ‘No matter how these men react, my own attitude would still be that here we have the first attempt at writing Jewish poetry in a quarter of a century and that it is our duty to encourage it.’ anonymous author of the Subway Psalm: The sole identifying note in the reader’s report sent on to Klein was a reference to its writer’s own ‘Psalm of the Subway,’ published in the Christian Herald. The author was Robert D. Abrahams (1905–98), a prominent Philadelphia lawyer who served as chief counsel of the Legal Aid Society of Philadelphia for more than forty years. He was also a published poet: Come Forward [New York: Harold Vinal 1928], The Pot-Bellied Gods [Philadelphia: Dorrance and Company 1932], and Three Dozen [Philadelphia: Dorrance and Company 1945]. apologia pro vita mea: (Lat.) ‘defence of my life’ pick up my pearls and show them: Klein feels he is in the proverbial position of casting pearls before swine.

Explanatory Notes pp. 48–9

359

Avram Haktani: One of Klein’s several pseudonyms: ‘Avram’ or Abraham is paired with ‘haktani,’ ‘small’ in Hebrew, a translation of the German klein. Qui plaide … pour client: (Fr.) ‘One who pleads his own case has a fool for a client.’ Tot homines, tot sententiae: (Lat.) ‘so many men, so many minds’ definition of the opera … Edgar A. Guest: Eddie Guest (1882–1959) was the author of the long-running column ‘Just Folks’ in the Detroit Free Press. The column was often written in verse and contained such poetic gems as (his most famous lyric), ‘Midnight in the Pantry’: You can boast your round of pleasures, praise the sound of popping corks, Where the orchestra is playing to the rattle of the forks; And your after-opera dinner you may think superbly fine, But that can’t compare, I’m certain, to the joy that’s always mine When I reach my little dwelling – source, of all sincere delight – And I prowl around the pantry in the waning hours of night. Lifebuoy soap: known for the clever advertising slogans that had caused national anxiety about ‘b.o.’ (body odour) ‘emotion recorded in tranquillity’: In the ‘Preface to the Second Edition of Lyrical Ballads’ (1800), William Wordsworth wrote: ‘I have said that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.’ ‘a surprising by a fine excess’: John Keats wrote in a ‘Letter to John Taylor’ (27 Feb. 1818): ‘I think poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity …’ ‘thought in blossom’: perhaps an echo of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s observation that ‘Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.’ Mr. S. Niger: See the note to ‘S. Charney … S. Niger’ in the letter of 7 June 1940 [p. 344]. Arabic of Maimonides … German of Heine: See note to ‘Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed’ in Klein’s letter to Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger] of 21 January 1941 [p. 351]. German poet Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) was Jewish. The analogy was suggested to Charney by Klein in their correspondence. Waxman’s Monumental Work: Meyer Waxman’s A History of Jewish Literature from the Close of the Bible to Our Own Days [2nd ed.; New York: Bloch Publishing 1938] Keats … ‘leaving great verse …’: ‘Ode to May. Fragment,’ line 8; Lewisohn continues, ‘so Klein writes as an intense individual out of one of those clans of which the texture of humanity is composed’ [Foreword to Hath Not a Jew]. summum bonum: (Lat.) ‘the chief good’

360

Explanatory Notes pp. 49–51

a Goy … page of Gemara: a non-Jew attempting to decipher a page of commentary on the Mishna, the collection of binding precepts which forms the basis of the Talmud opprobrium: ‘the disgrace or evil reputation attached to conduct considered shameful; the imputation or expression of this disgrace; infamy, reproach’ [OED] well of English, pure and undefiled: Edmund Spenser’s praise of Geoffrey Chaucer in the Faerie Queene, book IV, canto 2, verse 32 imitation psalmic form – present writer: See the note to ‘anonymous author of the Subway Psalm’ above [p. 358]. psalm … in biblic style – page 8: ‘A Song of Degrees’ [CP 2.520]; the biblical Psalms 120 to 134 begin with the phrase ‘A Song of Degrees.’ Sir Philip Sidney … sonnet sequence: The principal contribution of Sidney (1554– 86) to the generic evolution of the sonnet was to group his poems in a narrative sequence. His Astrophil and Stella started a vogue of sonnet sequences in Elizabeth England. Marlowe … wench is dead: the famous disclaimer of moral responsibility by the villainous Jew Barabas in Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, IV.I.40 Category 3 … kosher-sign: See the note on ‘accepts … publication … as an order of merit’ below. accepts … publication … as an order of merit: Klein is evidently referring to the statement in the reader’s report, ‘If I were editing a Jewish magazine … I would accept for publication the verses beginning on the following pages …’ [JPS, PJAC]. Unfortunately, Klein’s focus on this remark threatened to derail his critical defence of his work. Levinthal wrote to Grayzel: ‘I am somewhat disappointed in Klein’s letter. The only helpful argument he offers is proof that some of the poems objected to have appeared in various magazines. The argument may impress some of the laymen on our Committee, but not critics like Cohen or Abrahams’ [16 Aug. 1948; JPS, PJAC]. index expurgatorious: (Lat.) literally, ‘list of the purged’ or suppressed; specifically, the list of books banned by the Vatican and forbidden to Roman Catholic readers Page 2: ‘Maschil of Abraham: A Prayer When He Was in a Cave’ [P, pp. 2–3; CP 2.506–7] published in Reconstructionist 18 (10 Jan. 1941), p. 12 Milton’s … ‘justify …’ Or Pope … ‘vindicate …’: John Milton (1608–74), Paradise Lost, book I, lines 24–5; Alexander Pope (1688–1744), Essay On Man, Epistle 1, line 16. See the note on ‘Psalm 2 – page 3’ in the letter to Grayzel of 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. Page 7: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Touching His Green Pastures’ [P, p. 5; CP 513– 14] appeared in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), p. 6.

Explanatory Notes pp. 51–2

361

Page 8: ‘A Song of Degrees’ [P, p. 6; CP 2.520] appeared in Reconstructionist 7, 3 (21 Mar. 1941), p. 6. testudo: a device out of Roman antiquity: specifically ‘an engine of war used by besiegers, consisting of a screen or shelter, with a strong and usually fireproof arched roof; it was wheeled up to the walls, which could then be attacked in safety’ [OED] Page 10: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Concerning That Which He Beheld upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [P, pp. 7–8; CP 2.530–1] appeared in Poetry 59 (Mar. 1942), pp. 315–16 and would be reprinted in Smith’s The Book of Canadian Poetry, p. 396. Page 11: ‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Tascith, Michtam of Abraham; When One Sent and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [CP 2.521] was published in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), pp. 7–8. The debate over Klein’s ‘expression’ in this poem continued for the next sixteen months. See the notes on ‘the word “privy”’ in the letter to Levinthal of 1 July 1943 [p. 371], and ‘Page 12’ in the letter to Solomon Grayzel of 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. Klein finally withdrew the poem. Page 13: ‘To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim. A Song of Loves’ [‘Grace Before Poison,’ CP 2.505–6] previously appeared in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), pp. 6–7. It did not appear in Poems. Page 16: Identified only as ‘Psalm XII’ in Caplan and Pollock’s reconstruction of the manuscript [CP 2.1070]. Page 18: ‘Psalm of the Fruitful Field’ [P, pp. 10–11; CP 1.312–13] had previously been published in Opinion 5, 6 (1935), p. 15. The anthology in which Klein claims it was published has not been identified. Page 21: Klein is in error: ‘A Psalm to Be Preserved Against Two Wicked Words’ [P, pp. 12–13; CP 2.517–18] was not previously published. page 22: ‘Lamed Vav: A Psalm to Utter in Memory of Great Goodness’ [P, p. 14; CP 1.175] had been published in Reconstructionist 2, 12 (16 Oct. 1936), p. 36 as ‘Incognito.’ Lamed Vav’nik: According to Hebrew legend, God would have destroyed the world long ago if not for the fact that in every generation he finds lamed vav, the ‘thirty-six’ anonymous saints, for whose sake he stays his hand. Christian Herald: A reference to the reviewer’s confession of difficulty adapting the ‘psalm’ to modern usage in his own ‘Psalm of the Subway’ published in the Christian Herald. Millay’s sonnet … lame ending: from ‘Sonnet to Gath’ by American poet Edna St Vincent Millay (1892–1950) Page 26: unidentified Page 27: Possibly ‘A Psalm for Five Holy Pilgrims, Yea, Six on the King’s Highway’ [P, p. 19; CP 2.509], published in MJ 29 (Autumn 1941), pp. 280–1.

362 Explanatory Notes pp. 52–3 Page 30: ‘For the Bridegroom Coming out of His Chamber’ [P, p. 22; CP 1.171], appeared in Opinion 1, 5 (4 Jan. 1932), p. 14. Although Klein claims it had been published ‘elsewhere,’ the location has not been identified. Page 31: ‘For the Bride, A Song to be Sung by Virgins’ [P, p. 23; CP 1.172] appeared in Opinion 1, 8 (25 Jan. 1932), p. 13. de Maupassant … indolence: from Paul and Jean by French novelist and short story writer Guy de Maupassant (1850–93) Page 32: ‘A Benediction’ [P, p. 24; CP 1.172] appeared in Opinion 1, 5 (4 Jan. 1932), p. 14 as ‘Calendar.’ hechsher: (Heb.) certification that something is kosher Rabbi Stephen Wise: See the note on ‘Stephen Wise’ in the letter to Joseph Frank, 5 August 1938 [p. 336]. Page 40: ‘A Psalm of Time and the Firmament’ [CP 2.528] did not appear in Poems. Rilke: ‘ … Jahrtausedent tot’: from ‘Klage’ (‘Lament’) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926): ‘O how far away everything is / and long since passed away, / I believe that the star / whose brilliance I now see / has been dead a thousand years.’ Page 41: In Caplan and Pollock’s reconstruction of the manuscript submitted to jps, this poem (Psalm XXXIV) is not identified; see CP 2.1071. ‘The Tale of the Seven Beggars’: See the note to ‘Tale of the Seven Beggars’ in the letter to Joseph Frank, 5 August 1938 [p. 335]. The poem referred to on page 43 of the manuscript seems to be ‘To the Chief Musician, When He Considered How the Pious Are Overwhelmed’ [CP 2.487–8] (labelled in Klein’s manuscript as Psalm XXXVII). It had not been published previously and did not appear in Poems. contents not final … deletions: Klein had raised this point not in recent correspondence with the JPS, but in his submission of the manuscript of ‘Gestures Hebraic’ on 1 March 1935. Page 46: ‘A Psalm of the Heavenly Minister’ had previously been published as ‘Kalman Rhapsodizes’ [CP 1.174–5] in Opinion 3, 4 (Feb. 1933), p. 29. Dieu me pardonnera – c’est son métier: (Fr.) ‘God will pardon me, it’s his business.’ [Heinrich Heine] Page 48: ‘Psalm or Prayer – Praying His Portion with Beasts’ [P, p. 34; CP 2.531– 2] appeared in Review of the Hebrew Union College 29, 4 (Apr. 1942), p. 15. Pages 49–50–51–53: All the titles begin ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver’ : ‘A Parable’ [P, p. 35; CP 2.486]; ‘Which He Wrote Down as the Stammerer Spoke’ [P, p. 36; CP 2.491–2]; ‘Touching a Good Gardener’ [P, pp. 37–9; CP 2.489–91]. poem inspired by … Cabbala: ‘A Psalm for Them That Utter Dark Sayings’

Explanatory Notes p. 53

363

[‘Exorcism Vain’; CP 1.204] had appeared in McGilliad 2, 5 (Apr. 1931), pp. 98–9. animadverting: ‘turn[ing] the mind or attention to’ [OED] Page 47: ‘A Psalm to Teach Humility’ [P, p. 33; CP 2.518–9] did not appear in Opinion. It was previously published in MJ 29 (Autumn 1941), pp. 284–5 benediction --    : hanoten lasechvi vinah (Heb.): ‘who gives the rooster understanding.’ This is one of the blessings from the Amidah. In his response to a critical review of Poems in Poetry, Klein wrote: … among the several dozen benedictions which a good Jew is supposed to utter in his matinal prayers – thanksgiving for God’s several mercies, praise for His many powers – there is one ‘blessing the Lord for that He gave the rooster understanding to distinguish between day and night.’ The thing is so incongruous among the other grandiloquent benedictions that it gives everyone pause; but it is sanctioned by the use of centuries. It is a part of our folkways; and, indeed, there are few comparisons which can better emphasize man’s unworthiness than to show him inferior to a rooster. It is this simple benediction which I sought to translate and amplify; however, without the allusion, there is no impact … The rooster belongs, not to me, but to Jewish tradition. [Poetry 66 (July 1945), 229; CP 2.970] blasphemous note: ‘A Psalm of Resignation’ [CP 2.517] appeared in MJ 29 (Autumn 1941), p. 285. The speaker laments God’s silence: ‘For who can keep his quarrel hot / And vigorous his cries, / When He who is blasphemed, He answers not, / Replies no word, not even a small sharp word?’ [ll. 8–11]. This typifies the expressions of religious doubt which some members of the JPS Publication Committee found objectionable in Klein’s verse. It was not included in Poems. Page 64: ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’ [P, pp. 49–55; CP 2.493–8] had appeared in MJ 28, 2 (Summer 1940), pp. 138–42; and would be included in Smith’s The Book of Canadian Poetry (1943). The ‘American Anthology’ has not been identified. Page 87: ‘Yehuda Halevi, his pilgrimage’: [P, pp. 65–82; CP 2.544–56] had been published in Canadian Jewish Chronicle (19 Sept. 1941), pp. 9–12 and (9 May 1941), p. 3. See the note on the poem in Klein’s letter to Levinthal, 18 February 1942 [p. 354]. Maurice Samuel: (1876–1954) Noted freelance writer and lecturer on Jewish culture, known for his translations of the works of Chaim Nachman Bialik, Sholem Asch, and Sholem Aleichem Dr. Sholom Spiegel: (1899–1984) An expert on medieval Hebrew literature, and author of a standard text on modern Hebrew, Hebrew Reborn [New York: Macmillan 1930] as well as literary interpretations of the bible

364

Explanatory Notes pp. 53–5

Professor Wolfson: Philosopher Harry Austryn Wolfson (1887–1974) taught Jewish literature and philosophy at Harvard University (1915–58). Page 102: ‘Ballad of the Thwarted Axe’ [P, pp. 59–60; CP 2.539–40] CF 21 (Oct. 1941), p. 244 Page 104: ‘Of the Friendly Silence of the Moon’ [CP 2.542] Pages 71–72 … 85: ‘Murals for a House of God’ [CP 1.265–74] appeared in Opinion 3, 9 (July 1933), pp. 18–21. Only one of the nine sections appeared in Poems: ‘Rabbi Yom-Tob of Mayence Harangues His God’ [pp. 56–8; CP 1.272–4], and only once was the offending word ‘harangues’ were replaced with the more respectful ‘petitions.’ See the note to ‘Page 82’ in the letter to Dr Solomon Grayzel, 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. Page 107: ‘Ballad of the Nuremberg Tower Clock’ [CP 2.537–8], Saturday Night 57 (8 Nov. 1941), p. 10; the poem did not appear in Poems. Page 109: Unidentified; the poems omitted from this section of the original manuscript include ‘Ballad of the Evil Eye’ [CP 2.536–7] and ‘Assurance’ [CP 1.89]. Pages 111–116 … sonnets: See CP 2.1072. ‘Age Draws His Fingernail across My Brow’ [CP 1.221–2]; ‘Speak Me No Deaths. Prevent That Word from Me’ [CP 1.221]; ‘Think Not, My Dear, Because I Do Not Call’ [CP 1.217]; ‘Why Do You Love Me, As You Say You Do’ [CP 1.216]; ‘Without Your Love, without Your Love for Me’ [CP 1.225–6]; and ‘Would That Three Centuries Past Had Seen Us Born’ [version 1, CP 1.219] B.K. Sandwell: (1876–1954) As editor of Saturday Night (1932–52), Sandwell was a highly influential critic. He served as rector of Queen’s University (1944–7) and a governor of the CBC (1944–7). W.E. Collins … White Savannahs: A misspelling of ‘Collin.’ See the notes to Klein’s letter to Collin, 13 July 1936 [p. 332]. ruat coelum: the second half of the Latin motto ‘Iustica fiat, ruat coelum’: ‘Let justice be done though the sky falls’ editors of Contemporary Jewish Record: See the letter of 26 June 1942 to Abraham G. Duker, editor of the Record [pp. 44–5]. Klein’s suspicions may, in fact, have some merit. Although Robert D. Abrahams does not mention the Record, another reader cites assistant editor Allen Lesser’s recent review of Hath Not a Jew in that journal and challenges Dr Grayzel’s observation that the review ‘seems biased, bearing the imprint of personal grudge’ or evidence of ‘lack of feeling for the type of Jewishness which Klein represents’ [24 July 1942; JPS, PJAC]. However, comparison to earlier readers’ reports in 1931–3 and 1935 suggest that the readers of the 1942 manuscript are expressing their personal biases.

Explanatory Notes pp. 55–7

365

George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (31 Aug. 1942) four poems: ‘Come Two, Like Shadows’ [CP 2.567] appeared in Poetry 61 (Feb. 1943), p. 595. ‘Penultimate Chapter’ [CP 2.577-8] was published in CF 23 (May 1943), p. 36; ‘That Legendary Eagle Death’ [CP 2.578] in CF 23 (Sept. 1943), p. 127; and ‘The Golem’ [CP 2.572-3] in Opinion 15, 7 (June 1945), p. 8. Nims: John Frederick Nims (1913-99), American poet and translator of poetry whose work is characterized by clever plays on words, images and poetic forms Shapiro: Karl Shapiro (1913-2000), American poet, critic and editor. His reputation is largely based on his early volumes of verse chronicling his experiences in the army in World War II; his V-Letter and Other Poems [New York: Reynal & Hitchcock 1944] won the Pulitzer Prize for 1945. Shapiro would serve as Editor of Poetry from 1950 to 1956. See Klein’s letter to Shapiro, 27 December 1948 [pp. 179-81]. Peter DeVries, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (29 Sept. 1942) Mr. DeVries: American novelist Peter DeVries (1910–93) served as editor (or coeditor with Marion Stobel) of Poetry from 1938 to 1944 before moving to The New Yorker. ugly duckling adjective – pudendal: The final lines of ‘Come Two, Like Shadows’ [CP 2.567] (submitted to Poetry on 31 August) read: ‘Plato and his shaven jaw, / And the pudendal face of Doctor Freud’ [ll. 20–1]. gnomic: ‘of the nature of, or consisting of, gnomes or general maxims’ [OED] James Laughlin IV, New Directions (3 Nov. 1942) The Editor, New Directions: James Laughlin IV (1914–97) founded New Directions publishing house in New York in 1936 with a volume of experimental writing by, among others, Elizabeth Bishop, Kay Boyle, e.e. cummings, Henry Miller, Marianne Moore, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Wallace Stevens. As publisher and mentor, he carried on lively correspondence with many of the major American modernist writers, including Ezra Pound, Henry Miller, William Carlos Williams, Kenneth Rexroth, and Delmore Schwartz. ‘Poets of the Month’: In both 1941 and 1942, New Directions had published books by twelve poets in its ‘Poets of the Year’ series. Klein’s The Hitleriad was published in the series in 1944; in the meantime, a number of the poems submitted with this letter were accepted for publication in the New Directions Yearbook for 1944. poems … ‘new directional ones’: In addition to the poems listed as ‘new directional’ or experimental, the following poems were accepted for New Directions

366

Explanatory Notes pp. 57–8

8 (1944): ‘Desideratum’ [CP 2.569–70], ‘Grace Before Poison’ [CP 2.505–6; previously published in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), 6–7], ‘Love’ [CP 573–4], ‘Upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [CP 2.530–1; previously published in Poetry 59 (Mar. 1942), 315–16, and A.J.M. Smith’s Book of Canadian Poetry (1943), 396], ‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Tascith, Michtam of Abraham; When One Sent, and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [CP 2.521–2; previously published in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), 7–8], and ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, a parable’ [CP 2.486]. A handwritten draft of this letter [MS 194] lists two additional poems which Klein decided not to include in this submission: ‘Song without Music’ [CP 2.630] and ‘Phyllis O’Fee’ [MS 2528–32]. Finnegans Wake … echolalia: In a draft of this letter, the term ‘echolalia’ is not used; instead Klein writes that ‘[the technique] approaches that music where several melodies are simultaneously released’ [p. 292]. Poe’s poetic principle: In his essay on ‘The Poetic Principle’ [Sartain’s Union Magazine 7 (Oct. 1850), pp. 231–9], Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) argued that art should produce an overwhelming intensity of experience: ‘while this Principle itself is, strictly and simply, the Human Aspiration for Supernal Beauty, the manifestation of the Principle is always found in an elevating excitement of the Soul – quite independent of that passion which is the intoxication of the Heart – or of that Truth which is the satisfaction of the Reason’ [James A. Harrison, ed., The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe (New York: AMS Press 1965), vol. 14, p. 290]. your editorial board … for Joyce: New Directions had reissued Our Exagmination Round His Factification For Incamination of ‘Work in Progress’ [Paris: Shakespeare and Company 1929], a collection of work by several authors including a passage on Swift and blindness which Joyce had not included in the final version of Finnegans Wake. Joyce’s play Exiles was later published by New Directions as no. 13 of the New Classics Series [21 Nov. 1945], with an essay on the play by Francis Fergusson; New Directions also published the first and second American editions of Stephen Hero in 1944 and 1945 respectively. Purple Patches in the Wake of Finnegan: See the note to ‘anthology … of the intelligible portions’ in Klein’s letter to Leon Edel, 13 December 1939 [p. 340]. margaitae ante porcos: (Lat.) ‘pearls before swine’ ‘Variations on a Theme’ … Preview: retitled ‘Variation of a Theme’ [CP 2.579–80] Preview 5 (July 1942), pp. 1–2 ‘Sennet from Gheel’ … Poetry: CP 2.543; Poetry 61 (Mar. 1942), 316–17 ‘Desideratum’: CP 2.569–70 mais il faut vivre: (Fr.) ‘it is necessary to make a living’ hobo … tailor: a catalogue of the occupations of various modernist writers, coupled with the nursery-rhyme catalogue of occupations, ‘tinker, tailor’

Explanatory Notes pp. 59–60

367

Peter DeVries, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (20 Nov. 1942) Gustafson’s work: Ralph Gustafson’s poetry appeared in a number of journals before the publication of this first volume of his verse, Lyrics Unromantic [New York: Privately printed, 1942]. Birney: Klein had also been asked to review Earle Birney’s first book of verse, David and Other Poems [Toronto: Ryerson 1942]. The volume later won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry, and Klein later admitted to A.J.M. Smith [5 Nov. 1943] that he was ‘wrong … in underestimating Birney. “David” is a fine thing.’ Klein’s refusal may, in part, be in reaction to Birney’s own review of Hath Not a Jew in Canadian Forum the previous year: while he dubbed it ‘one of the finest volumes of verse ever written by a Canadian of whatever race,’ Birney found Klein’s most ‘Jewish’ poems ‘turgid’ and obscure [CF 20 (Feb. 1941), pp. 354–5]. prefer to review only Gustafson’s volume: See Klein’s letter of 10 April 1943 to Margedant Peters of Poetry [pp. 64–5], in which he notes his agreement to review Gustafson’s ‘books’ – perhaps Lyrics Unromantic together with the Anthology of Canadian Poetry, both published in 1942. Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (25 Nov. 1942) silence after my … letter: As Klein suspected in his letter of 6 October [p. 57], the defence of his work in his letter of 7 August [pp. 47–55] had not, as Levinthal and Grayzel had hoped, been sufficient to answer the dissenting voices on the Publication Committee, and the manuscript had been sent out to another round of readers. Levinthal was apparently awaiting the outcome of the process before writing Klein. The two additional reports [JPS, PJAC] were largely positive. In his report of 16 November, Rabbi Milton Steinberg pronounced the manuscript ‘publishable’ if ‘uneven,’ which ‘is normal to any collection of verses.’ He recommended cutting Psalms XXXII (‘A Psalm, with Trumpets for the Months’) and XXXV (‘A Psalm of Abraham of That Which Was Visited Upon Him’), and editing of the final lines of Psalms XXX (‘A Psalm of Justice and Its Scales’) and XXXIV (unidentified). In an undated report, Julian B. Feibelman found the contents ‘both excellent and good, and puerile and bad,’ and objected variously to the use of the word ‘Psalm,’ the sacrificing of ‘thought’ to ‘metre and rhyme,’ and the repeated references to feminine ‘biology.’ However, guessing that Klein was the author, he encouraged publication. The decision to publish was not made for some months: Levinthal wrote Klein on 18 June 1943 to inform him that the Publication Committee had agreed to an edited version of the manuscript. (See Klein’s letter to Levinthal of 1 July 1943 [pp. 66–71].)

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Explanatory Notes pp. 60–2

James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (4 Jan. 1943) Several months ago … mss. of poetry: See Klein’s letter to Laughlin, 3 November 1942 [pp. 57–8]. quousque tandem: (Lat.) from ‘Quousque tandem abutere, Catalina, patientia nostra?’ – ‘How far then, Catiline, will you abuse our patience’ [Cicero, In Catilinam I.1.1] immortal yearnings: a variation on Shakespeare’s ‘immortal longings’ [Anthony and Cleopatra 5.2.281] A.J.M. Smith (21 Jan. 1943) answering … your queries: Smith had written on 12 January 1943 [Klein, LAC – MS 196–7] that the anthology was to go to press on 1 February: ‘I must quickly add some notes on some of the modern poets. (Partly because they are needed; partly just to balance the bloody thing up.) Please send me some concise notes on the Jewish words, feasts, legends, etc. in your poems, viz: “In re Solomon Warshawer,” “Heirloom,” “Bestiary,” “And On the Heavenly Scarp,” and “Autobiographical.” I want explanations of such words as Torah, maariv, aleph, Haman rattle etc etc – to name a few in the last poem only.’ He also requested ‘a brief statement of your attitude towards your art, your conception of the responsibilities of the poet today or today in Canada – or something of that sort.’ ‘I sing because I must!’: from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam: ‘I do but sing because I must, / And pipe but as the linnet sing.’ [xxi.1.6788] Angels of Sodom: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Concerning That Which He Beheld Upon the Heavenly Scarp,’ l. 30 [CP 2.531] Sabbath-Goy: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 4 [CP 2.564] Torah-escorting band: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 5 [CP 2.564] Again they ring …: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 12 [CP 2.564] Aleph: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 34 [CP 2.565] Angel-pennies: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 35 [CP 2.564]. Compare: ‘I was making my first acquaintance with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet – the old Tannenbaum, round little pygmy of eighty, bearded to the breastbone, was my teacher – and I recall how it was his custom, as I struggled with the vowelsigns … – how it was his custom to encourage me forward from each mystic block to the next with repeated promise of pennies from heaven. The angel who presided over my lesson, he would say, would drop down candy-money if I did my lesson well. The angel kept his word, of course, and as his unseen coins suddenly hit and twirled on the big-lettered page, my other would sigh, and exclaim: “Oh, that he might be like his uncle Melech, a scholar in Israel!”’ [SS, pp. 5–6]

Explanatory Notes pp. 62–5

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Warsovian perruque: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 38 [CP 2.565] Baal Shem Tov: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 40 [CP 2.565] Maariv: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 29 [CP 2.565] Volhynia: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 31 [CP 2.565] The Burrs … The Haman-rattle: ‘Autobiographical,’ l. 65 [CP 2.566] Nalewkas: ‘In re Solomon Warshawer,’ version 1, l. 49 [CP 2.494] By that lone star … Pharaoh’s tomb: ‘In re Solomon Warshawer,’ version 1, l. 86 [CP 2.496] Master of the worm … cleaves rocks: ‘In re Solomon Warshawer,’ version 1, l. 142 [CP 2.497] Elusive unicorn: ‘Bestiary,’ l.14 [CP 1.282]. Job 39.10: ‘Canst thou bind the unicorn with his hand in the furrow?’ pygarg: ‘Bestiary,’ l. 31 [CP 1.283]. The ‘pygarg’ is mentioned in Deuteronomy 14.5. The beast Nebuchadnezzar: ‘Bestiary,’ l. 36 [CP 1.283]. See Daniel 4.25–33. The golden mice the five: ‘Bestiary,’ l. 16 [CP 1.282]. 1 Samuel 6.4 refers to the symbolic offering made by the Philistines when they returned the stolen Ark of the Covenant. Yahrzeit: (Yid.) ‘Heirloom,’ l. 3 [CP 1.298] Though no pictures on them: ‘Heirloom,’ l. 9 [CP 1.298] Ralph Gustafson (16 Feb. 1943) Voices: Gustafson was editing a special Canadian issue of the American periodical Voices: A Quarterly of Poetry 113 (Spring, 1943), and had written Klein requesting a submission. Margedant Peters, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (10 Apr. 1943) Margedant Peters: an associate editor of Poetry unable to review … two books: See Klein’s letter to Peter DeVries of Poetry, 20 November 1942 [p. 59]. Hak: Margendant Peter’s husband was an old friend from Klein’s days at McGill, renowned expert in semantics, Samuel I. Hayakawa (1906–92). Ralph Gustafson (17 May 1943) Voices: See note to ‘Voices’ in the letter to Gustafson of 16 February 1943 [p. 369]. Canadian Poets 1943 (New Directions): Gustafson was editing A Little Anthology of Canadian Poets to be published in the ‘Poets of the Year’ series by James Laughlin’s New Directions Press. my poems to be included: ‘Heirloom’ [CP 1.298] and ‘The Still Small Voice’ [CP

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1.131], the final section of the longer poem ‘Haggadah,’ appeared in New Direction’s A Little Anthology [pp. 14–15]. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (16 June 1943) manuscript of poems … November of last year: See Klein’s letters to Laughlin of 3 November 1942 [pp. 57–8] and 4 January 1943 [pp. 60–1]. Ralph Gustafson … a Canadian Anthology: ‘Heirloom’ and ‘The Still Small Voice,’ both from Hath Not a Jew, were reprinted in Gustafson’s A Little Anthology of Canadian Poets in New Directions’ 1943 ‘Poets of the Year’ series. Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (1 July 1943) letter of June 25th plus enclosures: On 18 June, Levinthal had written to inform Klein that the Publication Committee had accepted the manuscript of Poems on condition that certain poems be omitted [JPS, PJAC]. On 25 June, Levinthal forwarded suggestions for omissions from the Society’s editor, Dr Solomon Grayzel, and Rabbi Milton Steinberg . (See the note to ‘silence after … my letter’ in the letter to Levinthal, 25 November 1942 [p. 367].) Rabbi Milton Steinberg: (1903–50) Rabbi of the Conservative Park Avenue Synagogue in New York (1933–50), lecturer, and teacher, Steinberg was a member of the JPS Publication Committee. Dr. Grayzel: Russian-born historian and rabbi Solomon Grayzel (1896–1980) served as the registrar of Gratz College (1928–43) and editor of the JPS (1939–66). His publications include The Church and Jews in the 13th Century [1933], A History of the Contemporary Jews from 1900 to the Present [1960] and A History of the Jews [1968]. the skylark poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), author of ‘To a Skylark.’ Klein makes him representative of the Romantic nature poet, unencumbered by social responsibility. plea for … ‘A Song of Loves’: In the manuscript, the poem appears as Psalm X, ‘To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Song of Loves’; it did not appear in Poems despite Klein’s protestations. It was later included in ‘Gloss Hai’ in The Second Scroll under the title ‘Grace Before Poison’ [CP 2.505–6; SS, p. 101]. bracha l’vatala: (Heb.) ‘a wasted blessing’ morphine … effects … described in the last lines: The final lines of ‘Grace Before Poison’ read ‘Eternities of peace in which the fretful world / Like a tame tiger at the feet lies curled.’ [ll. 29–30] Poetry Magazine … anthologized: Although previously published in Poetry 53 (Apr. 1941), pp. 6–7, the poem was not anthologized until 1944, when it appeared in the New Directions anthology of Canadian writing [New Directions 8 (1944), p. 197].

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‘The hemp … purple foxglove’: ‘Grace Before Poison,’ ll. 19–22 Psalm 2, pages 2 and 3: ‘Maschil of Abraham: A Prayer When He Was in a Cave’ [P, pp. 2–3; CP 2.506–7] I cannot … change the last stanza: The contention over the Miltonic echo in the final line of this poem began with Klein’s response to an anonymous reader’s report in his letter to Levinthal of 7 August 1942 [pp. 51–2], and would continue for months. See the note to ‘Psalm 2 – page 3’ in his letter to Solomon Grayzel, 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. Page 4: unidentified in Caplan and Pollock’s reconstruction of the manuscript of Poems [CP 2.1070] Page 8: ‘A Song of Degrees,’ headed Psalm VII in the manuscript [CP 2.520]; the poem did not appear in Poems. poem … on page 9: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Concerning That Which He Beheld Upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [CP 2.530–1] Matthew Arnold: The unfortunate phrase ‘For this your service, I thee thank’ appears in Fairy Myth [1850, 1870] by historian Thomas Keightley (1789-1872), a protégé of Thomas Arnold of Rugby College, the poet’s father. Page 11: ‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Taschith, Michtam of Abraham; When One Sent, and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [CP 2.521–2]; see the note on ‘Page 12’ in the letter to Grayzel, 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. second line … ‘multi sunt illi …’: The Latin phrase translates as ‘many are there …’; the offending line in Klein’s poem is ‘Many are they thy favours I could seek.’ the word ‘privy’: See the note on ‘Page 12’ in the letter to Grayzel, 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. Flaubert: French novelist Gustav Flaubert (1821–80) Pages 13 & 14: ‘To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim. A Song of Loves’ [‘Grace Before Poison’]; see ‘plea for “A Song of Loves”’ above [p. 370]. Page 17: ‘To the Prophets, Minor and Major, a Psalm or Song’ [P, p. 31; CP 2.524]. The offending word appears in the final line: ‘But who will explicate the folded present?’ [l. 20]. Tennyson: English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809–92) Page 18 ... Page 19: ‘Psalm of the Fruitful Field’ [P, pp. 10–11; CP 1.312–13]. In his letter to Grayzel of 15 December, Klein agreed to change the word ‘shoulderblades’ in line 24 [p. 86]. Page 21: ‘A Psalm to Be Preserved Against Two Wicked Words’ [P, pp. 12–13; CP 2.517–18] Page 22: ‘Lamed Vav: A Psalm to Utter in Memory of Great Goodness’ [P, p. 14; CP 1.175]. Klein’s preferences were honoured. Page 23: ‘A Psalm of a Mighty Hunter before the Lord’ [P, pp. 15–16; CP 1.303]

372 Explanatory Notes pp. 69–70 Page 26: ‘A Song for Wanderers’ [P, p. 18; CP 2.528]. The reference is to line 12: ‘And O, a good wind blowing!’ Page 27: ‘A Psalm for Five Holy Pilgrims, Yea, Six on the King’s Highway’ [P, p. 19; CP 2.509] Page 30: ‘For the Bridegroom Coming Out of His Chamber’ [P, p. 22; CP 1.171] Page 31: ‘For the Bride, A Song to Be Sung by Virgins’ [P, p. 23; CP 1.172;] Page 32: ‘A Benediction’ [P, p. 24; CP 1.172] Page 34: ‘A Benediction for the New Moon’ [P, p. 26; CP 2.525] Repetition … ‘lift up’: line 13: ‘Lift up your heels; lift up your eyes to see …’ ‘open writ’ … not ‘holy writ’: lines 14–15: ‘… the seal of God / Impressed upon His open writ.’ Page 35: ‘A Prayer of Abraham, against Madness’ [P, pp. 27–8; CP 2.526–7] last line on page 36: The final line of ‘A Psalm of Abraham, against Madness’: ‘The full death-quiver of Thy wrath!’ [l. 28] Page 47: ‘A Psalm to teach Humility’ [P, p. 33; CP 2.518–19] benediction    : See the note to ‘benediction –     =’ in the letter to Levinthal, 7 August 1942 [p.363]. Page 48: ‘Psalm or Prayer – Praying His Portion with Beasts’ [P, p. 34; CP 2.531– 2]. The reference is to line 16. Judges, Chapter 15, verse 18: Klein’s citation is incorrect; the allusion is to Judges 14.18. Page 50: ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Which He Wrote Down as the Stammerer Spoke’ [P, p. 36; CP 2.491–2]. Earlier versions of line 14 read ‘Of worthy deed and meritorious act’; the final version, ‘Of men’s deeds imitating godly act’ [l. 14]. Page 53: ‘To the Chief Musician: A Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Touching a Good Gardener’ [P, pp. 37–9; CP 2.489–91] the word ‘filth’: line 30: ‘God save me from the ugly filth I heard.’ Page 55: ‘A Song That the Ships of Jaffa Did Sing in the Night’ [P, p. 40; CP 1.76] Page 58: ‘Possibly ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Which He Made Because of Fear in the Night’ [P, pp. 44–5; CP 2.515–16] Page 60: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, to be Written Down and Left on the Tomb of Rashi’ [P, pp. 42–3; CP 2.512–13;] the word ‘spiral’: line 8: ‘Mounting the spiral splendid staircase of the Law.’ form of logic … ‘pilpul’: a method of Talmudic study involving dialectical argumentation Hegelian dialectic: the logic of balancing thesis and anti-thesis to arrive at synthesis developed by the philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770– 1831) Page 64: Possibly ‘A Psalm of Resignation’ [CP 2.517]; not included in Poems.

Explanatory Notes pp. 70–2

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Page 87: ‘Yehuda Halevi: His Pilgrimage’ [P, pp. 65–82; CP 2.544–56] ‘eke’ … means  : oykh (Yid.) ‘also’ The word is ‘essay’: ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 12: ‘And Solomon his song, none durst essay …’ Chaucer and Coleridge: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) The word is ‘eke’: ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 13: ‘The sons of Asaph eke have ceased to be …’ ‘Leet’: ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 21: ‘A process-server, a pleader at the leet …’ Alcorans: An antiquated form of the word ‘Koran,’ the sacred book of Mohammedans. See ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 62: ‘Abjured false testaments and alcorans …’ Page 93: In Klein’s manuscript, and all other versions, line 170 reads: ‘I am forsaken in the den, forlore …’ See the note to ‘Page 93: Verse 19’ in the letter to Grayzel of 15 December 1943 [p. 383]. Page 95: ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 221. Page 97: ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 286: ‘It is she whom the vision did soothsay!’ Page 101: ‘Yehuda Halevi,’ line 381. Psalm 10 on pages 13 and 14: ‘Grace Before Poison’ [CP 2.505–6] Psalm 3 on page 4: unidentified Psalm 15 on page 20: ‘A Psalm for the Sons of Korah’ [‘Rather Than Have My Brethren Bend the Knee’; CP 1.241–2] Psalm 18 on page 23: ‘A Psalm of a Mighty Hunter Before the Lord’ [CP 1.303–4] Psalm 33 on page 40: ‘A Psalm of Time and the Firmament’ [CP 2.528] Psalm 50 on page 63: ‘A Psalm of Resignation’ [CP 2.517] pages 113, 115, and 116: probably containing one or more of the ballads, and the six sonnets at the end of the original manuscript [CP 2.1072]. See the note to ‘Pages 111–116 ... sonnets’ in the letter to Levinthal of 7 August 1942 [p. 364]. renumbered in sequence: The numbering of the ‘Psalms’ was sequential, excluding the deleted poems. Compare the reconstruction of the original manuscript by Caplan and Pollock [CP 2.1070–2] with the numbering in Poems [CP 2.1063–4]. ‘The Hitleriad’: The poem was eventually published as a separate volume in 1944 by New Directions Press. See the letters to James Laughlin of 30 November 1943 [pp. 83–4] and 29 March 1944 [pp. 101–3]. Joseph Dainow (27 Aug. 1943) Joseph Dainow: For most of his career, Montreal-born Dainow (1906–78) was Professor of Law at Louisiana State University. From 1942 to 1946 he served in the American army in the Judge Advocate General’s Office. He prepared

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research for the Nuremberg trials in the summer of 1945, and was a member of the trial staff from August to December of 1945. ‘the one increasing purpose’: In One Increasing Purpose (1925), a novel by A.S.M. Hutchison adapted to film in 1927, a veteran of the First World War seeks the higher purpose for which he was spared. shlemiel: (Yid.) a simpleton or fool juris et de jure: (Lat.) legal presumptions which cannot be rebutted by evidence Dr. Dushkin: Alexander M. Dushkin (1890–1976) pioneered the establishment of Jewish supplementary schools and summer camps as a means of balancing secular public education and knowledge of Jewish culture and religion. pedagogue … ‘melamed’: The Greek word for ‘trainer and teacher of boys’ [OED] is contrasted with the Hebrew ‘school teacher,’ suggesting that Dushkin’s educational activity is not limited to the classroom. an obiter dictum: (Lat.) ‘said by the way’; a miscellaneous remark Judge Advocate General’s Department: In 1943, Dainow served in the office of the Judge Advocate General. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (10 Sept. 1943) published in Poetry: Several of the poems accepted by Laughlin had been published previously. See the notes to ‘poems … new directional ones,’ ‘Variations on a Theme … Preview’ and ‘Sennet from Gheel ... Poetry’ in Klein’s letter of submission [Laughlin, 3 Nov. 1942, pp. 365–6]. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Fellowship Application (Oct. 1943) Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Established in 1925, the Foundation offers Fellowships in support of research or creative activity to distinguished scholars and artists living in the United States and Canada. Yehuda Halevi … international prize: See the note to ‘an American Continental prize … Yehuda Halevi’ in the letter to A.J.M. Smith, 28 November 1941 [p. 354]. Yiddish … folk-songs … classical authors: See CP 2.790–865. Chaim Nachman Bialik: See the note to ‘Bialik’s hamathmid’ in the letter to Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger], 21 January 1941 [p. 352]. Rahel … Palestine poetess: Rachel Bluwstein (1890–1931) was born in Saratov, Russia, and emigrated to Palestine in 1909, after which she wrote in Hebrew rather than Russian. Klein translated five of her poems, including the popular song ‘Kinnereth’ [CP 2: 787–9]. Leo W. Schwartz … John Cournos: Influential anthologist Leo W. Schwartz (1904–?) had published historic and contemporary Jewish writing in The

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Jewish Caravan (1937) and A Golden Treasury of Jewish Writing (1937); John Cournos (1881–1956) was a novelist and translator of Russian literature. As Leo Schwartz had referred Klein to Behrman’s publishing house when the manuscript of Hath Not a Jew was rejected by the jps [LOTD, pp. 71–2], these excerpts from two prominent Jewish-American writers may be from readers’ reports rather than published reviews. the golem: For a survey of Klein’s treatments of this legend, see the introduction to Notebooks [pp. xvi–iii] A.J.M. Smith (5 Nov. 1943) Canadian Poetry: Smith’s newly published anthology, the Book of Canadian Poetry Palgrave: Poet Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–97) is chiefly remembered for compiling the much reprinted Victorian anthology The Golden Treasury [1861]. ‘flower-collections’: the classic pun on ‘posy’ and ‘poesy’ a school of seven: An allusion to the self-named ‘Group of Seven.’ In 1919, Canadian artists Lawren S. Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael, and A.Y. Jackson adopted the phrase for an exhibition of their work. Heavysege: Charles Heavysege (1816–76) was a journalist and poet, author of several lengthy poetic dramas drawing on the bible and Shakespeare. His best known works are Saul: A Drama in Three Parts [Montreal 1857] and Jephthah’s Daughter [Montreal, London 1865]. on first looking into Smith’s Homeriana: An allusion to Keats’ sonnet, ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,’ and its description of the translation of Homer’s epics by Renaissance poet and playwright George Chapman (1560– 1634). Smith’s anthology is both ‘Homerian’ or ‘epic’ in scope and an ‘ana’ or ‘collection of the notable sayings … of modern authors’ [OED]. Page 8 … Sangster: Kingston-born Charles Sangster (1822–93), known principally for his narrative poems describing the Canadian landscape, published two volumes of verse, The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay and Other Poems [1856] and Hesperus and Other Poems [1860]. Smith cited the following lines – with their alternation of masculine and feminine endings – as evidence of Sangster’s musicality: Love is swift as a hawk or hind Chamois-like in fleetness, None are lost that love can find, Sang the maid, with sweetness. [‘Introduction,’ p. 8] Page 9 … ‘bosom-gourds …’: The image is cited by Smith to demonstrate the

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‘lapses’ in Charles Mair’s Tecumseh [1886] which ‘throw into bold relief the lines and stanzas that are melodious and the images that are just’: Beneath her sloping neck Her bosom-gourds swelled chastely, white as spray, Wind-tost – without a fleck – The air which heaved them was less pure than they. Campbell: William Wilfred Campbell (1858–1918), author of several books of poetry, and the editor of the anthology of Canadian poetry in which Mair’s Tecumseh had been excerpted, The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse [1913]. Page 10 … Mair: Poet and journalist Charles Mair (1838–1927), author of Dreamland [1868] and the verse drama Tecumseh [1886]. Smith wrote: ‘… if he could have gone on to write as sensitively and as powerfully as this: The silent shadows lay about the land, In aching solitude, as if they dreamed; And a low wind was ever close at hand, And, though no rain-drops fell, yet always seemed The rustle of the leaves like falling rain … He might – in spite of the lingering echoes of Tennyson – have deserved the eulogy his modern editor pronounced upon him.’ That editor, Robert Norwood, had declared him ‘our greatest Canadian poet by every count’ in the 1926 Complete Works. Klein turns the last line and half of Smith’s quotation into a modernist poem. Page 17 … Carman … ‘willing victims’: ‘Confederation poet’ [William] Bliss Carman (1861–1929) was author of 28 books of verse, but, as Smith had observed, his reputation rested principally on his first volume, Low Tide at Grand Pré [1893]: With Bliss Carman the case is somewhat different. Carman is probably the best known of all Canadian poets, and it is true that the peculiar magic of his finest poems can transport their willing victims into a strange realm of sensation and feeling where pleasure and pain are curiously confused … But this intensity is diffused too thinly through the body of Carman’s work, and sometimes it is produced by rather tawdry stimuli or by no definite ones at all. Even the much-praised ‘Low Tide on Grand Pré,’ after a magnificently resonant opening chord, fades into a vague and imperfectly realized emotionalism. Too often, Carman was the victim of his own glibness – a glibness of feeling as well as of language. ‘God must be fascinated’ … attributed to Abe Lincoln: Smith had attributed the comment to ‘Dr. Johnson’s friend Edwards,’ in his commentary on how ‘cheerfulness is always breaking in’ through the ‘dark philosophy’ of the poetry of Tom MacInnes (1867–1931).

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Page 35 et seq. … your Indian poems: A reference to Part I of Smith’s anthology, entitled ‘Indian Poetry and French-Canadian Folk Songs.’ The poems were translations (or rather ‘adaptations’) of native songs by Hermia Harris Fraser (‘Songs of the Haida’), Constance Lindsay Skinner (‘Songs of the Coast Dwellers’), and Charles G. Leland (‘Wabanaki Song’). Page 55 … Oliver Goldsmith: (1794–1861), a great-nephew of the Irish poet of the same name (1728–74), author of The Deserted Village. Goldsmith the younger’s The Rising Village [1825] contrasts the growth of the new world with the decay of the old. The rhyme ‘morn-lawn’ appears in the first two lines of section IV. Page 56: Mr. Mountain read too much Pope: Songs of the Wilderness [1846] by George Jehosophat Mountain (1789–1863), bishop of Quebec, is heavily influenced by Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man, quoted here by Klein: ‘Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind / Sees God in clouds or hears him in the wind’ [epistle I, line 99]. misprint … ‘Innured’: The error occurs in the headnote to the poems of Standish O’Grady (1776–1829), author of The Emigrant, A Poem, In Four Cantos (of which only one was ever published). Page 58 … With sanguine sash … fricassees and frogs: from the section of O’Grady’s The Emigrant subtitled by Smith ‘Winter in Lower Canada’ Pages 76-80 … Heavysege: See the note to ‘Heavysege’ above [p. 375]. Smith included four sonnets (‘The Ages of Man,’ ‘The Dead,’ ‘The Winter Galaxy,’ and ‘Night’) as well as excerpts from the verse drama Saul. page 78 … ‘Upon the doleful region of the dumps’: from the section of Saul identified by Smith as ‘Malzah Speaks’: Ah, weary! I am called the laughing devil. Yet I walk up and down existence weeping. But what when demons disbelieve their eyes, And their false ears for jests take my bewailings? … – I do not know myself; I have so many moods, that I know not Which of them shows the veritable Malzah. But this I know, my gladness always borders Upon the doleful region of the dumps. – Ah me! Don José Maria de Heredia: (1842–1905) Cuban-born French poet, a master of the sonnet Page 83 … ‘Gee Buck Gee’ … McLachlan: Alexander McLachlan (1818–96), known as ‘the Burns of Canada,’ published five books of poetry describing life in the backwoods. ‘Old Canada; Or, Gee Buck Gee’ [pp. 83–4] is a humorous dialect poem which contains such observations as ‘The country’s goin’ fast to

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ruin! / This edication’s our undoin’ …’ and ‘I tell ye what! them and their books, / Are getting to be perfect pukes …’ Smith’s justification was that, while easy to dismiss for their ‘sentimentality and crudeness … McLachlan’s best poems are a direct expression of his own strength of character, his sturdy self-dependence, his honesty, and his charity.’ Page 92 … Sangster … the ‘Brock Poem’: See ‘Page 8 … Sangster’ above [p. 375]. ‘Brock’ [pp. 92–3] is contrasted with a line from ‘The Thousand Islands’ section of The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay [p. 93]. In his headnote, Smith had commented that some lines ‘have an old-fashioned artificial charm to which Sangster’s fervid sensibility gives a warmth of feeling that is quite delightful’ [p. 89], but went on to say ‘It is regrettable that this quality does not seem to come at the poet’s command but to arise spontaneously and spasmodically.’ Page 110: Duvar … Inspector of Fisheries: Scottish-born poet John Hunter Duvar (1830–99) [pp. 109–15] did become an Inspector of Fisheries in Prince Edward Island. The passage Klein cites is from De Roberval: A Drama [1888], excerpted by Smith in the headnote. Duvar is represented in the anthology by excerpts from ‘The Emigration of the Fairies,’ a fantasy in which ‘fairies in their floating island have been wafted from the shores of England by a severe storm, which has driven them for many days across the Atlantic’ [Smith’s explanatory note, p. 111]. Of the offending passage, in which an Indian woman is also described as ‘Dian, or Dian’s maid’ and a ‘heathen Venus,’ Smith notes: ‘This is a presentation of the Noble Savage in the light of an earlier tradition than that of eighteenth-century sentimentalism, the neo-classic tradition of Dryden’s heroic plays, more intelligent because more conscious of the artificiality and in wit and realism closer to the facts of human nature’ [p. 110]. suspension of disbelief: ‘the willing suspension of disbelief for the moment … which constitutes poetic faith’ [William Taylor Coleridge, Biographia Literaria, ch. 14] Page 232 … MacInnes … ‘Zalinka’: Vancouver-based poet and lawyer Tom MacInnes (1867–1951) participated in the Yukon Gold Rush and spent several years as a journalist in China. The first stanza of ‘Zalinka’ reads, Last night in a land of triangles, I lay in a cubicle, where A girl in pyjamas and bangles Slept with her hands in my hair. Page 240 … ‘The Foreigner’: Smith argued that Francis Sherman (1871–1926) ‘stands with Marjorie Pickthall as the best Canadian representative of certain aspects of late nineteenth-century romanticism – she of Celtic mysticism, and

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he of Pre-Raphaelite sensibility’ [p. 239]. ‘And little pines / Also’ is from the second stanza of ‘The Foreigner’: Before us slept a dark, dark wood. Hemlocks were there, and little pines Also; and solemn cedars stood In even and uneven lines. [ll. 5–8] The second passage with which Klein takes exception is from ‘Between the Battles’: Ere he died, they had fled; Yet they heard his last cheer Ringing clear, – When we lifted him up, he would fain have pursued, but grew dizzy instead. [ll. 11–15] ‘They’ are the red maples of the Canadian autumn. Page 252 … Robert W. Service: (1874–1958) Popular and prolific writer of melodramatic ballads, famous for his early poems describing the harsh life in the Canadian North: Songs of a Sourdough [1907], The Spell of the Yukon [1907], and Rhymes of a Rolling Stone [1912]. Service was represented in Smith’s anthology by ‘The Shooting of Dan McGrew’ [pp. 252–5]. defence … T.S. Eliot … made for Kipling: In 1941, Eliot had generated a reassessment of Kipling’s work by publishing A Choice of Kipling’s Verse; made by T S Eliot, with an essay on Rudyard Kipling [London: Faber and Faber]. In his commentary, he described Kipling’s writing as ‘great verse’ that on occasion unintentionally becomes ‘poetry.’ à la Woolworth: in the manner of the F.W. Woolworth Company (the ‘five-anddime’), the multinational general merchandiser Page 259 … ages of women: The reference is to his omission of the birthdate of Katherine Hale (Mrs John Garvin). However, Klein’s generalization is correct: the ages of only a few of the women poets are indicated, while the birthdates of all male poets are included. Page 291 … Pratt … praised by W.R. Benét: See the note to ‘Pratt,’ letter to Smith, 22 July 1942 [p. 357]. Benét had praised Pratt’s work in his column ‘The Phoenix Nest’ in the Saturday Review of Literature [16 Oct. 1943]. The following year, Pratt chose Benét to write the preface for an American edition of his Collected Poems [New York: Knopf 1945]. Pratt … extensive space: The section on Pratt is one of the longest in the anthology [pp. 277–91]. Page 308 … W.W. Ross: W.W.E. [Eustace] Ross (1894–1966), a geophysicist by profession, was the author of several volumes of verse. Smith defended the ‘simplicity and freshness’ of his verse: ‘Experience is presented with a direct-

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ness and unselfconscious naïveté that reveals objects set free from the hiding scale of habit. It is as though the poet, and hence his reader, were looking at a fish, a meadow, or a train for the first time and with a childlike eagerness that instinctively rejects whatever is nonessential or derivative [p. 306]. Page 321 … wrong … in underestimating Birney: Having read his poems only in journals, Klein expected to dislike Birney’s work; see his letter to Peter DeVries of Poetry, 20 Nov. 1942 [p. 59]. Page 361 … ‘The Canadian Authors meeting’: F.R. Scott’s ‘The Canadian Authors Meet’ Page 373 …: Smith’s own poems Il fabro meglior: [sic] a pun in Italian on Smith’s surname, which Klein also used in his review of News of the Phoenix for Canadian Forum [‘The Poetry of A.J.M. Smith,’ CF 23 (Feb. 1944), pp. 257–8; LER, pp. 209–12]: ‘In Canadian poetry, he is, as Eliot said of Pound, il fabbro miglior – the better smith’ [p. 210]. exhausted your collected works: Smith wrote very little, each poem honed to a fine precision. Page 391 et seq.: Klein’s poems [pp. 391–400]. The extended headnote is effusive about Klein’s learning and eloquence, concluding with the declaration that ‘It is necessary to mention the presence in Klein’s poetry of other qualities than any that have been named: humor, ranging from the boisterous and broad to the tenderest and most subtle; a lightness and grace of fancy; and a sympathy and love for whatever in humanity is innocent and helpless – children, simpletons, and old people’ [p. 391]. Wreford: James Wreford was the pseudonym of James Wreford Watson (1915– 90), a professor of geography at McMaster University. Some of his poems appeared in Unit of Five [Toronto: Ryerson 1944], a collection of verse by five young poets; his Of Time and the Lover [Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1950] won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry. Anderson: Patrick Anderson (1915–79) was author of several small books of verse, but is best known as the editor of the Montreal-based poetry magazine Preview (1942–6). Page: Poet P.K. [Patricia Kathleen] Page (1916–2010) first published in small magazines and the collection Unit of Five [1944]. Klein knew her as part of the Montreal-based Preview group. She won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry for The Metal and the Flower [Toronto: McClelland and Stewart 1954]. Avison: Margaret Avison (1918–2007) did not publish her first book of poems, Winter Sun [Toronto: University of Toronto Press], until 1960. She won the Governor General’s Award for that volume, as well as for No Time [Hansport, NS: Lancelot Press 1989] in 1990, and the 2003 Griffin Poetry Prize for Concrete and Wild Carrot [London: Brick Books 2002].

Explanatory Notes pp. 82–4

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Hambleton: Ronald Hambleton (1917–2007) was first published in Unit of Five, which he also edited. After Object and Event [Toronto: Ryerson 1953], he worked as a radio and television scriptwriter and interviewer. Guggenheims … reinvested: Smith had completed much of the work for the anthology in 1941 while on a Guggenheim Fellowship. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (30 Nov. 1943) On September 28th … ‘The Hitleriad’: There is no copy of this letter in Klein’s or Laughlin’s papers. printed – practically privately: After the poem had been rejected by Macmillan Canada and the jps, Klein had offered The Hitleriad to the First Statement Group, which had recently acquired a printing press. They planned an edition of 400–500 copies [LOTD, p. 112], and previewed the poem in First Statement magazine: the first 110 lines were published in First Statement 2, 1 (Aug. 1943), pp. 1–3; verses XII–XV were published in First Statement 2, 3 (Oct. 1943), pp. 4–7. A.J.M. Smith (30 Nov. 1943) your letter of Nov. 17: Smith had written thanking Klein for his ‘long epistle’ [Klein, LAC – MS 235–43]: It was very heart-warming and characteristically rich in wit and sense. I will have to work on you to catholicise your taste to include a sort of half-ironic (and very genuine and quite intense) appreciation of the artificial and elegant old-fashioned, e.g., Sangster’s (I repeat) charming Thousand Islands piece and Howe’s beautifully ridiculous Song of the Micmac. There are one or two fine things you are missing by not taking a deep breath and going into ‘The Golden Age’ – the quotation marks are, of course, ironic or not, as the reader chooses to fancy. I’m sitting on the fence with my tongue in my cheek, but I hope to give the illusion of being on either or both sides. Smith included a detailed survey of the reviews of the Book of Canadian Poetry to date, asking Klein to ‘clip & send me any reviews you see in the Montreal papers of the anthology or of the Phoenix.’ Finally, he wrote that he had received a copy of Klein’s application for a fellowship from Mr. Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation and had begun to write his evaluation: I like your project very much. The tone of rather [truculent altered to] magnificent arrogance is one you have every right to. The poems you have in mind are exciting, and I’m sure you can do work that will be richer and more magnanimous than anything a Canadian has ever done. I will write as effectively as I can in your behalf. And I really think you will get

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it. There is no one in Canada that should, if you don’t. Have you written to Pratt? He admires your work immensely and has a lot of influence. Also E.K. Brown. Canadian Authors Association … day is done: To many of the younger poets, the caa embodied the conservative resistance to modernist verse best described in F.R. Scott’s satiric poem ‘The Canadian Authors Meet.’ In his ‘critical and historical anthology,’ Smith had tried to include the best of the old and the new. P.D.R.’s follow-up of Nov. 13: In his letter of 17 November [Klein, LAC – MS 235–43], Smith had commented on ‘a 4-column review’ of the anthology by P.D. Ross, the owner, in the Ottawa Journal for 30 October. Ross had praised the catholicism of Smith’s historical selections, but criticized the predominance of ‘free verse.’ Smith took Ross’s prejudices as typical of too many reviewers: ‘These ignorant buggers can’t or won’t read the plain English sense of poetry. They are so used to finding pleasure in stuff that has no precise meaning that they simply will not read carefully anything that demands careful reading.’ Sabbath-guy: The word is ‘Sabbath-goy’ [‘Autobiographical,’ l. 4]. Morgan-Powell … a poet: Samuel Morgan-Powell (1867–1962), for many years literary editor of the Montreal Star, had published one book of verse, Down the Years [Toronto: Macmillan 1938]. Northrop Frye … Canadian Forum: ‘Canada and Its Poetry,’ CF 23 (Dec. 1943), pp. 207–10 Creighton of the C.F.: Alan Creighton was assistant editor of Canadian Forum. News of the Phoenix … I am to review it: Klein’s review, ‘The Poetry of A.J.M. Smith,’ appeared in CF 23 (Feb. 1944) [LER, pp. 209–12]. I’ll be your mouthpiece: See Klein’s letter to Smith, 6 January 1944 [pp. 90–2]. E.K. Brown’s book: On Canadian Poetry [Toronto: Ryerson 1943] Kennedy: See the note to ‘Leo Kennedy’ in the letter to Kennedy, 2 June 1939 [p. 337]. Collins: [sic]; a reference to W.E. Collin’s comments on Klein in White Savannahs. See the notes to Klein’s letter to Collin, 13 July 1936 [pp. 332–3]. flaunting my circumcision … Guggenheim … the fact that I am a Jew: In his application, Klein had listed as referees – in addition to Smith, Brown, and Pratt – W.E. Collin and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise [p. 79]. Wise, a Zionist leader and editor of Opinion, would comment almost exclusively on Klein’s significance as a ‘Jewish’ writer; Klein had hoped for less parochial evaluations from the others. Rolfe Humphries: Poet and translator George Rolfe Humphries (1894–1969) was a regular contributor to Nation.

Explanatory Notes pp. 86–7

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Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (15 Dec. 1943) Psalm 2 – page 3: ‘Maschil of Abraham: A Prayer When He Was in a Cave’ [P, pp. 2–3; CP 2.506–7]. Grayzel had written, ‘Our collective ears are still not attuned to the last rhyme: “That will complete the theorem, / And justify my ways to them”’ [3 Dec. 1943; JPS, PJAC]. Having resisted revision in his letters to Levinthal of 7 August 1942 [p. 51] and 1 July 1943 [p. 68], Klein finally gave in. Page 10: Line 20 of ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Concerning That Which He Beheld upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [P, pp. 7–8; CP 2.530–1]. Grayzel’s objection was that ‘the word “gutter” … does not strike me as particularly musical’ [3 Dec. 1943; JPS, PJAC]. Page 12: Line 27 of ‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Tascith, Michtam of Abraham; When One Sent and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [CP 2.521]: ‘Or writing on a privy wall.’ Psalm 10 – pages 13 and 14: ‘To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim. A Song of Loves’ [‘Grace Before Poison,’ CP 2.505–6] Page 19: In ‘Psalm of the Fruitful Field’ [P, pp. 10–11; CP 1.312–13], the committee objected to the word ‘shoulderblades’ despite Klein’s insistence on its anatomical accuracy in his letter to Levinthal of 1 July (see the note to ‘Page 18 … Page 19’ [p. 371]). The revision suggested by Grayzel was ‘That set upon his shoulders wings’ [3 Dec. 1943; JPS, PJAC]. Psalm 20 – page 26: ‘A Song for Wanderers’ [P, p. 18; CP 2.528] Psalm 21 – page 27: In the first line, Grayzel suggested replacing the word ‘delicates’ – which he found ‘somewhat too outlandish’ – with ‘delicacies’: ‘With delicacies and sweetmeats and with fruit …’ [3 Dec. 1943; JPS, PJAC]. Psalm 44 – page 54: Line 30 of ‘To the Chief Musician: A Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Touching a Good Gardener’ [P, pp. 37–9; CP 2.489–91] ‘The ship leaves’: Line 1 of ‘A Song that the Ships of Jaffa Did Sing in the Night’ [P, p. 40; CP 1.76] Page 82: ‘Rabbi Yom-Tob of Mayence Harangues His God’ [P, pp. 56-8; CP 1.272–4]. In the original, Rabbi Yom-Tob ‘Harangues His God.’ Page 93: Verse 19: In line 170 of ‘Yehuda Halevi: His Pilgrimage’ [P, pp. 65-82; CP 2.544–56], Klein replaced the word ‘forlore’ with ‘ever more’ despite his defence of its linguistic legitimacy in his letter to Levinthal of 1 July 1943 [p. 69]. page 25, Psalm 19: Lines 9–12 of ‘To the Chief Musician, Who Played for the Dancers’ [P, p. 17; CP 2.523]. The original read: ‘I did not see this dance, but men / Have told its wonder; aye, / But no man has told how they danced, / Or why.’ page 37, Psalm 30: ‘A Psalm of Justice, and Its Scales’ [P, p. 29; CP 2.516]. Lines

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3–4 originally read: ‘Armed with a sky-blue blueprint in my hand, / Safe combination in my memory.’ page 27, Psalm 21: Lines 16–18 of ‘A Psalm for Five Holy Pilgrims, Yea, Six on the King’s Highway’ [P, p. 19; CP 2.509]. Line 16 originally read: ‘Not taste, touch, smell, sound, sight, his bait.’ Series of single poems: The instruction led to some confusion; see Klein’s letter to Grayzel of 15 January 1944 [pp. 92–3]. Psalms 4 and 13 … follow Psalm 30 … Psalm 48 … last: The process of rearrangement was only beginning. In the published version, the original Psalm IV (‘A Psalm of Abraham, When He Was Sore Pressed’) became Psalm III; Psalm XIII (‘To the Prophets, Minor and Major, a Psalm or Song’) became Psalm XXV; and Psalm XXX (‘A Psalm of Justice, And Its Scales’) became Psalm XXIII. Psalm XLVIII (possibly ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Which He Made Because of Fear in the Night’) was the second to last poem in the sequence, owing to the last-minute addition of ‘A Psalm Touching Genealogy.’ (See Klein’s letter to Maurice Jacobs of 11 July 1944 [p. 107].) ‘The Hitleriad’: Grayzel returned the manuscript, with a brief critique, on 30 December 1943. See the note to ‘“The Hitleriad” … comments’ in the letter to Grayzel, 15 January 1944 [p. 386]. Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society (16 Dec. 1943) Maurice Jacobs: Executive director of the JPS contract … outright sale … royalty arrangement: Jacobs responded on 20 December 1943 [JPS, PJAC], outlining the standard contract used for JPS authors: ‘Exclusive right of book publication’ was granted to the press; 10% royalties were paid ‘on the selling price of the book,’ but Klein’s slim volume would be considered ‘a half-book’ for which JPS members would pay 83 cents, making his royalty $.083; the author would receive 25 free copies, with a 40% discount on additional books; and no royalties would be paid for review or author’s copies. A.J.M. Smith (Epiphany 1944) dateline … Epiphany: The Feast of Epiphany falls on 6 January. your book … review enclosed: ‘The Poetry of A.J.M. Smith,’ CF 23 (Feb. 1944) [LER, pp. 209–12]. Klein writes: ‘Taken in all, News of the Phoenix constitutes a historic contribution to Canadian letters. The record of an austere spirit, at once sensitive and intellectual, it marks the closest step a Canadian has taken towards a “pure poetry,” a poetry which is pure yet does not live in a vacuum’ [p. 212]. Falangist flu: The Falange was the fascist side in the Spanish Civil War; in his

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phrasing here, Klein links the effects of the 1918–19 ‘Spanish’ flu, which killed millions in the aftermath of the First World War, and the Spanish Civil War of 1937–9. Creighton: Assistant editor of Canadian Forum James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (12 Jan. 1944) Montreal Group … private printing: See Klein’s letters to Laughlin of 30 November 1943 [p. 84] and 17 January 1944 [p. 92]. A.J.M. Smith (14 Jan. 1944) your suggestions about the review: In his letter of 30 November 1943 [p. 85], Klein had invited Smith to suggest changes to his review of News of the Phoenix [‘The Poetry of A.J.M. Smith,’ CF 23 (Feb. 1944), pp. 257–8; LER, pp. 209–12]. substitute … delete: The phrase ‘the dignity of bards’ was replaced by ‘the efficiency of writers of verse’ in the published review. However, ‘the sentence about Keats & Landor’ remained: ‘Of [Smith’s] “Hellenic” verse, it must be said forthwith that it is neither Keats nor Landor’ [LER, p. 211]. neither Keats nor Landor: The reference here is to John Keats’s classical poems (‘Endymion,’ ‘Hyperion,’ and ‘On a Grecian Urn’); and ‘The Hellenics’ of English poet and essayist Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864), verse tales and dialogues on Greek subjects. In the essay, Klein continued: ‘Yet is [Smith’s ‘Hellenic’] to the true Greek manner born’ [LER, p. 211]. the Shaw manifesto in Preview: Neufville Shaw’s review of Smith’s Book of Canadian Poetry, ‘The Maple Leaf is Dying,’ Preview 17 (Dec. 1943), pp. 1–3. the disarming comment on myself: Shaw wrote: ‘A.M. Klein is a writer who, while being both “large” and “bold,” has recognized the exigencies of form. His verse, dictated by a sense of tender indignation … is at its best in AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL in which the richness and warmth of Jewish custom are revealed to us in a vividly decorative manner which combines exoticism with strong social assertion’ [p. 3]. Page and Anderson: P.K. Page and Patrick Anderson, also members of the Preview group S.M.P.: Samuel Morgan-Powell, editor of the Montreal Star analphabets: illiterates New Directions Annual ... ‘Nine Poems’: The poems were submitted to James Laughlin for consideration on 3 November 1942, and appeared in New Directions 8 (1944). Klein’s catalogue here includes ‘Variation on a Theme’ [pp. 193-4; CP 2.579–80]; ‘Sennet from Gheel’ [p. 195; CP 2.543]; the ‘two poems – psalms’ – ‘To the Chief Musician Upon Shoshannim. A Song of Loves’ [p. 197; later called ‘Grace Before Poison,’ CP 2.505–6] and ‘Upon the Heavenly

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Scarp’ [p. 196; later called ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Concerning That Which He Beheld upon the Heavenly Scarp,’ CP 2.530–1]; the two Bratzlaver poems – ‘To the Chief Musician, A Psalm of the Bratzlaver, a Parable’ [pp. 198; CP 2.486] and ‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Taschith, Michtam of Abraham; When One Sent, and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [pp. 198–9; CP 2.521–2]; the ‘poem about love’ which is entitled simply ‘Love’ [p. 199; CP 2.573–4]; and the ‘poem on the Cabbala,’ ‘Desideratum’ [p. 194–5; CP 2.569– 70]. The ninth poem, not included in Klein’s catalogue is ‘Spring Exhibit’ [p. 195; CP 2.624–5]. ‘Sennet from Gheel’ … in Poetry: Poetry 59 (Mar. 1942), pp. 316–17 malediction on Hitler … Canadian Issue of Poetry: ‘Upon the Heavenly Scarp’ also appeared in Poetry 59 (Mar. 1942), pp. 315–16. ‘The Hitleriad’: See the letter to Laughlin, 12 January 1944 [p. 90]. heroic couplets … hudibrastic lines, terza rima, concealed sonnets, etc.: Compare the description of the poem’s technique in Klein’s ‘blurb’ for New Directions Press [letter to James Laughlin, 29 March 1944, p. 102]. Gustafson’s Little Anthology: A Little Anthology of Canadian Poets [Norfolk, Conn.: New Directions 1943]. See the letter to Gustafson, 17 May 1943 [p. 65]. my selections or yours: Klein’s work was represented by ‘Heirloom’ and ‘The Still Small Voice’ from ‘Haggadah’ [A Little Anthology, pp. 14–15]; Smith by ‘Ode: On the Death of W.B. Yeats’ and ‘I Shall Remember.’ Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (15 Jan. 1944) ‘The Hitleriad’ … comments: Grayzel had written: ‘I will admit to you that some of these lines (if you will pardon a layman’s criticism of a poet) is [sic] lost by the very length of the poem in general’ [30 Dec. 1943]. publication … New Directions: See the letter to James Laughlin, 12 January 1944 [p. 90]. ‘A Series of Single Poems’: See Klein’s letter to Grayzel of 15 December 1943 [pp. 87–8]. ‘Yehuda Halevi’: ‘Yehuda Halevi: His Pilgrimage’ [P, pp. 65–82; CP 2.544–56] ‘In re Solomon Warshawer’: P, pp. 49–55; CP 2.493–8 ‘Rabbi Yom Tov’: ‘Rabbi Yom-Tob of Mayence Petitions His God’ [P, pp. 56–8; CP 1.272–4] James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (17 Jan. 1944) Samuel Marcus: of the Plimpton Press, the printer for New Directions publications a competitive edition in Canada: See Klein’s letter to Laughlin of 12 January [p. 90].

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suggestions for solution: Laughlin had apparently suggested that the printing of the volume be handled by First Statement, with New Directions serving as the American distributor, an offer Klein refuses in this letter. Samuel Bronfman (20 Jan. 1944) French translation … Leacock’s Canada: Stephen Leacock’s Canada: The Foundation of Its Future had been privately printed, and sumptuously produced, by the Seagram Company in 1941. As Carl Spandoni observes, ‘Unlike later wellknown histories by J.M.S. Careless, Donald Creighton, A.R.M. Lower, and W.L. Morton, Leacock’s Canada is not the work of a professional historian engaged in primary research. Rather the book should be read as a popular account of the nation’s history, written with enthusiasm by a man who loved his country dearly and who saw its existence threatened by outside forces’ [‘Leacock’s Canada: The Book That Booze Bought,’ Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 26 (1987): 88–105]. Leacock’s informality, trade-mark wit, and anglophone prejudices were sources of misgivings Klein expresses about its content both in this letter and in his comments on the galleys of the original English edition [‘Memorandum: The Making of Canada by Stephen Leacock’ (September 1941); Klein, LAC – MS 20658–700]. Stephen Leacock: (1868–1944) Canadian humorist, best known for Literary Lapses [1910], Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town [1912], and Arcadian Adventures of the Idle Rich [1914]. Leacock was an economist, teaching for many years in the Department of Economics and Political Science at McGill University. mistranslations: Having participated in negotiations of revisions to the Englishlanguage version of the book in 1941, Klein was aware of Leacock’s attitude towards alterations of his text. Regarding the suggestion that negative statements about immigration be softened, R.T. Ferguson commented that, although Leacock objected to ‘taking away the virility of the book,’ he would allow revision, ‘saying that his intention was to prohibit the immigration of those who were in arms against us and not those whose countries had been over-run’ [‘Memo of Conference with Dr. Leacock’ (27 Sept. 1941), p. 1; see Spandoni, ‘Leacock’s Canada,’ pp. 95–6]. national sensibilities: the reactions of the French-Canadian readership large scale immigration: A sample of the disturbing opinions voiced is Leacock’s comment ‘undoubtedly a great migration of British people to Canada and still more a rapid increase among those who come, is a first necessity of our common welfare’ [Canada: The Foundation of Its Future (Montreal: Seagram 1941), p. 245]. Louis Riel: Among the potentially inflammatory statements in the original English version is Leacock’s assertion that ‘Riel had spent the last year [1883] alternately between school-teaching and going partly crazy, a thing quite

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intelligible to the profession. But to choose him as a leader was the worst choice that could have been made’ [Canada, p. 183]. the French preface: The preface was to have been written by a ‘Mr. Monpetit,’ who was prevented by illness [letter from Ernest Bertrand to Samuel Bronfman, 21 Feb. 1944; Klein, LAC – MS 255]. He was replaced by Robert Rumilly, author of a popular 13-volume history of the province of Quebec [enclosed with Bertrand’s letter to Bronfman of 29 March; Klein, LAC – MS 257–8]. the preface of its President: Klein had ghostwritten Bronfman’s preface to the original edition. Ralph Gustafson (3 Feb. 1944) payment for my poems: On 4 January, Gustafson had sent on a ‘cheque in the amount of $4.00 in payment of your two poems, HEIRLOOM and THE STILL SMALL VOICE, which I included in my “Little Anthology of Canadian Poets” published by New Directions Press’ [Gustafson papers, University of Saskatchewan]. my ‘Hitleriad’: See Klein’s letter to James Laughlin, 30 November 1943 [pp. 83–4]. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (24 Feb. 1944) skinny manuscript … plumper stuff: a play on ‘Plimpton Press,’ the company which was to have printed ‘The Hitleriad’ for New Directions Sammy: Samuel Marcus of The Plimpton Press; see the letter to Laughlin of 17 January [pp. 93–4]. Mr. Reichl: Ernst Reichl, director of Profile Press; best known as the book designer who designed the distinctive ‘U’ in the Random House edition of Ulysses the jacket blurb: In a similar attempt to elicit a ‘blurb’ from Delmore Schwartz for The World Is a Wedding [1949], Laughlin alludes to his difficulties with the blurb for Klein’s The Hitleriad: You must write the blurb for the book yourself. I cannot handle the Jewish question. If I write that you describe the lives and thoughts of the Jews more lovingly and more observingly than I have ever read before, then there will be people who will resent the fact that I single out Jews as being Jews and not just people. It is all too complex for me. In the case of Klein, I pointed out that he was a Jew and so offended all the crossed-over Jews like Untermeyer, Fadiman, Cerf etc., who like to see Jews succeed in the world but do not like to have them labelled as such. There is certainly no solution to the problem except that everyone should marry a Jew at one time and obliterate the tribe. Is that not right? [31 January 1948, Delmore

Explanatory Notes pp. 97–9

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Schwartz and James Laughlin: Selected Letters (New York: W.W. Norton 1993), pp. 247–8] my letter to you of September 28, 1943: This letter is missing; however, it is quoted in Klein’s letter to Laughlin of 29 March 1944 [p. 102]. John Cournos: See the note to ‘Leo W. Schwartz … John Cournos’ in Klein’s October 1943 application to the Guggenheim Foundation [p. 374]. Isaac Rosenberg: (1890–1918) English poet killed in action in the First World War; his Collected Works was published posthumously in 1937. Like Wilfred Owen, he was best known for poems which focused on the brutality of trench warfare; his other work focused on the twin themes of Jewish identity and poverty. David Lewis (13 Mar. 1944) glad to hear from you: Lewis, then national secretary for the CCF, was encouraging Klein to run in the federal riding of Cartier. Lewis wrote in confidence on 9 February [Klein, LAC – MS 263–4] that he himself had been the committee’s first choice, but ‘I believe myself you would be a stronger candidate than I was because of your having lived continuously in Montreal and in the district and because of your close association with Jewish affairs all through the years.’ Lewis had encouraged the committee to hold the nominating convention as soon as possible, in part so that he would be free to accept a nomination in another riding. The events of the meeting, held on 2 April, are recorded in Klein’s fragmentary journal [NB, pp. 90–1]. Gretski: Unidentified. interlude … I provided it: In his diary entry for 2 April 1944, Klein describes his similar efforts to smooth over divisions in the CCF ranks at the nomination meeting: ‘ I call for unity on fundamental factors. I distinguish between politeness and tact by quoting tale of bell-boy who breaks in on woman halfundressed. “Excuse me, sir,” he says. The excuse me is politeness; the sir is tact. I will not recognize the sex differences of the varying ideologies in our own ranks’ [NB, p. 91]. our guest … MacInnis: Angus MacInnis (1884–1964), Member of Parliament for Vancouver South (elected in 1930 for the Independent Labour Party; 1935– 57 for the CCF), was one of the founders of the CCF and deputy national Leader of the party (1942–57).      : chasidey umot ha’olam (Heb.) ‘the righteous among the peoples of the world’; generally translated ‘righteous gentiles.’ provincial election against M. Hartt: Liberal Maurice Hartt (1895–1950) then represented the riding in the provincial legislature. In 1947, following the conviction of Labour Progressive (Communist) incumbent Fred Rose in

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March 1946 for espionage and his expulsion from Parliament on 30 January 1947, Hartt would win the federal by-election in Cartier. In the 1949 federal election, Klein ran unsuccessfully against him as CCF candidate. See Klein’s letter to Hartt, 24 June 1949 [p. 191]. Dickstein: Moishe Dickstein. Klein later translated his Yiddish memoir From Palestine to Israel [Montreal: Eagle Publishing Company 1950]. Stuchen: Philip Stuchen from Ottawa, a local organizer for the Young People’s Socialist League (YPSL) Heaps: Albert Abraham Heaps (1885–1954), CCF Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North (1925–40), had been one of the organizers of the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919. After being defeated in the 1940 election, he had retired to Montreal. In his letter of 9 February, Lewis mentioned that A.A. Heaps’s name had also been mentioned as a possible CCF candidate for Cartier. Zavalkov: a member of the Provincial Council Executive of the CCF Rubinstein: Michael Rubinstein, a lawyer active in Jewish labour circles, and a member of the Provincial Council Executive of the CCF. Klein notes in his journal for 2 April 1944 that Rubinstein chaired the nomination meeting [NB, p. 90]. the local P.Z.: Poale Zion (Heb., ‘Labourers of Zion’), a worldwide Zionist movement founded in Russia in 1906, functioned as an umbrella group of Zionist organizations across Canada, including the Labour Zionist Alliance and Habonim. Miss MacPhail: Agnes Campbell MacPhail (1890–1954), was the first female Member of Parliament elected after women gained the vote in 1920. After a long and distinguished career as a federal MP affiliated with the Progressive Party (1925–40), and then as an independent, she was sitting as a CCF Member of the Ontario Legislature (1943–5; 1948–51). Ottawa … the Jewish People’s League … my talk: On 19 March, Stuchen wrote to confirm the topic of Klein’s talk to the Young People’s Socialist League: the topic would be ‘Current Phenomena ...’ [Klein, LAC – MS 257] the White Paper (Jerusalem): The MacDonald White Paper of 17 May 1939 recommended limiting Jewish emigration to Israel, and restricting Jewish ownership of land. See the note to ‘right to purchase land … to breathe and live’ in Klein’s letter to Leo Kennedy, 15 March 1940 [p. 342]. the Davies book (Moscow): Mission to Moscow: A Record of Confidential Dispatches to the State Department, Official and Personal Correspondence, Current Diary and Journal Entries, Including Notes and Comments Up to October 1941 [New York: Simon and Schuster 1941] by American diplomat Joseph Edward Davies (1876–1958). The book, which presented a very favourable, even romanticized, picture of

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Stalin’s government, had been made into a popular film by Warner Brothers in 1943. Guy Sylvestre (17 Mar. 1944) Guy Sylvestre … Le Droit: In 1945, Sylvestre (1918–) was literary editor for Le Droit, Ottawa’s French-language newspaper, and founder of the Montreal-based Catholic literary magazine Gants du ciel (September 1943–Summer 1946). His Anthologie de poésie canadienne d’expression français [Montreal: B. Valiquette 1942] had established his critical reputation. In 1956, he became associate parliamentary librarian, and in 1968, Canada’s first full-time national librarian. article in French on Pratt, Smith and myself: This article has not been identified, and although Sylvestre’s letter to Klein has not survived, his letter of 25 March 1944 to A.J.M. Smith expresses the more general intention (accompanied by a request for a review copy of News of the Phoenix) to review the work of English Canadian authors of interest to French Canadians [Smith, FRBL – box 2]. Rather than write an ‘article,’ Sylvestre may have contented himself with focusing on Pratt, Smith, and Klein in his review of A.J.M. Smith’s Book of Canadian Poetry in Le Devoir, 17 Feb. 1945. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (22 Mar. 1944) Mr. Bronfman’s Passover message: See the letters to Samuel Bronfman and H.M. Caiserman, 24 and 26 March 1941 (respectively) [pp. 37–8, 38–9]. Caiserman replies on 27 March, confirming that copies had been sent out ‘on March 23rd to all the Jewish and Anglo-Jewish newspapers of the Dominion.’ James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (29 Mar. 1944) that letter … ‘The Hitleriad’: the letter of 28 September 1943 (missing) Augustan verse … Pope employed … to devastate his dunces: the satirical method of The Dunciad [1728] by Alexander Pope (1688–1744) Byron … to scotch his reviewers: English Bards, and Scotch Reviewers. A Satire [1809] by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824) ‘that wicked man’: ‘that wicked man shall die in his iniquity …’ [Ezekiel 33.8]; Adolf Hitler. poems of mine … published in Canadian Forum: a reference to Klein’s political satires, ‘Blueprint for a Monument of War’ [CF 17 (Sept. 1937), 208–9; CP 2.453–8], ‘Barricade Smith: His Speeches’ [CF 18 (Aug. 1938), 147–8; CP 2.463–72], ‘Of Castles in Spain’ [CF 18 (June 1938), 79; CP 2.473–4], ‘Ballad of the Thwarted Axe’ [CF 21 (Oct. 1941), 244; CP 2.539–40], and ‘Ballad of the Nursery Rhymes’ [CF 21 (Nov. 1941), 244; CP 2.538–9]

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‘And at my back … hurrying near’: from Andrew Marvell’s ‘To his Coy Mistress,’ ll. 21–2 On account of the nail … poem delayed: a contracted paraphrase of Benjamin Franklin’s ironic expansion in Poor Richard’s Almanac [1758] of George Herbert’s observation in Jacula Prudentum [1651] that ‘for want of a nail’ a ‘rider’ can lose his life. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (10 Apr. 1944) Marcus had used the first draft: Marcus of Plimpton Press had resumed work on the project; see Klein’s letter to Laughlin, 24 February 1944 [p. 97]. David Lewis (14 Apr. 1944) MacInnis Amendment on Antisemitism: Lewis sent on MacInnis’s amendment, with ‘a short memo which he wrote on it,’ in his letter of 17 April [Klein, LAC – MS 263–4]. time-table, day book, of the last election: On 17 April, Lewis replied that he would gather ‘the material you request about the last Cartier election … and send it on to you.’ your suggestion at the convention: There had been considerable opposition to the MacInnis amendment, and at the national conference riding associations had been encouraged to campaign for public support. On 17 April [Klein, LAC – MS 263–4], Lewis wrote: ‘Most of the opposition has come from decent and thoroughly progressive United Church spokesmen who are afraid that such an amendment could be used by the courts in Quebec to stifle legitimate Protestant criticisms of the Catholic Church. In other words, there is the usual tendency of democrats to hesitate about legislation to curb undemocratic excesses on the abstract principle that there must be no interference with free speech.’ He recommended that Klein or another speaker address ‘the genuine fears which these good people have’ directly. the L.P.s: the Labour Progressive Party, Canada’s communist party Fred Rose: (1907–83) Union organizer and politician, Rose had been elected to the House of Commons for Cartier as a Labour Progressive (Communist) candidate in the 1943 by-election. He was re-elected in 1945, but in March 1946, in the aftermath of the Gouzenko affair, he was charged with espionage under the War Measures Act. He was convicted and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, of which he served four and half years. On his release from prison, he returned to his native Poland. Salsberg: Joe Salsberg, a Labour Progressive Member of Parliament from Toronto Pomerance of the L.P.s: a local party member. Klein notes in his journal for 4 April 1944: ‘Pomerance’s wife works as sec. for Fred Rose’ [NB, p. 93].

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R.L. Calder: Robert Louis Calder, King’s Counsel and CCF Member of Parliament Poale Zion: See the note to ‘the local P.Z.’ in Klein’s letter to Lewis of 13 March [p. 390]. MacInnis … what do you think?: On 17 April, Lewis replied: ‘MacInnis has either left or is about to leave for a trip to Australia and New Zealand as one of the Members of Parliament.’ If Klein feels that ‘outside speakers’ are really necessary, he suggests approaching Stanley Knowles, CCF Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North, who ‘has done quite a lot of work on the Jewish problem with particular emphasis on the Palestine angle.’ Frank Scott: Klein’s old friend from the ‘McGill Group’ of poets was a founder of the CCF and its national chairman (1942–50) azoins vi azelecks – crème de la crème – ne plus ultra: roughly equivalent phrases in Yiddish, French, and Latin E.K. Brown (21 Apr. 1944) failure with the Guggenheims: See Klein’s October 1943 application, pp. 74–9. my sponsors: In addition to Brown, the referees listed on Klein’s Guggenheim application included W.E. Collin, E.J. Pratt, A.J.M. Smith, and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. run for office: On 2 April Klein had been nominated as the CCF candidate in the federal riding of Cartier, where he lived; he would withdraw from the race at the end of 1945. tell it not in Gath: ‘Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph’ [2 Samuel 1.1]. your own experience: In 1942, Brown had taken a six-month leave-of-absence from Cornell University to work in Ottawa as a speech-writer for Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. aere perennius: (Latin) ‘more durable than bronze’ New Directions Press Annual: Nine (not twelve) poems were published in the 1944 New Directions Annual. See the note to ‘New Directions Annual … “Nine Poems”’ in the letter to A.J.M. Smith, 14 January 1944 [p. 385]. ‘Book of Psalms’: In 1944 the book was published by the JPS under the title Poems. several … you saw … Poetry Magazine: Klein had submitted several of his ‘Psalms’ for consideration for the special Canadian issue of Poetry edited by Brown. Grouped under the title ‘The Psalter of A.M. Klein,’ Brown had published Psalms 151 [later titled ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Touching His Green Pastures’ [CP 2.513–14]), 154 (‘To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Song of Loves’ [CP 2.504–6]) and 155 (‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Taschith, Michtam

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of Abraham, When One Sent, and They Watched the House to Kill Him’ [CP 2.521–2]). apologia pro vita mea: (Latin) ‘defence of my life’ Governor General’s Award: Brown received the 1943 Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction for his On Canadian Poetry, which he expanded and reissued the following year. a prophet with honour in his own country: Jesus is reported as saying, ‘A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house’ [Matthew 13.57, Mark 6.4, Luke 4.24, and John 4.44]. you and Smith … vice-regal honours: A.J.M. Smith had been awarded the 1943 Governor General’s Award for Poetry for his book News of the Phoenix. article in the S.R. of L.: ‘To the North: A Wall against Canadian Poetry,’ Saturday Review of Literature 27 (29 Apr. 1944), 9–11 Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society (11 July 1944) add … ‘Autobiographical’: The request to add ‘Autobiographical’ [CP 2.564] was denied owing to the ‘practical difficulty that making the substitutions would necessitate re-paginating a substantial part of the book’ [letter from Solomon Grayzel, 25 July 1944; JPS, PJAC]. Psalm 8 substituted: Klein wished to replace ‘A Psalm of the Fruitful Field’ [P, pp. 10–11; CP 1.312–13] with a new poem, ‘A Psalm of that Which Is Remembered at the Moment of Drowning’ – later titled ‘And in that Drowning Instant’ [CP 2.608]. The marginal note reads ‘too gruesome,’ a judgment Grayzel reiterated in his reply to this letter: ‘The poem about drowning would add another poem on a horror subject to a volume already vocal on the subject of cruelty and death, whereas the one it would displace is in a lighter mood’ [25 July 1944; JPS, PJAC]. Psalm 11 … substituted: Klein wished to substitute ‘A Psalm for the Breaking of Bread’ [later titled ‘Bread’ (CP 2.617)] for ‘A Psalm of a Mighty Hunter before the Lord’ [P, pp. 15–16; CP 1.303]. Grayzel replied: ‘The poem on bread is quite all right, but it is poetically difficult (at least for me), while the one already there and which would be eliminated has a charm and a lilt which the bread poem does not possess’ [25 July 1944; JPS, PJAC]. Psalm 36: Grayzel promised to include ‘A Psalm Touching Genealogy’ [CP 2.624], ‘provided the mechanics of pages, etc., can be arranged’ [25 July 1944; JPS, PJAC]. It was added to Poems as Psalm XXXVI [p. 46]. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (4 Aug. 1944) had Hitler died … bomb: On 20 July 1944, four members of Hitler’s entourage were killed and others were wounded when an assassin’s bomb went off. Hit-

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ler sustained burns, some hearing loss, and partial paralysis of his right arm. right in the Fuehrer’s face: a line from the popular song by Spike Jones and the City Slickers: ‘When der Fuehrer says, “We are the Master Race,” / Go “Heil! Pfuft! Heil! Pfuft!” right in der Fuehrer’s face.’ your local agency: New Directions’ agent in Montreal was Mr Shapiro of the Jonathan David Company. Clifton Fadiman: (1904–99) A well-known arbiter of popular taste, both through his radio show Information Please and a series of anthologies of ‘good writing.’ It is clear from Laughlin’s reply on 18 August [Klein, LAC – MS 269–70] that he has thought of this and more: ‘We are starting off the advertising campaign with some of our little “pot” ads in Saturday Review, New Republic, Chicago Sun, etc. Then if some good blurbs come through from important stuffed literary shirts we’ll use them in regular space ads. In addition to the straight book reviewers I had the office send copies to two other classes of people: 1) columnists who occasionally mention books of a topical character; 2) literary brass hats like Fadiman, Canby, the Van Dorens, Morley and all that bunch.’ my lines on Roosevelt: H, ll. 480–5. my lines on – Churchill: H, ll. 470–9. Book of the Month Club: An agency established in 1926 to sell discounted books by subscription, with monthly selections chosen by a panel of celebrity ‘judges.’ On 18 August [Klein, LAC – MS 269–70], Laughlin replied: ‘I plastered the book of the Month Club thoroughly, both judges and people working in the machine, so some one of them ought to bite and arrange for a notice in their monthly magazine, which is very influential. I have never known them to distribute anything just like this, even as a bonus, but if one of the blimps took a shine to it the unusual might happen.’ Guy Sylvestre (30 Aug. 1944) the Psalms … send you a copy: See the letter to Sylvestre, 2 April 1945 [p. 123]. Jewish Encyclopedia: Klein himself owned and made frequent use of The Jewish Encyclopedia [New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls Co. 1906]. James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (9 Sept. 1944) Fadiman’s Folly: Possibly a reference to Fadiman’s public statements in Nation or The New Yorker about his criteria as a reviewer, how he decides what to review, and how to make a ‘best-seller.’ In the ‘informal prologue’ to Readings I’ve Liked: A Personal Selection Drawn from Two Decades of Reading and Reviewing [New York: Simon & Schuster 1941] which was based on these articles, the

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strategy he described for achieving ‘best seller’ status is very similar to the one Klein outlined to Laughlin for marketing The Hitleriad – right down to soliciting approval from Roosevelt! review … Dr. Woodhead: W.D. Woodhead, of the Classics Department at McGill University, named The Hitleriad his ‘Book of the Week’: ‘Here is a subject which has attracted many a writer, but nothing resembling this poem has appeared, and it should be read and welcomed by all who appreciate wit, power, and sincerity clothed in racy and vigorous verse.’ [Montreal Gazette, 1 Sept. 1944, p. 9] review in The Ottawa Citizen: unidentified squib in the N.Y. Times (Sept. 2) … Flint: F. Cudworth Flint in a review of The Hitleriad and six other books writes: ‘“The Hitleriad” tries to direct against Hitler the voice of public ridicule. But its author, Mr. Klein, has not enough ingenuity or verbal dexterity or malice – as distinguished from rage – to lead in such an enterprise. Most of his gibes are too laboured, or else his tactics are inapposite’ [‘Poets on the Way from Taraw to Aldebaron,’ New York Times Book Review, 3 Sept. 1944, p. 4]. Klein misdates the review. like Kip said: In his letter of 18 October, Klein identifies ‘Kip’ as the pen-name of ‘Keimberg,’ possibly a mis-spelling of Kreymborg. Poet and anthologist Alfred Kreymborg (1883–1966) had been (with Lewis Mumford and Paul Rosefield) one of the editors of American Caravan: A Yearbook of American Literature [New York: Macauley 1927–36] in which one or more of Klein’s early poems had been published. Kreymborg had not reviewed The Hitleriad; however, he would subsequently review Poems in the Saturday Review of Literature, 24 March 1945 [‘The Shadow of Mars,’ p. 35]. stercoraceous coprophagous: The phrase is redundant: ‘stercoraceous’ means ‘consisting of, containing or pertaining to faeces’ [OED]; ‘coprophagous’ means ‘dung-eating.’ merde: (Fr.) shit gentlemen … to meet in Quebec: Churchill and Roosevelt, hosted by Mackenzie King, met from 10 to 14 September 1944 for the second Quebec Conference to discuss plans for the invasion of Germany. DeWitt Wallace, READER’S DIGEST (7 Oct. 1944) DeWitt Wallace: (1889–1981) founder and long-time editor of Reader’s Digest magazine James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (10 Oct. 1944) E.J. Pratt reviews ‘The Hitleriad’: The review appeared in CF 24 (Oct. 1944), p. 285.

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Dr. A.W. Trueman: Alfred William Trueman (1902–88) was a prominent educator and broadcaster, who in 1944–5 was a governor of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He later served as president of the Universities of Manitoba and New Brunswick, commissioner of the National Film Board, and first director of the Canada Council. first published by First Statement: See the note to ‘printed – practically privately’ in the letter to Laughlin of 30 November 1943 [p. 381]. First Statement review: In First Statement 2.9 (Oct. 1944), Irving Layton declared ‘The Hitleriad’ ‘an important book, a landmark in our rapidly growing national literature’and ‘a caustic annotation in verse on the events of a fateful decade’ [pp. 17, 19–20]. Reader’s Digest: See Klein’s letter above to DeWitt Wallace, 7 October [pp. 111–12]. Life Magazine … Mr. Jessup: John K. Jessup, editor of Life from 1944 to 1969 Pollinger: unidentified E.K. Brown (13 Oct. 1944) your letter of October 8th: Brown thanks Klein for an inscribed copy of The Hitleriad, and informs him that he had reviewed the book for Poetry [Klein, LAC – MS 276]. your review … Poetry Magazine: Brown’s review [‘Satirical Verse,’ Poetry 65, 1 (October 1944), pp. 54–6] was, as Klein suggests here, mostly positive, emphasizing that Klein’s mock-epic was ‘both learned and simple,’ with ‘lines … tessellated with allusions and echoes’ [p. 55]. the one point … against it: This is Brown’s exact phrasing in his letter of 8 October [Klein, LAC – MS 276]. In the review (see the previous note), Brown had written that ‘[t]he intellectual defect of the poem is in its making a goose of Hitler. How different was Dryden’s way? The qualities of the men attacked were liberally praised, and the misuse of them, or the dependence on other faculties in which the men were weaker, make their crimes and shames the more appalling. A flock of geese (and Mr. Klein treats Hitler’s associates in the same fashion as the Fuhrer) does not set the world on fire: it takes a great many qualities that geese do not have to do that’ [p. 56]. However, he went on to assert: ‘In spite of a defect so radical and of some unevenness in craftsmanship … the poem abounds in vigorous and brilliant passages, and is always so lively’ [p. 56]. some critics … others: The positive notices included W.D. Woodhead’s review for Montreal Gazette (1 Sept. 1944), E.J. Pratt’s review in CF (Oct. 1944), and Irving Layton’s in First Statement, 2, 9 (Oct.–Nov. 1944). F. Cudworth Flint’s very negative review appeared in the New York Times Book Review (3 Sept. 1944).

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Even positive reviews tended to express some puzzlement about Klein’s satiric strategy. remarks … C.A.A. awards: Brown had commented, ‘I hope that the fact that the book came out down here won’t cut Canadian interest in it … The year after your other book came out I met one of the judges in the poetry group of the C.A.A. [Canadian Authors’ Association] awards, and complained that the award should have gone to you. He told me that your book was not sent in. Apparently publishers send the books in. I don’t know whether a book printed down here is eligible; but if it is I wish your publisher would send this book in’ [8 Oct. 1944; Klein, LAC – MS 276]. which awards … the Governor General’s: The Canadian Authors’ Association had lobbied for the creation of the Governor General’s Awards, and was involved in their administration. J. Laughlin … Jonathan David Company: James Laughlin owned the New Directions Press; Jonathan David was its Montreal-based distributer. volume of my Psalms: Klein’s Poems to be published by the JPS James Laughlin IV, New Directions Press (18 Oct. 1944) the Fadiman, Untermeyer, Cerf, Keimberg attitude: Klein’s list is carefully arranged so that their initials express his feelings about their lack of response. As well as being a reviewer and anthologist, Clifton Fadiman currently hosted a radio program called Information, Please, which aired on NBC from 17 May 1938 to April 1951. Louis Untermeyer was a prominent poet, translator, and anthologist. Bennett Cerf, publisher of Random House Books and the Modern Library series, was holding forth on a popular radio show on WXQR called Books are Bullets in which he presented books which ‘conformed to the accepted interpretation of the war’ [Farrell, The Fate of Writing in America (New York: New Directions 1946)]. Keimberg (referred to in Klein’s letters to Laughlin as ‘Kip’) may be a mis-spelling of the surname of poet and anthologist Alfred Kreymborg, whose name seems to have been added because the letter ‘K’ filled out Klein’s acronym. In a pamphlet published by New Directions in 1946, James T. Farrell describes the homogenizing influence of mass marketing and mass media (radio and Hollywood) on the publishing industry during the Second World War as the result of syndicated book columns and radio review programs such as Author Meets Critic and Cerf’s Books are Bullets, which ‘magnify that transient significance [of popular books] … and help toward effecting greater centralization of passing tendencies and literary and ideational fashions.’ ‘Kip’: pseudonym of Keimberg (or Kreymborg) landsliet: (Ger.) without land; hence ‘foreign’

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marranos: See the note to ‘marranos’ in the letter to Abramson, 4 June 1938, p. 334. paysage: (Fr.) landscape, scenery Benét: Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943), American poet, short-story writer, and novelist, known principally for his Pulitzer Prize–winning poems about the Civil War (John Brown’s Body [1928]) and 17th-century immigrations (Western Star [1943]), and as the author of ‘The Devil and Daniel Webster’ (from Thirteen O’Clock [1937]). Ellis Island: where immigrants landing at New York were processed allusions to Blake and Marlowe: ‘The Tiger, ever-burning bright’ [‘The Tyger,’ Songs of Innocence and Experience], and ‘Is this the face that launched the master-race / And burned the topless towers of Rotterdam?’ [Doctor Faustus 5.1.97–8]. Ed Wynne: Ed Wynn (no ‘e’) was a comic actor in radio dramas and films a gallicized Hirsh: ‘Cerf’ is a French version of the Jewish name ‘Hirsch.’ Cerf to his mergers: In 1936 Random House had acquired Robinson Smith and Robert Haas, Inc., publishers of William Faulkner, Isak Dinesen, and Jean de Brunhoff; in 1944 it established Random House Canada as part of an international expansion. Untermeyer … his wives: Louis Untermeyer married five times. Because of his celebrity, his 1943 divorce from his fourth wife, Esther Antin Untermeyer, had received heavy newspaper coverage. Life very charmingly said No: On 18 October [Klein, LAC – MS 280], Mary Alves replied ‘in Mr. Jessup’s absence,’ informing Klein that ‘LIFE is … primarily a news picture magazine and as such, rarely publishes any poetry. When we do, such publication follows a specific event, as in the case of Miss Millay’s “Lidice.” Thank you, nonetheless, for giving us an opportunity to read the “Hitleriad.”’ Delmore Schwartz: (1913–66) New York poet, short-story writer, and critic, and an influential member of the group of American Jewish writers emerging during and after the Second World War, he was also a frequent contributor to New Directions and a personal friend of James Laughlin. Shakespearean play in modern dress: A reference to Schwartz’s verse play Shenandoah [1941] Auden … ‘For the Time Being’: British poet and playwright W.H. Auden (1907– 73); For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio, a long poem in dramatic form, was published in 1944. Solomon Grayzel, Jewish Publication Society (5 Jan. 1945) mirabile dictu: (Lat.) ‘wonderful to relate’

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Louis E. Levinthal, Jewish Publication Society (5 Jan. 1945) you are responsible: Internal correspondence makes it clear that Levinthal’s personal championing of the book resulted in its acceptance [Joshua Bloch, Of the Making of Many Books: An Annotated List of the Books Issued by the Jewish Publication Society of America, 1890–1952 (Philadelphia: JPS 1953), pp. 212–13]. See the note to ‘communication of 21st of July … enclosure’ in the letter to Levinthal of 7 August 1942 [p. 358]. W.D. Woodhead (10 Jan. 1945) W.D. Woodhead: Professor in Classics at McGill University, and Klein’s mentor as an undergraduate [LOTD, p. 46]. Woodhead responded with a letter of thanks on 14 January: ‘Your Psalm Seventeen reminds me of the young damsel with scarlet lips and crimson finger-nails in one of my classes, to whom I quoted Tennyson’s line: “Nature red in tooth and claw.”’ another volume: This letter accompanied a presentation copy of Poems. King David’s veins: David was thought to be the author of the psalms. Quaere: (Lat.) ‘query’ Maurice Jacobs, Jewish Publication Society (26 Jan. 1944) Ludwig Lewisohn … syndicate a review: Lewisohn’s review, ‘The Jew as Poet,’ appeared in Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 2 Mar. 1945, p. 6; Jewish Book Annual 4 (1945–6), p. 99; and The New Palestine News Reporter, 16 Feb. 1948, pp. 122–3. review copies … periodicals: Marginal notes by the recipient on Klein’s letter indicate that copies had been sent to the Jewish press, but not to Poetry, Canadian Forum, Nation, or New Republic. Leo Kennedy (8 Feb. 1945) Miriam: Kennedy’s first wife, Miriam Carpin, a social worker in Montreal. Klein had written a poem in honour of their marriage in 1929, ‘Christian Poet and Hebrew Maid’ [CP 1.140–1]. Preview group: See the note to ‘the pamphlet Preview’ in the letter to Ralph Gustafson of 18 June 1942 [p. 355]. First Statement group: The small Montreal magazine First Statement (1942–5) was founded by John Sutherland to counter-balance the cosmopolitan poetics of Preview. The group associated with the magazine initially included Betty Sutherland, Robert Simpson, Keith MacLellan, and Audrey Aikman, but Simpson and MacLellan were replaced by 1943 by Irving Layton and Louis Dudek. Meyer W. Weisgal (26 Feb. 1945) Meyer W. Weisgal: A journalist and theatrical producer, Weisgal (1894–1977)

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later became the director of Israel’s Weizmann Institute. In 1945, he was secretary-general of the American section of the Jewish Agency for Palestine and a member of the American Jewish Committee, which was about to launch Commentary, a monthly magazine on Jewish affairs. He had offered Klein the editorship, and on 5 March– in response to this letter – proposed a two- or three-month trial period before he need make a final decision about accepting the position, reiterating the offer on 13 March [Klein, LAC – MS 297, 298]. life academic … life political: Klein was in the first year of an appointment as visiting professor in the Department of English at McGill University. summum bonum: (Lat.) ‘the chief good’ Weizmann review … The Frontier: Weisgal had recently published Chaim Weizmann, Statesman, Scientist, Builder of the Jewish Commonwealth [New York: Dial Press 1944]. Klein had agreed to review it for the Labour Zionist journal Jewish Frontier. James Laughlin IV, New Directions (12 Mar. 1945) F.X. Maynard, O.F.M.: Francis Xavier Maynard, Order of Franciscans, Friars Minor Shapiro: of the Jonathan David Company, agent for New Directions Press in Montreal James Laughlin IV, New Directions (2 Apr. 1945) Poems: Poems [1944] Guy Sylvestre (2 Apr. 1945) your reference to my poetry: In his review of Smith’s The Book of Canadian Poetry in Le Droit 9 (17 Feb. 1945), Sylvestre had written: ‘Le Montréalais Abraham Klein, qui est un des meilleurs poètes de langue anglais au Canada. Je compte d’ailleurs vous faire connaître son oeuvre originale et sensible avant longtemps’ [p. 8]. a copy of The Psalms: ‘The Psalter of Avram Haktani,’ the first section of Poems; Sylvestre’s copy of Poems, sent by the author, is in the National Library of Canada. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (10 Apr. 1945) Article … about my last book: Klein had suggested that Caiserman review the book in his letter of 2 April [Appendix C, p. 495]. you in Toronto: Caiserman had moved to the Toronto offices of the Central Division of the CJC. withdrawn … electoral campaign in Cartier: Despite Klein’s protestations that the decision was his own, Caplan speculates that the ‘withdrawal may have been

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urged upon him out of tactical considerations … for splitting the Jewish vote between the Liberals and the CCF only threatened to hand another victory to Fred Rose [the Labour-Progressive Party candidate]. Thus it was that the CCF did not field a candidate in Cartier in the election of 1945’ [LOTD, p. 126]. Fred Rose retained the seat with a clear majority. CIRCLE (14 May 1945) Circle: A journal of creative writing edited by George Leite and published in Berkley, California. Klein published one poem in this journal: ‘In Memoriam, Arthur Ellis, 1867–1937, Executioner in Canada,’ in Circle 7–8 (1946). hebdomadal: weekly ‘The Portrait of the Poet as a Nobody’: Later retitled ‘Portrait of the Poet as Landscape’ [CP 2.634-9], the poem was first published in First Statement 3, 1 (June– July 1945), pp. 3–8. Arguably Klein’s best poem, it is certainly the most often anthologized. As this letter suggests, it deals with the plight of the forgotten poet in modern society. Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone ] (15 May 1945) Gladstone: Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone] (1876–1971) was one of the founders of the Inzikhist movement to revitalize Yiddish poetry by introducing free verse and emphasizing individual experience. Much of his own later verse focuses on the Holocaust. Klein translated a number of Glatstein’s Yiddish poems, three of which were published in Shtralndike Yiden [New York: Farlag Matones 1946]. (See CP 2.792–4.) your … appreciation of my work: Glatstein’s review of Poems, ‘The English-Jewish Poet A.M. Klein’ [Pollock’s translation], appeared in Yiddisher Kemfer [New York], 4 May 1945, pp. 15–17. and was reprinted in Hebrew translation in Davar [Tel Aviv], 13 July 1945, p. 2. passer-aller: (Fr.) safe conduct noble anonymous man … dedicated: Klein had dedicated Poems to ‘the memory of my Father.’ the Untermeyers et al: In his review, Glatstein had surveyed contemporary Jewish writing, lamenting that too many writers had abandoned their culture. He cited Louis Untermeyer as a negative example and Klein, in his attempt to synthesize the English and Jewish cultures, as a positive. See the note to ‘the Fadiman, Untermeyer, Cerf, Keimberg attitude’ in the letter to Laughlin, 18 October 1944 [p. 398]. marranos: See the note to ‘marranos’ in the letter to Abramson, 4 June 1938 [p. 334]. Milton: Milton’s Hebraic accent was a recurring theme in Klein’s literary essays.

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In ‘The Jew in English Poetry’ published in The Judaean 5, 6 (March 1932), he described him as ‘thoroughly imbued with Hebraic sentiment and erudition’ [LER, pp. 229–30]. In ‘England and the Bible,’ in Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 14 Feb. 1947, he asserts that Milton ‘revealed again and again the idiom of translated Hebrew’ [BS, p. 29]. apologia pro vita mea … pro vita nostra: (Lat.) ‘defence of my life … of our lives’ Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (29 May 1945) Marion Strobel: poet and co-editor, with Peter DeVries, of Poetry ‘the portrait of the poet …’ zerofied: Klein’s ‘Portrait of the Poet as Landscape’ had been accepted on condition that it be shortened. Klein refused. The poem appeared in First Statement 3, 1 (June–July 1945), pp. 3–8. Procrustes’ was a bed of roses: In Greek mythology, Procrustes’ bed fit everyone because their limbs were either stretched or amputated until they did ‘fit.’ Quebec poems … in about a fortnight: See Klein’s note to Strobel, 14 July 1945. Guy Sylvestre (29 May 1945) appreciation of the general contribution … A.J.M. Smith: ‘The Poetry of A.J.M. Smith,’ CF 23 (Feb. 1944), pp. 257–8 [LER, pp. 209–12] accompanying anthology: Sylvestre evidently wished to include some of Klein’s poems with the critical essay he was soliciting for publication in Gants du ciel. les Tharaud frères: Jérôme (1874–1953) and Jean (1877–1952) Tharaud, French reporters and novelists, wrote collaboratively, focusing on current and historical events, and often on Jewish subjects. Klein observed in 1930 that ‘[t]he brothers Tharaud … have developed a prosperous custom for that literary museum of theirs, wherein the Jew is a picturesque wax-work and pathetic anachronism’ [‘A Curse on Columbus,’ review of Jews without Money by Michael Gold, YMHA Beacon 5, 14 (18 Apr. 1930); LER, p. 225]. Mr. Wahl: unidentified member of the editorial staff of Gants du ciel No 1, 4, 6, 22, 26, 28, 36: The numbering of the Psalms is from ‘The Psalter of Avram Haktani’ [Poems]: Psalm I: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, When He Hearkened to a Voice, and There Was None’ [CP 2.527]; Psalm IV: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, Touching His Green Pastures’ [CP 2.513–14]; Psalm VI: ‘A Psalm of Abraham, concerning That Which He Beheld upon the Heavenly Scarp’ [CP 2.510]; Psalm XXII: ‘A Prayer of Abraham, against Madness’ [CP 2.526–7]; Psalm XXVIII: ‘A Psalm or Prayer – Praying His Portion with Beasts’ [CP 2.531–2]; and Psalm XXXVI: ‘A Psalm Touching Genealogy’ [CP 2.624]. review in La Revue Dominicaine: Sylvestre’s review of The Hitleriad appeared in Revue dominicaine 51 (June 1945), pp. 369–73.

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Explanatory Notes pp. 127–30

Guy Sylvestre (6 July 1945) your review of ‘The Hitleriad’: Revue dominicaine 51 (June 1945), pp. 369–73. Sylvestre compared the bitterness of Klein’s attack on Hitler with Canadian attitudes – both English and French – to the Second World War. Le Canada: the weekly Journal le Canada Français Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (14 July 1945) the wearing of the black shawl: On 12 July, Stobel had written Klein with a query about line 18 of ‘Indian Reservation: Caughnawaga,’ one of the ‘Quebec poems’ he had submitted: ‘We are all confused by “alimentary shawls” in stanza 3. What does it mean?’ Klein replied with this note, written on Stobel’s letter to him. See the letter of 20 July 1945 for a continuation of the exchange [pp. 128–9]. The poem appeared in Poetry 66 (Sept. 1945), pp. 318–19. Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (20 July 1945) not Eliot nor was meant to be: an echo of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’: ‘No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be’ [l.111]. shawls: See the note on ‘the wearing of the black shawl’ in Klein’s note to Strobel, 14 July (above). friendship … cramps my style: See Klein’s previous negotiation, in his letter to Peter DeVries of 20 November 1942, about whose books he would be willing to review [p. 59]. Jacob Glatstein [Gladstone] (21 Sept. 1945) clipping from Davar: Glatstein’s review of Poems, ‘The English-Jewish Poet A.M. Klein’ [Pollock’s translation] in the New York Yiddish-language journal Yiddisher Kemfer [4 May 1945, pp. 15–17] was reprinted in Hebrew translation in the Tel Aviv paper Davar [13 July 1945, p. 2]. cold lead: linotype our friend Segal: See the note to ‘Segal’ in letter to Samuel Abramson, 6 January 1940 [p. 341]. Miss Zweig … translations … contemporary Yiddish poetry: Sarah Zweig Betsky later published these in Onions and Cucumbers and Plums: 46 Yiddish Poem in English [Detroit: Wayne State University Press 1958]. Isidore Goldstick (30 Jan. 1946) Dr. Goldstick: Isidore Goldstick (1890–1963), Jewish educator, journalist, editor, and translator of Yiddish literature, lived in London, Ontario. Jarrell … the Commentary squib: American poet, novelist, and critic Randall Jarrell (1914–65) had reviewed Poems in Commentary (Nov. 1945).

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your rejoinder: Jarrell had dismissed the book as ‘academic, semi-religious verse’ [‘These Are Not Psalms,’ Commentary, Nov. 1945, pp. 88–90]. Isidore Goldstick had written as a ‘Demurrer to Jarrell’ [Commentary, Jan. 1946, pp. 88–9], questioning Jarrell’s understanding of the Jewish traditions informing Klein’s poetry. squib: Despite Klein’s suspicions of a ‘job,’ Elliott Cohen’s selection of Jarrell – an up-and-coming poet who had recently been appointed literary editor of the Nation – to review Poems for Commentary may have been intended to advance Klein’s career. Balaam … Balaam’s ass: The story of Balaam’s ass appears in Numbers 22.21–35. Balaam is a ‘seer of the gods’ or prophet, but he cannot see the angel of God who blocks his way and spurs on his poor ass, who refuses to cross the angel’s path. God gives the ass voice to challenge his master and show Balaam his foolishness. ‘pleasant’ … ‘well-adjusted’ … ‘civilized’: Jarrell had stated in his review that Klein is ‘a pleasant, “well-adjusted,” civilized man, as unconsciously secular as he is consciously religious’ and, therefore, Hitler’s violent antisemitism is ‘not only uncongenial to but completely beyond the scope of his gentle talents.’ halvai volt dos emes gevehn: (Yid.) ‘if only that were true’ American Jewish Committee: Commentary (1945– ) is a monthly publication of the American Jewish Committee. a goy to heat a fire … Sabbath: See the note to ‘Sabbath-goy’ in his letter to A.J.M. Smith, 21 January 1943 [p. 382]. Ephraim Broido (14 Mar. 1946) Ephraim Broido: Broido had been an active campaigner in the English press for the establishment of the state of Israel, contributing to the debate on ‘the Jewish Question’ in Jews, Arabs and the Middle East [London: Jewish Socialist Party 1944]. Bialik Essay … translations: This was an enthusiasm shared by both men. Klein had translated thirteen of Bialik’s poems in 1936–7 [CP 2. 1030–1]. He mentions a larger-scale translation project in a letter to A.J.M. Smith on 28 November 1941 [pp. 40–1] and, in the draft of his 1943 Guggenheim application (although not in the final version [pp. 77–8]), the creative projects proposed are included as an alternative to ‘[t]he translation into English poetry of the complete Hebrew poems of Chaim Nachman Bialik should such translation not be deemed creative’ [MS 223]. Broido had written the introduction to Sir Leon Simon’s translation of Bialik’s Haglach and Aggadah [London: Education Department of the Zionist Federation 1943].

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Explanatory Notes pp. 131–5

Visiting Lecturer in Poetry: Klein’s three-year appointment (1945–7) had been arranged by Samuel Bronfman. my journey to Eretz Israel: Fourteen months after the formal establishment of the state on 14 May 1948, Klein did travel to Israel. See Appendix A [pp. 485–7]. The Editors, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (22 July 1946) eleven poems … ‘Suite Canadienne’: See the note to ‘your letter of October 18th’ in Klein’s letter to Marion Strobel, 24 October 1946 [p. 406]. Earle Birney (16 Oct. 1946) Earle Birney: Alfred Earle Birney (1904–95) taught English at the Universities of Toronto (1936–41) and British Columbia (1946–63). He won the Governor General’s Award for poetry for David and Other Poems [Toronto: Ryerson 1942] and Now Is Time [Toronto: Ryerson 1946], and published several more volumes of poetry, two novels, and many critical articles and reviews over his long career. Canadian Poetry Magazine: Birney had taken over the editorship of Canadian Poetry Magazine from E.J. Pratt in the summer of 1946. He had a stormy relationship with the editorial board, largely owing to his resentment of their insistence that the magazine’s contents represent the broad range of poetic styles of the membership of the Canadian Authors Association rather than championing modernist poetics. He resigned after only one year. two poems: The poems submitted were ‘Quebec Liquor Commission Store’ (subsequently published in CPM 10, 2 [Dec. 1946], pp. 19–20; CP 2.659–60) and ‘Fridgidaire’ [CP 2.649]. In his letter of 24 October 1947, Klein requests that the latter poem be returned [p. 133]. Birney has scrawled notes for a reply in the left margin of this letter: ‘Tell Abe many thanks – both poems in Dec. # – and return “Frigidaire” herewith.’ Marion Strobel, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (24 Oct. 1946) your letter of October 18th: Apparently five of the eleven poems in his ‘Suite Canadienne’ were missing from his submission. However, the remaining seven were all accepted for publication and appeared in Poetry 70 (July 1947): ‘Air-Map’ [p. 178; CP 2.646]; ‘The Break-Up’ [p. 179; CP 2.646–7]; ‘The Cripples’ [pp. 177–8; CP 2.647–8]; ‘For the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu’ [p. 178; CP 2.648–9]; ‘Fridgidaire’ [pp. 180–1; CP 2.649]; ‘Grain Elevator’ [pp. 175–6; CP 2.650–1]; and M. Bertrand’ [pp. 179–80; CP 2.651]. The Editor, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (10 Jan. 1947) My poems – not my ducats, – just my poems: an allusion to the reports of Shylock’s confused cries when he finds both his daughter and his money gone:

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‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!’ [The Merchant of Venice 2.8.15]. When will they appear?: Poetry 70 (July 1947), pp. 175–81. See the note to ‘your letter of October 18’ in Klein’s letter to Marion Strobel, 24 October 1946 [p. 406]. Samuel Abramson (6 Feb. 1947) Evelyn: Abramson’s wife The Editor, KENYON REVIEW (7 Feb. 1947) Kenyon Review: The Kenyon Review (1939–69, 1979–present) was founded by poet-critic John Crowe Ransom, who was its editor for 21 years, publishing writers such as Robert Penn Warren, William Empson, Mark Van Doren, Kenneth Burke, Delmore Schwartz, and Flannery O’Connor. two poems submitted: ‘Sestina for a Dialectic’ [CP 2.662–3] and ‘Portrait of Poet as Landscape’ [CP 2.634–9]; neither poem was accepted. Hegelian content … sestina: Klein explicated the ‘Hegelian content’ in an introduction to a reading of ‘Sestina’ at McGill: Dialectical thinking, the thinking of the dialectics of the Hegelian philosophy … holds that all life is made up of thesis, antithesis; these revolving into a synthesis and this again breaking up into antithesis, and so the world moves like a pendulum, backward and forward and yet maintaining a kind of equilibrium as the pendulum reaches its central point. This pendulum effect is observable in many of the phenomena of nature, in the ebbing and flowing of human blood, in the ebb and flow of time, and appears also, according to Hegel, to be a mode of general historical and human behaviour. a folding pleating accordion process: ‘Klein’s account of the “folding” rhyme scheme of the sestina echoes Pound’s characterization of the sestina as “folding and unfolding upon itself” in The Spirit of Romance [New York: New Directions 1929], p. 27, of which Klein owned a copy. …’ [CP 2.1013] Arnaut Daniel … in hell: As Pollock indicates, this is an error, perhaps influenced by the epigraph to Ezra Pound’s ‘Sestina: Alaforte’: ‘Dante Alighieri put this man in hell.’ The statement refers to Provençal poet Bertran de Born; Arnaut Daniel was placed in purgatory [CP 2.1013]. a local parochial magazine: An earlier version of ‘Portrait of the Poet as Landscape’ [‘Portrait of the Poet as a Nobody’] appeared in First Statement 3, 1 (June–July 1945), pp. 3–8. Jacob Glatstein [Goldstone] (12 Feb. 1947) volume of your poems: Shtralndike Yiden [New York: Farlag Matones 1946]

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Explanatory Notes pp. 138–40

translations of your poems: ‘probably’ [Pollock, CP 2.1041] Klein’s translations of three poems from Shtralndike Yiden: ‘The Eleventh: In Memory of Isaac, Son of the Tailor,’ ‘The Gifted One,’ and ‘Smoke’ [CP 2.792–4]. Duell, Sloan and Pearce (28 Apr. 1947) ‘Comes the Revolution’: A political novel written in 1946 [Klein, LAC – MS 3802– 4441], later titled Walks Like a Man. Under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher,’ Klein submitted the story to several publishers without success, sending letters almost identical to this one to Doubleday and Company (26 June 1947), Simon & Schuster (8 Sept.), and the Dial Press (9 Sept.) [Appendix C, pp. 495–6]. Letters of rejection from Ziff-Davis Publishing [20 Aug. 1947; Klein, LAC – MS 333] and Houghton-Mifflin [18 May 1948; MS 387] indicate a still wider circulation of the manuscript. On 8 January 1948, Klein sent the manuscript to two additional publishers, Grosset and Dunlop [p. 151] and J.B. Lippincott & Company [Appendix C, p. 496]. Finally, when the first instalment of a story by Evan John based on the same events appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, he sent his story to John’s literary agents, McKee and Batchelder (13 July 1948) [pp. 165–6] in hopes that they could place it. Russo-Canadian affaire célèbre … Gouzenko: Igor Sergeivich Gouzenko (1919–82), a war-time clerk in the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, defected to Canada in 1945 and exposed several spy rings operating in Canada during the Second World War. He published his own version of his story in 1948, This Was My Choice; Gouzenko’s Story [Toronto: J.M. Dent], and in 1954 his novel translated from the Russian, Fall of a Titan [London: Cassell 1954], won the Governor General’s Award. Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (16 May 1947) Mr. Alan Crawley: (1887–1975) founder and editor of Contemporary Verse, a poetry magazine published out of British Columbia from 1941 to 1952, and host of an influential series of radio broadcasts on Canadian poetry for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Crawley was blind, and had to have submissions to the journal read aloud to him as he ‘evaluated them on the basis of directness and sound’ [‘Alan Crawley,’ ELC, p. 242 ]. The ‘impressive delivery’ of his recital of Klein’s poems was an extraordinary achievement as he would have memorized them for the performance. talk and recital of my poems Wednesday evening: in CBC’s ‘Wednesday Night’ series (14 May 1947) ‘Jerusalem Next Year … Jerusalem’: Klein is thanking Crawley for his insight in concluding his reading with the poem ‘The Still Small Voice,’ the final part of the longer poem ‘Haggadah’ [CP 1.131].

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John Sutherland (27 June 1947) John Sutherland: (1919–56) editor of First Statement (1942–5) and Northern Review, which had been formed in 1945 by the amalgamation of Preview and First Statement. Sutherland was brilliant, opinionated, and irascible. omit our names: The group on behalf of which Klein was writing had all been associated with Preview (1942–5), which had a habit of arriving at consensus on editorial issues. They objected strenuously to Sutherland’s derisive review in the August-September issue of Robert Finch’s Poems, which had won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry. In addition to those mentioned here, P.K. Page, Ralph Gustafson, and Dorothy Livesay resigned from the editorial board; Irving Layton resigned the following year. you are not to use this name: In a letter to Smith on 1 May 1948, Klein announced ‘Northern Review has folded up’ [p. 161]. However, an agreement was subsequently reached for use of the name, and the magazine continued to publish until Sutherland’s death in 1956. Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (11 July 1947) Dr. A.J. Tresidder: Argus John Tresidder (1907–2002), formerly a professor of English literature at the Universities of Tennessee and Louisville, was director of communications for Seagram’s. In 1948, he joined the American Foreign Service. plans … collection … for the contemplated book: The book in question was an anthology of articles on distillation, to be published by Seagram’s. As in the case of other Seagram publications, Klein’s participation in the project would have been anonymous; I have found no record of the book’s publication. Leon Edel (16 July 1947) your moving book … Joyce: Edel had recently published James Joyce: The Last Journey [New York: Gotham Book Mart 1947], a sketch of Joyce’s final days in Zurich. Klein’s copy of Ulysses is in the Klein fonds (Library and Archives Canada). virtues (the Roman): The four ‘classical’ virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice were expounded in Plato’s Republic 4 as the basis of all right conduct; they are ‘Roman’ in that they were adopted by the Stoics and Cicero. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, these were differentiated from the three ‘theological’ or ‘Christian’ virtues of faith, hope, and charity (1 Corinthians 13.13). Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (5 Aug. 1947) History of Distillation: See Klein’s previous letter to Tresidder, 11 July 1947 [p. 141].

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Explanatory Notes pp. 143–5

selection … Neil Gunn’s Book on Whiskies: Whiskey and Scotland [London: George Routledge and Sons 1935], a classic study of the history and production of scotch whiskey the following … just received: excerpts from previously published material for the anthology Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (5 Sept. 1947) set of poems … Poetry: Klein published seven poems in Poetry 70 (July 1947), pp. 175–81. See the note to ‘your letter of October 18’ in Klein’s letter to Marion Strobel, 24 October 1946 [p. 406]. a book of poetry in Canada: Klein is referring to The Rocking Chair [Toronto: Ryerson 1948], the one book which he published with a Canadian press. See the letters to Lorne Pierce, 24 October [pp. 146–7] and Crawley, 11 December 1947 [pp. 147–8]. C.V.: Contemporary Verse. See the note to ‘Alan Crawley’ in the letter to Crawley of 16 May 1947 [p. 408]. three … poems: All appeared in Contemporary Verse 22 (Fall 1947): ‘Monsieur Gaston’ [p. 5; CP 2.688–9], ‘O God! O Montreal!’ [p. 4; CP 2.700], and ‘Dress Manufacturer: Fisherman’ [pp. 3–4; CP 2.679–80]. Sutherland’s book: John Sutherland’s anthology, Other Canadians: An Anthology of the New Poetry of Canada (1940–46) [Montreal: First Statement 1947] was a rebuttal to A.J.M. Smith’s The Book of Canadian Poetry, which as a ‘historical’ anthology included many writers discarded in Sutherland’s exclusively ‘modernist’ canon. Earle Birney (3 Oct. 1947) Outposts: Birney was guest editor for a special Canadian issue of the English journal Outposts, vol. 10 (Summer 1948). No poem by Klein appeared in the issue. Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (17 Oct. 1947) excerpts from …: A number of these were from classic studies of the manufacture and social use of alcohol: William Rouse Jillson’s Early Kentucky Distillers, 1783–1800 [Louisville: Standard Printing Co. 1940]; Henry P. Maskell and Edward W. Gregory’s Old Country Inns [London: Pitman and Son 1910]; Charles William Taussig’s Rum, Romance and Rebellion [New York: Minton Balch 1928] – misidentified by Klein as Rum, Romance and Revelation; E.M. Jellinek and Howard W. Haggard’s Alcohol Explored [Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran 1942]; Harrison Hall’s Hall’s Distiller: Containing Full and Particular Directions for … Making Cider, Beer, and Various Kinds of Wine, &c., &c., &c.:

Explanatory Notes pp. 145–8

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Adapted to the Use of Farmers and Distillers [Philadelphia: by the author 1818]; Hewson L. Peeke’s Americana Ebrietatis; The Favorite Tipple of Our Fore-Fathers and the Laws and Customs Relating Thereto [New York: Hacker Art Books 1970 (1917)]; Walton Hall Smith and Ferdinand C. Helwig’s Liquor, The Servant of Man [Boston: Little Brown 1939]; and George Saintsbury’s Notes on a cellar-book [London: MacMillan and Co. Ltd 1921]. Wilkie and Blankmeyer’s An Outline for Industry and Maynard’s A Tankard of Ale have not been identified. Walker’s well-known Canadian Club: A brand of Canadian whisky made since 1858 by Hiram Walker and Sons’ distillery in Ontario. Klein questions the wisdom of advertising one of Seagram’s chief competitors. the Whiskey Ring and the Whiskey Trust: The ‘Whiskey Ring,’ exposed in 1875, was a group of distillers and politicians who conspired to defraud the American government of taxation on liquor. In 1887, following its breakup, most distilleries formed the ‘Whiskey Trust,’ surrendering individual control of operations to a common board of trustees in order to reduce competition, and control production and distribution for their common advantage. The trust failed in 1895 owing to competition from independent firms. Dr. Kolachov: unidentified your anthology: a gentle reminder of Tresidder’s previous lack of enthusiasm for the project; see the letter to Tresidder, 5 August 1947 [p. 143]. Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (24 Oct. 1947) Lorne Pierce: (1890–1961) Editor-in-chief of the Toronto-based Ryerson Press (formerly the Methodist Book Room) from 1920 to 1960. Ryerson was one of the most influential and productive publishing houses in Canada The Rocking Chair and Other Poems: published by Ryerson in 1948 Dr. A.J.M. Smith … Les Gants du Ciel: ‘Abraham Moses Klein’ (translated by Guy Sylvestre), Gants du Ciel 2 (Spring 1946), pp. 67–81 ‘Ces poèmes … d’aimer’: ‘These poems are the first attempt at an interpretation of the province of Quebec beside which those of other English-speaking writers seem dim and faint. In the patriarchal, traditional and religious culture of French Canada, Klein has found a spirit that his Jewish sensibility enables him to understand and love.’ Alan Crawley, CONTEMPORARY VERSE (11 Dec. 1947) a collection of select verse: Crawley had suggested that Klein publish a volume of ‘selected poems.’ Ryerson Press … The Rocking Chair’: Ryerson accepted the book, which was published in July 1948. See Klein’s letters to Lorne Pierce, 24 December 1947 [p. 149] and 15 January 1948 [p. 152].

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Leon Edel (24 Dec. 1947) Mary Colum’s recent book: Life and the Dream (Garden City, NY: Doubleday 1947) Italo Svevo: the pseudonym of Joyce’s Jewish friend Ettore Schmidtz (1861– 1928), called ‘the Italian Proust,’ whose most famous novel, Confessions of Zeno, was published in 1923. Your Joyce article: Possibly Edel’s ‘James Joyce and His New Work,’ to which Klein refers in the letter to Edel of 13 December 1939 [p. 20], or Edel’s recently published memoir of his attempt to trace Joyce’s last days in James Joyce – The Last Journey, mentioned in the letter of 16 July 1947 [p. 142]. Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (24 Dec. 1947) your letter of December 15: In response to Klein’s inquiry of 11 December, Pierce had written to say that Ryerson wanted to publish Klein’s manuscript but could not indicate when it might come out. John J. Slocum (24 Dec. 1947) John Slocum: (1914–97) An early Joyce enthusiast and bibliographer whose collection of books and manuscripts forms the core of the Joyce Collection at Yale, Slocum was the founding president of the James Joyce Society. See the note to ‘Joyce Society’ in Klein’s letter to Leon Edel, 6 July 1948 [p. 421]. Harry Levin: (1912–94) A leading Joyce scholar, author of James Joyce: A Critical Introduction [Norfolk, Conn.: New Directions Books 1941; London: Faber and Faber], The Portable James Joyce [New York: Viking Press 1946], and The Essential James Joyce [London: J. Cape 1948]. Klein’s annotated copy of Levin’s book James Joyce: A Critical Introduction is in the Klein fonds (Library and Archives Canada). your bibliography: This bibliography, based on Slocum’s personal collection, was not published until 1953: A Bibliography of James Joyce, 1882–1941, compiled by John J. Slocum and Herbert Cahoon [New Haven: Yale University Press]. George Dillon, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (28 Dec. 1947) George Dillon: Although Dillon was no longer editor of Poetry, he remained an active member of its advisory committee. the Edward Bland Memorial Fellowship: The final contribution to Poetry (Chicago) by poet Edward Bland, killed in Germany in 1945, had been an article entitled ‘Racial Bias and Negro Poetry’ [Poetry 53 (Mar. 1944), pp. 328–9]. Administered by the editors of Poetry, the prize named for him was intended to recognize poetry which contributed to the alleviation of derogatory concepts of race. Klein received it for the seven poems from his ‘Suite Canadienne’ published in Poetry 70 (July 1947), pp. 175–81. Inspired by this recognition,

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the CJC republished the poems in pamphlet form for circulation in the French Canadian community under the titles Poems of French Canada (1947), Seven Poems (1947), and with the addition of a French preface and ‘Parade of St. Jean Baptiste,’ Huit Poèmes Canadiens (1948). (See Pierre Anctil, ‘The Poet and His Relations with French Canada,’ The Jews of North America, ed. Moses Rischin [Detroit: Wayne State University Press 1987], pp. 247–64].) Japhet bringing Ham’s gift to Shem ... father Noah: The traditional reading of Genesis 9 is that all humanity is descended from the three sons of Noah: the Semites from Shem; the African peoples from Ham; and the Gentiles from Japhet. Klein’s allusion creates a vision of harmony among the races. However, his reference to ‘intoxication for father Noah’ introduces the element of this foundation story which accounts for historical division: in Genesis 9.25–7, Ham was cursed by Noah for his disrespectful treatment of his drunken father and condemned to be ‘a servant of servants’ – a passage which was used to justify slavery. Grosset and Dunlop (8 Jan. 1948) Grosset and Dunlop: See the notes to Klein’s letter to Duell, Sloan and Pearce (28 Apr. 1947) [p. 408]. Beginning in April 1947, Klein had submitted the manuscript of Comes the Revolution to four other publishers. This much-truncated covering letter, sent on this date to both Grosset and Dunlop and J.B. Lippincott and Company, indicates his growing impatience with the process. His final submission was to the literary agency McKee and Batchelder (13 July 1948) [pp. 165–6]. Dan Mosher: the pseudonym under which Klein submitted the manuscript of Comes the Revolution Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (15 Jan. 1948) publish … before the end of June: See Klein’s letter to Pierce, 24 December 1947 [p. 149]. the title of the book: In his letter of 24 October 1947 [pp. 146–7], Klein had presented the manuscript as The Rocking Chair and Other Poems, the title under which it was published. On 29 March Ryerson editor Frank Flemington wrote: We have again discussed your title. We don’t like ‘The Rocking Chair’ and we think ‘P.Q.’ is bad. We think we made a mistake with Pat Page’s ‘As Ten As Twenty’ and also with Birney’s latest ‘The Strait of Anian.’ Would it do to call your new book ‘Poems 1940–1948’ after the manner of T.S. Eliot? Or could we call it ‘Selected Poems’? Dr. Pierce suggests that a half a dozen of the poems which appeared in your first important collection

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be repeated here even though we had to make a place for them, and the book be called ‘Selected Poems.’ We did this with Birney’s latest collection. We will hold the manuscript until we hear from you further. [Klein, LAC – MS 381] Klein’s handwritten note suggests his reply: ‘In all thy sons command / quote c poems / by A.M. Klein.’ Flemington replied on 28 April [Klein, LAC – MS 384], noting a tentative title – ‘Poems from Quebec’ – but suggesting that they revert to the original title – ‘The Rocking Chair and Other Poems.’ Leon Edel (22 Jan. 1948) O’Hegarty: P.S. [Patrick Sarsfield] O’Hegarty, former postmaster and ardent Irish nationalist, published annual bibliographies of Irish authors in Dublin Magazine between 1930 and 1949. His bibliography of James Joyce appeared in 1946. line-by-line … commentary: A number of letters over the year map out this project of detailed commentary. See his letters to John J. Slocum, 26 January [pp. 154–5], Ellsworth Mason, 8 June [pp. 162–3], and Henry Allen Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation, 17 July [pp. 166–9]. the glossators: a reference to the rabbinical tradition of Talmudic commentary skip the cryptic: Edel responds to this comment in his essay ‘The Klein-Joyce Enigma’ with the comment, ‘Skip the cryptic! The talmudist has found a new Talmud – the glossator-gladiator a gigantic bull – a million word text for his lit-crit’ (Journal of Canadian Studies 19, 2 [Summer 1984], p. 27). P.M.: ‘P.M.’ (for ‘afternoon’ or ‘picture magazine’) was a daily newspaper founded by Ted Thackeray, a former editor of the New Yorker, Fortune, and Time. Its writers included Ernest Hemingway and Erskine Caldwell; its photographers, Margaret Bourke-White; and its cartoonists, Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geiser). After serious financial troubles, its last issue appeared on 22 June 1948, but Thackeray created the Daily Compass (which folded in 1953) to take its place. Edel worked for both P.M. and the Daily Compass. (See Klein’s letter to Edel of 20 Dec. 1949 [p. 196].) 2 sons + 1 daughter: Klein’s three children, Colman, Sandor, and Sharon, born in 1937, 1941, and 1945 respectively Shonie Levi (22 Jan. 1948) Shonie Levi: best known as the co-author (with Sylvia R. Kaplan) of Across the Threshold: A Guide for the Jewish Homemaker [New York: Farrar, Strauss and Cudahy 1959] Gershon: Rabbi S. Gershon Levi, Shonie Levi’s husband, had been an early – and appreciative – critic of Klein’s work, having reviewed Klein’s Hath Not a

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Jew in the Canadian Zionist in June 1940 [‘Jewish poet Enriches English Literature,’ p. 5]. National Hadassah: Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America (WIZO), was founded in 1912 to support Jewish and Zionist educational and health programs in Israel and America. Hadassah is a version of the name Esther. not … renew my association with McGill: This is the first indication in his letters of Klein’s intention not to return to teaching. psittaceous: mechanically repetitious, as in the rehearsal ‘of previously received ideas or images that reflects neither true reasoning nor feeling’ [‘psittacism,’ OED] John J. Slocum (26 Jan. 1948) letter of January nineteenth: On 19 January [Slocum, YaleU], in response to Klein’s request on 24 December 1947 [p. 150] for a copy of his bibliography, Slocum wrote that he was ‘entirely reluctant to release material that will appear therein without knowing precisely for which [purpose] it is to be used … If you will advise me why you wish this list of books and what you plan to make of it, and that you will not publish it or make it available to anyone else, I will be happy to send it to you.’ On 9 March [Slocum, YaleU], having received this letter, Slocum enclosed a limited bibliography of ‘titles entirely devoted to Joyce … I have perhaps one hundred and fifty other book references running from a paragraph to thirty or forty pages.’ These are ‘still on cards,’ but ‘you are welcome to them as soon as they are ready.’ hinc illae lachrymae: (Lat.) ‘hence those tears’; a quotation from Horace one hundred pages of notes … text: A number of letters over the year map out the project. See the note to ‘line-by-line … commentary’ in his letter to Leon Edel of 22 January 1948 [p. 414]. like Vinty … treated Milton: a reference to the exhaustive commentary of the Variorum Edition of Milton’s works quanta cumque in mihi est: (Lat.) ‘as much as is in me’ David Rome, Canadian Jewish Congress (7 Feb. 1948) David Rome: (1910–96) The author of many books on Canadian Jewish history, Rome served as the director of the Jewish Public Library in Montreal (1953– 72) and archivist and historian for the CJC. the communications: Rome had been forwarding responses to Klein’s Poems of French Canada, published by the CJC in 1947 and reissued in 1948 as Seven Poems. The collections had been distributed to Quebec clergy in an attempt to counter post-war anti-Semitism [LOTD, p. 150]. See the note to ‘the Edward

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Bland Memorial Fellowship’ in the letter to George Dillon, 28 December 1947 [p. 412]. Rome continued to send Klein clippings of notices and reviews of his books, a service for which Klein thanks him in his letter of 16 October 1948 [Appendix C, p. 496].) experimental poem … in the Canadian Forum: ‘Parade of St. Jean Baptiste’ was published in CF 27 (Feb. 1948) [pp. 258–9], where the poem is preceded by an explanatory note: ‘This is one of a series of experimental poems making trial of what I flatter myself to believe is a “bilingual language” since the vocabulary of the poem is mainly of Norman and Latin origin. There is no word in it (with the exception of articles and auxiliary words) which has not a relationship or similarity to a synonymous word in the French language.’ Rome was impressed, and ‘Parade’ was added to the third and final Congress edition of Klein’s poems from Poetry, Huit Poèmes Canadiens [1948]. Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1948) significance of numbers: The assertion of the mystical quality of numbers, and Klein’s interpretation of the significance of Bronfman’s age, is a mock exercise in Cabbalism, in which the combinations of numbers possess occult meaning. great industrial enterprise: Bronfman’s role as the president of Seagram Canada. Henry Ford: Ford (1863–1947) was both an industrialist and philanthropist. As founder and president of the Ford Motor Company, he revolutionized the industry by envisaging mass production of a product his workers could afford. Bronfman would no doubt be flattered by the comparison. generous devotion … embracing humanity: a reference to Bronfman’s philanthropy and, specifically, his role as president of the CJC H. Bronfman … Allen Walker: The letter closes with nine signatures of family (Harry and Allan Bronfman) and close associates of Samuel Bronfman at Seagram’s. As usual, Klein served as the company orator, addressing Mr. Sam on their behalf. Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (6 Mar. 1948) Frank Flemington: Managing editor of Ryerson Press Frigidaire, first line, last stanza: line 17 originally began ‘O, there’ [CP 2.649] The Provinces: line 32 [CP 2.642–4] Kreighoff, first line, second stanza: ‘Kreighoff: Calligrammes,’ line 11 [CP 2.682] Portrait of the Poet as Landscape …: lines 104, 116, and 142 [CP 2.637, 638, 639] Sire Alexandre Grandmaison, 2nd stanza: lines 15–17 [CP 2.696] Lone Bather – 3rd stanza, fourth line: line 10 [CP 685]

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Les Filles Majeures, 2nd stanza, fourth line: lines 9–10 [CP 2.683] Frederick II’s six-foot giants: Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86), called ‘the Great,’ was known for his Potsdam Grenadiers, a regiment of ‘giants’ recruited from throughout Europe pygmy patagonians: a riddling conjunction: pygmies are not indigenous to the Patagonian regions of Argentina and Chile, but the two came to be associated because a pygmy and a Patagonian were displayed together at the St Louis World’s Fair in 1904. 3. Ninetynine: The first line of ‘The Cripples’ describes the cripples at the Oratoire de St Joseph: ‘Bundled in their bones, upon the ninetynine stairs’ [CP 2.647]. 4. Is people d: line 9 of ‘Frigidaire’ [CP 2.649] 5. … the line in Lone Bathers … awkward: ‘as those, is free, who think themselves unseen’ [l. 11; CP 2.685] 7 … a) … The Sugaring, 2nd stanza, 5th line: lines 14–15 [CP 2.653] 7 … b) … The Provinces, 2nd stanza: line 13 [CP 2.643] 7 … c) … Annual Banquet … first stanza: lines 1–4 [CP 2.678] 8 … Parade of St. Jean Baptiste: This poem was, as Klein requests here, omitted from The Rocking Chair [CP 2.691–4]; ‘Montreal’ was retained. Both are examples of Klein’s experimentation with ‘bilingual language.’ See the note to ‘experimental poem … in the Canadian Forum’ in Klein’s letter to David Rome, 7 February [p. 416]. reprint of the poems in Poetry Magazine: Poems of French Canada [Montreal: CJC 1947] contained the seven poems previously printed in Poetry 70 (July 1947), pp. 175–81: ‘Grain Elevator,’ ‘The Cripples,’ ‘For the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu,’ ‘Air Map,’ ‘M. Bertrand,’ and ‘Frigidaire.’ Canadian Jewish Congress … public relations work: See the note to ‘the Edward Bland Memorial Fellowship’ in the letter to George Dillon, 28 December 1947 [p. 412–13]. Earle Birney (11 Apr. 1948) radio talk on Joyce: unidentified authorities … attitude on Ulysses: From 1923, importation and publication of Ulysses was banned by the Department of National Revenue. The ban was lifted in the fall of 1949 after David Sim, deputy minister of customs and excise, read the book at the urging of journalist Blair Fraser [Bruce Ryder, ‘The Regulation of Publications in Canada,’ in Interpreting Censorship in Canada, ed. Alan C. Hutchinson and Klaus Peterson [Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1999], p. 132]. Commissioner of Excise: Obscenity in books imported into the country is deter-

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mined by customs officers, supervised by the Department of National Revenue; hence, ‘the Commissioner of Excise.’ A.J.M. Smith (1 May 1948) article from Gants du Ciel: ‘Abraham Moses Klein’ [trans. Guy Sylvestre], Gants du ciel 2 (Spring 1946), pp. 67–81. Klein had quoted part of the passage he now proposed using on the dust-jacket in his letter of submission to Lorne Pierce on 24 October 1947 [p. 147]. The full passage reads: Depuis deux ou trois ans, la technique et l’inspiration de Klein ont changé. Seule l’attitude fondamentale, l’humanité et la sympathie, est restée la même. Stimulé en partie par ses relations avec les poètes plus jeunes du groupe de Preview, particulièrement, semblerait-il, P.K. Page et Patrick Anderson, il a construit quelques-uns de ses plus récents poèmes à l’aide d’une série d’images spirituelles ou de concepts métaphysiques. Il s’est livré à son érudition linguistique et philosophique de se manifester d’une maniére à la fois amusante et intensément grave. Mais, ce qui est plus important, il a substitué au monde juif au autre monde, qui n’est pas sans analogies avec le premier. Ces poèmes sont les premiers essais d’une interprétation de la province de Québec en regard desquels ceux de tout patriarchale, traditionalle et ecclésiastique qu’est le Canada français, Klein a trouvé un univers que sa sensibilité juive lui permet de comprendre et d’aimer. [p. 78] Northern Review has folded up: Northern Review (1945–56) had been created by the merging of Montreal magazines Preview and First Statement. The editorial board included Klein and Smith, along with F.R. Scott, Irving Layton, Patrick Anderson, Audrey Aikman, R.G. Simpson, and Neufville Shaw. Klein’s announcement here that Northern Review had ‘folded up’ was premature: despite the resignation of several members of the board, it continued publishing until the death of its managing editor, John Sutherland, in 1956. See the letter to John Sutherland, 27 June 1947 [pp. 140–1]. Patrick: Klein had asked Harold Files, his colleague at McGill, to recommend Patrick Anderson to take over Klein’s classes in modern poetry [see LOTD, p. 154]. Anderson held the position for two years (1948–50). Ellsworth Mason (8 June 1948) Ellsworth Mason: In 1948, scholar, critic, and librarian Ellsworth Goodwin Mason was completing his doctoral studies at Yale University. He went on to edit Recollections of James Joyce, by His Brother Stanislaus Joyce [New York: James Joyce Society 1950], as well as (with Stanislaus Joyce) The Early Joyce: The Book Reviews, 1902–1903 [Colorado Springs: Mamalujo Press 1955] and (with Ri-

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chard Ellman) The Critical Writings of James Joyce [London: Faber / New York: Viking 1959]. your … letter of the second of June: Intrigued by Leon Edel’s description of Klein’s annotation of Ulysses, Mason had written to introduce himself [Mason, LAC]. After outlining his dissertation project on Viconian analogies in the novel, he came to the main purpose of his letter, which was to inquire whether Klein’s commentary would supplant his ‘idea of working up a kind of handbook on Ulysses … which would include general discussions of the complex apparatuses Joyce is using (Homeric analogy, Viconian analogy, physiological analogy) and what they mean in the overall picture; the chapter by chapter discussions on what Joyce is doing in each chapter, accompanied by a minimal explication of text to point up the essential points of the chapter.’ As he explained, ‘This would seem to run directly into your project, although I did not plan an exhaustive explication of text.’ Finally, whatever the outcome of their negotiation, ‘I am interested in all aspects of the book and fairly starved for people to whom I can talk intelligently about the book.’ His only fellow enthusiast ‘around here’ was John Kelleher of Harvard, who was more interested in Finnegans Wake. title of your dissertation … Vico: Mason was studying the influence on Ulysses of the theories of Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668–1744). In Scienza nuova, Vico anticipated Hegelian philosophy in his theory of ‘corsi’ and ‘recorsi’: recurring historical cycles of barbarism, heroism, and reason. See Klein’s summary of Vico’s ‘design for an ideal eternal history traversed in time by the history of all nations’ in ‘The Black Panther’ [LER, pp. 342–5]. English translation … in the making: On 16 October [Mason, LAC], Mason wrote that the translation by Thomas Bergin and Max Harold Fisch had finally been published: The New Science of Giambattista Vico [Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press 1948]. French version ... (Paris 1844): On 10 June, Mason replied: ‘The translation of Vico which you mention was done by a gal named Princess [Cristina di] Belgioioso, and it is not very penetrating. Vico’s Italian is the most difficult that I have ever encountered. He has long, rolling sentences which include two or three interpolations and parenthetical remarks, which I suppose is the result of his juristic Latin style. He uses words to mean things that they have never before meant in Italian, and you have to dig at their meaning by probing through their Latin roots, and guessing what is in his mind. Translating Vico is a matter of making an intelligent paraphrase half the time.’ the above letterhead: Klein had evidently learned from his exchange with Slocum how wary academics could be about potential plagiarism. (See his letter to Slocum of 26 Jan. 1948 [pp. 154–5].) In his letter of 10 June, Mason invited

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Klein to make use of anything he found in the dissertation as ‘I hope to get some stuffy press to publish it within the next year, so it probably will be available in printed form by the time you finish your annotation.’ more than three-quarters finished: Klein seems consistently to have exaggerated the amount of work completed on this project. Only six months earlier, he had written Slocum that he had completed ‘one hundred pages of notes on one hundred pages’ [26 Jan. 1948; p. 155]. tradition of exegesis … classics: A number of letters over this year map out the project of detailed commentary which Klein refers to here. See the note to ‘line-by-line commentary’ in the letter to Leon Edel, 22 January [p. 414]. Homeric parallels … colours, symbols and organs: In November 1921, while correcting proofs for the novel, Joyce himself had produced a schema outlining the Homeric parallels, including ‘time, art, colour, technic, symbol, and correspondences for each episode.’ Although he shared it with a few friends, it was not published until 1930 [Michael Groden, ‘A Textual and Publishing History,’ in A Companion to Joyce Studies, ed. Zack Bowen and James F. Carens (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press 1984), p. 103]. a handbook: See the note to ‘your … letter of the second of June’ above [p. 419]. Ellsworth Mason (23 June 1948) letter of June 10th: Mason responded to Klein’s letter of 8 June with a long gossipy letter [Mason, LAC] about Joyce and Joyce scholars, asking Klein’s opinion about difficult passages in Ulysses, and enclosing a transcription of a letter from Joyce to his friend Frank Bugden about the structure of the ‘Oxen of the Sun’ episode: ‘This letter is in the collection of John Slocum … I’ll ask you not to let it go further since Slocum wants to sell his collection when he finishes his bibliography next year. I have been transcribing from the microfilm Joyce’s letters to Budgen which start about Cyclops and include comments on the following chapters. They are interesting, but none as important as the one I enclose.’ See ‘the Joyce letter’ below. card of June 18th: See Klein’s letter to Leon Edel of 6 July 1948 [p. 164] for an indication of its contents. the Joyce letter: Klein opens his article on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ with an extended quotation from Joyce’s letter to Budgen from Trieste, dated 2 March 1920 [LER, p. 289]. twenty-page analysis … of the nineparted division etc.: a draft of Klein’s article on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ Budgen: English painter Frank Budgen (1881–1971) met Joyce in Zurich in 1918, and became his closest friend. ‘When Joyce moved back to Trieste, and later to Paris, he wrote a series of importunate letters urging his friend

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to come to Trieste whether for a visit or to live permanently, near enough so that their close association could continue. These letters, written when Joyce was in the full tide of composition, contain some of the best evidence we have about the chapters of Ulysses’ [Mary T. Reynolds, ‘Joyce as Letter Writer,’ in A Companion to Joyce Studies, p. 58]. Budgen’s unexplained … surmisal: Budgen had recorded the development of the novel in James Joyce and the Making of ‘Ulysses’ [New York: Harrison Smith and Robert Haas 1934]. As Klein points out in his article on ‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ ‘On pp. 223–9 of his book Budgen obviously makes use of the letter here excerpted to head this essay, but beyond the bare repetition of some of its phrases – Sallustian-Tacitean prelude, ninefold division – he essays no explication. Fourteen years have passed since the printing of Budgen’s book, twenty-eight since the receipt of the Trieste letter, and Joyce’s indication of his intent with regard to the Oxen of the Sun still reads like an enigma, almost like a practical joke’ [LER, p. 290]. psittacious: mechanically repetitious [‘psittacism,’ OED] Leon Edel (6 July 1948) Joyce Society: The James Joyce Society was founded in February 1947 at the Gotham Book Mart, 41 West 47th Street in New York City. Joyce bibliographer John Slocum was the society’s first president and Frances Steloff, founder and owner of the Gotham, served as its first treasurer. Its purpose was ‘to introduce Joyce students to scholars, maintain a Joyce library, further the publication and distribution of his works, encourage the presentation of Exiles, and issue occasional bulletins’ [William Garland Rogers, Wise Men Fish Here: The Story of Francis Steloff and the Gotham Book Mart (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company 1965), p. 226]. Four meetings are held each year, including one on or close to Joyce’s birthday, February 2nd, and another around Bloomsday, June 16th. E.G. Mason: See Klein’s first letter to Mason, 8 June 1948 [pp. 161–3]. letter from Joyce to Budgen: Klein wrote his first essay on Joyce, ‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ in response to his close reading of this letter and Mason’s accompanying ‘challenge.’ There are several versions of Joyce’s letter to Budgen (see the note to ‘letter of June 10th’ in the letter to Mason, 23 June 1948 [p. 420]). The version sent to Klein corresponds closely to that published in Richard Ellman’s Selected Letters of James Joyce [(New York: Viking 1975), pp. 251–2]. enclosed letter … sent to Mason: Klein’s statement that he is sending his commentary to Edel on the same day he shared it with Mason is untrue. He had sent the first draft of his analysis to Mason on 23 June, two weeks earlier [p. 163]. revelations … apocalyptic: In his letter of 22 January, Klein had written Edel that

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he was ‘fortunate … in stumbling upon some apocalyptic discoveries’ [p. 153]. In his letter to Mason on 23 June, he declared that his insight into the embryonic structure of the ‘Oxen of the Sun’ episode ‘casts a most apocalyptic light on the entire chapter’ [p. 163]. a Joyce chassid: In choosing the word chassid, Klein is comparing the scholarship in which he and Edel are engaged to the work of rabbinical scholars. This conceit is repeated in his letter to Edel of 2 August 1950 [p. 200]. three weeks … to write this thing: Mason had forwarded the transcription of the Joyce–Budgen letter to Klein on 10 June [Mason, LAC]. Since the first draft of Klein’s article was sent to Mason on 23 June, Klein actually wrote the analysis in under two weeks. McKee and Batchelder (13 July 1948) Evan John: pseudonym of English writer Evan John Simpson (1901–53), known for his biography of King Charles I [London: A. Barker 1933] and Atlantic Impact, 1861 [London: Heinemann 1952], an account of the American civil war Evan John’s story ‘The Network’: The novel, published in England as The Network, or It Could Happen Here [London: Heinemann 1948], was printed serially in The Saturday Evening Post (10, 17, and 24 July 1948) with illustrations by Robert Fawcett. Klein wrote the magazine to inquire who had negotiated the sale and was referred to John’s agents, McKee and Batchelder [letter to Klein, 13 July 1948; Klein, LAC – MS 388]. attempted to sell it myself: See the notes to the letters to Duell, Sloan and Pearce (28 Apr. 1947) [p. 408] and Grosset and Dunlop (8 Jan. 1948) [p. 413]. On 20 July, Elizabeth McKee wrote ‘Dan Mosher,’ agreeing to market his story [Klein, LAC – MS 396]. That Walks Like a Man: The story had been sent out to publishers under the title Comes the Revolution. Royal Commission: The ‘Royal Commission to Investigate Facts Relating to and the Circumstances Surrounding the Communication, by Public Officials and Other Persons in Positions of Trust of Secret and Confidential Information to Agents of a Foreign Power’ (known as the ‘Royal Commission on Espionage’) was set in motion on 6 February 1946. Fred Rose trial: On 17 April 1947, Rose, the Labour Progressive Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Cartier in Montreal, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. He remains the only member of a communist party elected to Parliament, and the only MP ever convicted of espionage. James M. Cain: (1892–1977) American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. With Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Cain was a stalwart of

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Knopf’s cohort of writers of crime and detective fiction, the author of such classics as The Postman Always Rings Twice [1934], Double Indemnity [1936], and Mildred Pierce [1941], all of which also became popular films. Henry Allen Moe, Guggenheim Foundation (17 July 1948) Henry Allen Moe: Trustee of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1945–66). Gilbert … Homeric framework: Stuart Gilbert was part of Joyce’s Paris circle, one of the group of writers and critics represented in Our Exagmination round His Factification for Incamination of ‘Work in Progress’ [Paris: Shakespeare and Co. 1929], and author of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’: A Study [London: Faber and Faber 1930] in which he published the schema Joyce used in 1921 to describe the novel’s complex structures. Kain … Evening Telegraph (Dublin) of June 16: Richard M. Kain (1908–90), author of Fabulous Voyager: A Study of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ [Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1947] (with Marvin Magalner), Joyce: The Man, the Work, the Reputation [New York: New York University Press 1956], and Dublin in the Age of William Butler Yeats and James Joyce [Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press 1962]. Harry Levin … European culture: See the note to ‘Harry Levin’ in the letter to John J. Slocum, 24 December 1947 [p. 412]. historical theories of Vico: The dissertation topic of Klein’s correspondent, Ellsworth Mason; see the note to ‘Ellsworth Mason’ in the letter to Mason of 8 June [pp. 418–19]. Catholic or theosophic ingredients: See the note to ‘theosophical allusions … Gilbert’ in the letter to Mason of 24 December 1948. annotate paragraph by paragraph … exegesis: Klein had described his project in similar terms in a number his letters to Leon Edel (22 Jan.) [pp. 152–3], John J. Slocum (26 Jan.) [pp. 154–5], and Ellsworth Mason (8 June) [pp. 162–3]. the first thirty pages: The process of detailed annotation sampled here was only the first step in his analysis. Klein’s published analysis of chapter 1, ‘The Black Panther: A Study in Technique’ [LER, pp. 326–42] omits most of the interpretive detail hinted at in his queries here. 1. riddle on p. 27 … riddlesome answer: A reference to the following rhyme: The cock crew The sky was blue: The bells in heaven Were striking eleven. ’Tis time for this poor soul To go to heaven.

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The answer is provided on page 28: ‘The fox is burying his grandmother under a hollybush.’ In ‘A Shout in the Street,’ Klein contextualizes this riddle within the broader context of Viconian thought as a re-enactment of ‘the rite of sepulture’ characteristic of the cyclical return to ‘the age of reason and to the recognition of what is highest and best in religion’ [New Directions 13 (1951); LER, pp. 345–6]. 2. aunt … Ursula: Milligan’s joking explanation of why the servants are ugly – ‘Lead him not into temptation’ [U, p. 8] – is intensified by the reference to ‘Ursula,’ one of many Christian saints who died rather than give up her virginity. Both details reinforce Klein’s argument in ‘The Black Panther’ that there is ‘sub rosa in this chapter … a re-enactment of the Temptation’ [Accent 10, 3 (Spring 1950); LER, p. 328]. 3. … Connolly Norman (p. 8): (1853–1908) a Dublin physician specializing in dementia 4. … weird sisters … big wind: The phrase ‘in the year of’ echoes the colophon of a book; however, the reference to the ‘weird sisters’ both prepares for the appearance of the old milk woman and, in Klein’s argument in ‘The Black Panther,’ reinforces ‘the hidden ceremonial’ of a black Mass, part of a Witches’ Sabbath, in the first chapter [LER, pp. 338–9]. 5. … Kinch the elder! Japhet in search of a father! (p. 19): Milligan calls Stephen ‘Kinch’ throughout the chapter. In ‘The Black Panther,’ Klein argues that the nickname means ‘knife blade,’ indicating the antipathy between Stephen Daedalus and Haines, who plays Satan (who hates knives) to Stephen’s Christ [LER, p. 328]. However, this passage explores his relationship with his father: ‘Stephen is Kinch, “toothless” Kinch, as in kinchcove, that is to say, the Babe, the Bambino’ [LER, p. 328]. As such, he is ‘a shade of Kinch the elder.’ However, he is also – in an allusion to Japhet in Search of a Father, a foundling narrative by novelist Frederick Marryat (1792–1838) [New York: Wallis and Newell 1835] – searching for his father. 6. Symbol of the apostles … Pope Marcellus … (p. 22): In ‘The Black Panther,’ Klein notes a parallel between Stephen Daedalus’s vision of the holy and apostolic Catholic Church and ‘The Prayers for Holy Communion … [which] ask that the church be granted unity’ [LER, p. 337]. 7. five fathoms … nine days today: ‘Full fathom five thy father lies’ [U, p. 23] is from Ariel’s song to Ferdinand about the supposed drowning of his father in The Tempest 1.2.397; the allusion to Sir Thomas Browne’s Pseudo Epidemica 2.5.6 – ‘The Compendiously of sundry other common Tenents, concerning Mineral and Terreous Bodies, which examined, prove either false or dubious’ – is less direct. Browne questions received wisdom about the nature of coral, the subject of the second line of Ariel’s song: ‘Of his bones are coral

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made.’ The reference to ‘nine days’ echoes the proverb ‘A wonder lasts nine days, and then the puppy’s eyes are open,’ alluded to by Shakespeare in 3 Henry VI, 3.2. 8. Malachi Mulligan … for Oliver Gogarty: Mulligan himself comments on the dactylic sound of ‘Malachi Mulligan’ – a Greek metre, linking him by association with Stephen Daedalus [U, p. 6]. However, Klein argues that Mulligan is also ‘St. John’ to Stephen’s ‘Christ’: ‘Like St. John [Oliver Gogarty’s second name], he is the announcer, the messenger, in Hebrew – a malach. He is at once the last echo of the Old Testament and the first cry of the New’ [‘The Black Panther’; LER, p. 327]. 9. Across the page … could not comprehend: The mathematical symbols so incomprehensible to Sargent are likened to the Arabic and Hebraic script of ‘Averroes and Moses Maimonides’ [U, p. 29], philosophers and scholars of Medieval Spain. Ibn Roschd (1126–98), called Averroes, was an Arab who interpreted the works of Aristotle; Moses Maimonides (1135–1204) was the author of The Guide to the Perplexed. Oxen of the Sun chapter: the subject of Klein’s first published essay on Joyce, which was now in draft form. See the letter to Ellsworth Mason, 19 August [p. 170]. Professor Scott of McGill University: F.R. Scott was in the law faculty. Klein copied this letter to Scott, and was advised to send a similar inquiry to John Marshall of the Rockefeller Foundation, ‘though I suggest without the detailed examples of the problems you are treating’ [5 Oct. 1948; Klein, LAC – MS 405]. See the header to the textual note, p. 308. through a letter darkly: an echo of 1 Corinthians 13.12: ‘For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.’ Ellsworth Mason (19 Aug. 1948) your dissertation: See Klein’s letter to Mason of 14 October 1948 [pp. 171–2]. Professor Kelleher: John V. Kelleher (1916–2004), professor of modern Irish history and literature at Harvard University, and Mason’s dissertation supervisor. the recapitulatory, evolutional – embryological ‘Oxen of the Sun’: Shortly after 23 June, Klein had sent Mason a draft of his essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun.’ Mason’s letter of 24 August [Mason, LAC] contained a detailed critique – 13 singlespaced typed pages. See Klein’s letter of 14 October for his response [pp. 172–3]. John J. Slocum (7 Oct. 1948) your … letter of Sep. 29th: Slocum wrote [Slocum, YaleU] that, until he returned

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from a summer trip to Europe, he had not received Klein’s letter of 26 July (missing), which included a copy of his letter to Ellsworth Mason of 23 July and a draft version of his analysis of ‘Oxen of the Sun.’ Slocum had spoken to Mason and, although he had not had time to review the essay, it is clear that he now considered Klein a serious Joyce scholar. five dollars … microfilm: As Mason’s transcription of Joyce’s letter to Budgen had been the starting point for Klein’s essay, Slocum offered to have a microfilm produced for him of all of the Joyce letters in his possession [letter to Klein, 29 Sept. 1948; Slocum, YaleU]. ‘Hoopsa boy! Hoopsa boy!: From the opening of ‘Oxen of the Sun’ episode: ‘Hoopsa, boyaboy, hoopsa! Hoopsa, boyaboy, hoopsa! Hoopsa, boyaboy, hoopsa!’ [U, p. 377]. My special field of interest … Ulysses: In his letter, Slocum had apologized ‘for having sent an absurd list of Joyce titles, but until I talked to Mason I had no way of knowing your vast knowledge in the field of Joyce … [Y]ou might give me some indication of your special field of interests, i.e., ULYSSES, FINNIGAN’S [sic] WAKE, or overall’ [Slocum, YaleU]. Nihil Ulysseum (sic) me alienum puto: (Lat.) ‘Nothing about Ulysses is foreign to me’; a revision of Terence’s ‘Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto’ [Heautontimorumenos, l. 77]. trip … scenes of Joyce’s life: On 29 September, Slocum had written: ‘I had a most interesting trip abroad this summer visiting Dublin, London, Paris, Zurich, and Trieste looking for Joyce material. I hope to prepare a summary of the finds of this trip and will send you a copy when I do so’ [Slocum, YaleU]. Ellsworth Mason (14 Oct. 1948) your letter: On 24 August, Mason had typed a 13-page single-spaced analysis of the first draft of Klein’s essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ [Mason, LAC]: ‘Altogether, I have spent between forty and fifty hours on it so far, and although I have not yet been able to appraise the details of your complete job, I feel it necessary to call a halt here because I really should not spend any more time on it than I have.’ He called the draft ‘a magnificent and fruitful first attempt, but one which still requires a great deal of additional work, and more concentration on the broader problems posed by the structure of the chapter.’ your thesis: Klein had requested a copy of Mason’s dissertation on Joyce and Vico on 8 June; Klein acknowledged receipt in his letter of 19 August [p. 170]. Viconian pattern of the chapters: On 16 October, Mason responded [Mason, LAC]: ‘I was pretty much attached to the cyclical idea this spring, but, with time, my viewpoint has matured, and I see that it leaves much to be explained.’

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sine qua non: (Lat.) literally ‘without which not’; indispensable renaming of the Viconian ages: See the note to ‘title of your dissertation ... Vico’ in Klein’s letter to Mason of 8 June 1948 [p. 419]. Kain: Richard M. Kain; see the note to ‘Kain … Evening Telegraph (Dublin) of June 16’ in Klein’s letter to Henry Allen Moe, 17 July [p. 423]. Kain’s sociological emphasis: On 16 October, Mason writes: ‘I think you are right that my dissertation lays too much emphasis on Joyce’s sociological consciousness, and I had thought of putting something in my preface warning the reader that I was overdoing it, but decided not to. It is not Kain’s influence, since my thing was well under way when Kain’s book came out. I do think that there is more of it in the book than I have used in my dissertation, and I also think that the meaning of the book in these terms has never been worked out.’ all the Viconian references you found: On 16 October, Mason responded: ‘As you remark, I have not included all of the Viconian references I found in the novel, but I have included 90% of them, so most of the references that you have found independently are undoubtedly your own contribution to the field of Joyce studies.’ riddle on page 27: See Klein’s letters to Henry Allen Moe, 17 July [p. 167], and Leon Edel, 28 December [p. 182]. your letter touching Oxen of the Sun: Mason’s letter of 24 August; see ‘your letter’ above [p. 426]. embryological data: Mason had queried Klein’s detailed analysis of ‘embryological correspondences’: ‘I do not think that you can depend on Joyce’s embryological references to mark out the divisions between the months exactly, because his information seems to differ from ours, at least slightly … Much as I hate to admit it, this is the kind of case that a source study would throw a good deal of light on’ [24 Aug. 1948]. As he does here, Klein assured readers of the published essay that all of the information informing his analysis would have been available to Joyce; see ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ [LER, p. 321]. recapitulations: Mason had written that ‘despite all your hard work and amazing ingenuity,’ the logic by which Joyce echoes or ‘recapitulates’ the months of gestation, earlier episodes in the novel, and other evolutionary patterns was not clearly delineated [24 Aug. 1948]. Mason proceeded to provide arguments for parallels between ‘Cyclops’ (month 1), ‘Telemachus’ (month 2), and ‘Scylla’ (month 4): ‘I am of no use on the other months, but I do not think that your citations of the textual references is the way to find the recaps.’ Bunyanesque – Disgrace Abounding: As Klein explains, ‘The style is the style of Bunyan: Grace Abounding’ [‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ LER, p. 292]: Yes, Pious had told him of that land and Chaste had pointed him to the

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way but the reason was that in the way he fell in with a certain whore of an eyepleasing exterior whose name, she said, is Bird-in-the-Hand and she beguiled him wrongways from the true path by her flatteries that she said to him, as Ho, you pretty man, turn aside hither and I will show you a brave place, and she lay at him so flattering that she had him in her grot which is named Two-in-the-Bush or, by some learned, Carnal Concupiscence. [p. 389] Macaulay’s manner: See Klein’s commentary on its ‘oratory,’ ‘rhetoric,’ and ‘encyclopedic’ language [‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ LER, pp. 300–1]. Sallust: Roman historian and politician, Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86–34 bc). Joyce’s letter to Budgen indicates a combination of the styles of Sallust and the later, and more prominent Roman historian, Cornelius Tacitus (ad 55–117). In his commentary, Klein observes: ‘The first two pages (377, 378) do not enter into the embryonic framework. The Sallustian-Tacitean paragraphs, as the letter states, constitute a prelude, are ovum unfertilized, are English as English might have been written had the Roman conquest remained permanent: Britannia capta Romanam cepit. It is a section which quite properly may be dubbed gerundive both in that it is concerned with things about to become to be and in that its phraseology is frequently gerundival: “that they her by anticipation went seeing mother” (378), “suddenly to be about to be cherished had been begun” (378).’ [‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ LER, p. 290] essay … parodies in O of S: This material was integrated into Klein’s final draft of the present essay, published in Here & Now 1, 3 (Jan. 1949), pp. 28–48. parallel table of the various categories: The table, entitled ‘The Oxen of the Sun: The Labyrinth Charted,’ includes the ‘Month’ of gestation, ‘Pagination’ in the Random House edition, ‘Embryological Indicia,’ ‘Recapitulation,’ ‘Evolutionary Stage,’ and ‘Parody Style’ [LER, pp. 322–5]. Series of 9 x 9 etc.: In the published essay, Klein traces ‘9 sets of 9 – a ninth month’s nonary’ and charts the ‘recapitulations’ which provide the ‘mathematical evidence’ of the embryological structure [LER, pp. 309–11]. my analysis is ingenious … Joyce’s ingenuity: Klein’s published essay contains a similar, more extended, defence of his argument: One is quite conscious of the fact that this exegesis, precisely because of its complication, may prompt some readers to incredulity and resistance. It may be contended that the foregoing analysis is the result, not of Joyce’s intention, but of a forced ingenuity on the part of the commentator. It is a compliment which is here regrettably unacceptable. There is, imprimis, Joyce’s letter declaring his subtle intention; there is, secondo, that plethora of allusion which, while it may be the result of accident in one or two or

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three or four or five of its instances, cannot be merely coincidental in three hundred and more; and there is, tertio, the mathematical evidence. It is a rule touching the interpretation of documents that a document ought to be understood in that sense whereby all of its words receive meaning; without the above explication, most of the numbers occurring in the Oxen of the Sun appear to be arbitrarily chosen; with it, every figure – at the least – is given purpose and significance. [LER, p. 323] identification of Christ with pelican: A reference to Klein’s interpretation of an image in Telemachus: ‘He says this, a censor of morals, a very pelican in his piety’ [U, p. 402]. Klein’s gloss reads simply: ‘Christ as Pelican: cf. Dante, “nostro Pelicane”’ [LER, p. 297]. This is one of the points where Mason’s sympathy with Klein’s argument breaks down: ‘What is actually going on in your pattern construction is revealed, I think, in your pelican, Christ as pelican, Telemachus attempt. This is really laying it on with a trowel. Here is Mr. Klein at work, not Mr. Joyce, and although my admiration for your ingenuity is boundless, I don’t think that it is helping us as much in this section’ [24 Aug. 1948; Mason, LAC]. Unfortunately for Mason, Klein is demonstrably correct: the pelican, which was thought to feed its young from its own blood, is a medieval emblem of Christ’s sacrifice. Dante … nostro Pelicane: Paradiso 25.113 Sir Thomas Browne: Pseudoxia Epidemica 5.1 – ‘Of many things questionable as they are described in pictures; of many popular customs; etc.’ – is devoted to the pelican and its symbolic association with piety and the sacrifice of Christ. Dr. Donne likewise: Klein may be recalling Izaak Walton’s The Life of Donne [1658], in which Donne is compared to a pelican after the death of his beloved wife. page 406 … 392: Mason had strenuously objected to Klein’s assertion that there is confirmation of Joyce’s placement of ‘the multifarious allusions which fill pp. 392–409’ in the text [letter to Klein, 24 Oct. 1946; Mason, LAC]. Klein reiterates his point in the published essay: ‘The principle, it is submitted – and illustration seems to confirm the surmisal – is stated on p. 406: “He is young Leopold, as in a retrospective arrangement, a mirror within a mirror … he beholdeth himself.” The second month, it is affirmed, is, in its chapter correspondences and additional embryonic allusions, a retrospective arrangement, a mirroring within the seventh of all of the features of the first six’ [‘Oxen of the Sun,’ LER, p. 295]. Wibblywobbly … dialectic: In response to Klein’s analysis of ‘chapter correspondences’ on pages 398 to 401, Mason had complained that, on page 399 (‘Bless me, I’m all of a wibblywobbly’), ‘Wibblywobbly is not dialectic’ [24 Aug. 1948; Mason, LAC]. Klein disagreed and did not revise his argument; see ‘The

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Fourth Month in Retrospection: Scylla and Charybdis’ [‘Oxen of the Sun,’ LER, pp. 295–6]. Here and Now: The revised essay was published in Here & Now 1, 3 (Jan. 1949), pp. 28–48. Mason’s influence is evident in the charting of the complex system of correspondences or ‘recapitulations’ on which Klein builds his explication of Joyce’s parodies and embryological and evolutionary metaphors, and in his recognition of a resisting readership. However, with one or two minor exceptions, Klein rejects Mason’s specific critiques or suggestions in revising the essay. ‘Kelleher has the story on Deshil period’: On 24 August, Mason had written: ‘First of all, for the embryological correspondences. To get a few unimportant details out of the way, Kelleher has the story on “Deshil,” which is connected with this; and, according to me, the “send us … Horhorn” represents the rhythm of copulation. The phallicism of Horhorn (who’s got the …) is evident, and it may even be a pun on whore-horn. The “Hoopsa” represents the rhythm and ecstatic noises of ejaculation’ [Mason, LAC]. The reference is to ‘Deshil Holles Eamus’ on page 377. See Klein’s letter to Mason of 8 December [p. 176]. ‘the riddle on page 27 is explained’: Klein is quoting his own absolute assertion earlier in this letter [p. 172]. quiddity: ‘A subtlety or captious nicety in argument; a quirk, quibble. (Alluding to scholastic arguments on the ‘quiddity’ of things.)’ [OED] Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (29 Oct. 1948) interest of the Canadian Jewish Congress: See Klein’s letter to Flemington, 6 March 1948 [pp. 159–60]. reviewed … in The Nation: The review, by American poet and translator Rolfe Humphries, was very positive, with Humphries comparing Klein favourably to Auden and Rilke (The Nation [New York], 13 Nov. 1948, pp. 556–7). Ellsworth Mason (2 Nov. 1948) the y for the x … p. 274: A reference to Klein’s assertion in his letter to Mason of 14 October that ‘I have found that there has not been a difficulty on page x where Joyce has not, on page y, facilitated the explication. The riddle on page 27 is a case in point’ [p. 172]. See Klein’s letter to Mason, 24 December [p. 179], and the note to ‘the Cecilia Street reference’ [p. 435]. obiter dictum: (Lat.) literally ‘said by the road’; something said in passing; in law, a judgment having no authority some questions: Mason responded on 10 November [Mason, LAC] that he could

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be ‘of almost no help’ with Klein’s inquiries even after consulting with ‘the local classicists.’ Descende calve … decalveris (41): ‘Calve’ (literally ‘bald person’) may refer to the poet Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus, a friend of Catullus. The passage echoes 2 Kings 2.23, in which the prophet Elijah is mocked by the children of Bethel: ‘Go up, thou bald head: go up, thou bald head.’ Elijah curses them for their irreverence and they are torn apart by a bear. The situation bears a striking resemblance to the biblical source: Abbas father, furious dean, what offence laid fire to their brains? Paff! Descende, calve, ut ne nimium decalveris. A garland of grey hair on his comminated head see him me clambering down to the footpace (descende), clutching a monstrance, basiliskeyed. Get down, bald poll! A choir gives back menace and echo, assisting about the altar’s horns, the snorted Latin of jackpriests moving burly in their albs, tonsured and oiled and gelded, fat with the fat of kidneys of wheat. [pp. 40–1] Diebus ac noctibus … ingemiscit (50): ‘Day and night, the patient mourn injustice.’ From St Ambrose’s commentary on Romans 8.22: ‘For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now’ [Commentary on Romans]. Lucifer, dico, qui nescit occasum (51): Literally, ‘I speak, morning star which never sets.’ The Latin passage and the text preceding it – ‘Allbright he falls, proud lightning of the intellect’ – echo Isaiah 14.12: ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!’ Se il yilo nebrakada feminimum (239): Unidentified. Mason guesses that this passage is either ‘of Stephen’s making’ or ‘may come from some esoteric work of which I am not aware’; he suggests perusing the index to Madame Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine [10 Nov.; Mason, LAC]. Talis ac tanta depravatio … etc (396): The full passage translates: ‘Our times are so corrupt, O Roman citizens, that our women prefer the rough and wanton titillation of half-men to the heavy testicles and noble erections of Roman centurions.’ The context clarifies the meaning of the passage: ‘Mr Mulligan … made court to the scholarly by an apt quotation from the classics which, as it dwelt upon his memory, seemed to him a sound and tasteful support of his contention …’ Mason commented: ‘My own impression of this passage has always been that it was Buck’s attempt at oratory à la Cicero vs. Cataline’ [10 Nov. 1948; Mason, LAC]. Mdme. Grissel Steevens … (404): Early in the eighteenth century, Grissel Steevens gave up her claim on the estate of her brother, Dr Richard Steevens, to endow Dublin Hospital. She was an extremely heavy woman. In ‘Circe,’

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Stephen proclaims, ‘Queens lay with prize bulls. Remember Pasiphae for whose lust my grandoldgrossfather made the first confessionbox. Forget not Madam Grissel Steevens nor the suine scions of the house of Lambert. And Noah was drunk with wine. And his ark was open’ [p. 404]. The hungry famished gull … dull (150): Unidentified. Mason speculates ‘that the gull-dull lines bear the unmistakeable mark of L. Bloom; notice that on p. 164, he works the lines over, inserting his “dreamy creamy” from the preceding page. In this chapter he also composes a limerick, and I think that these are both Bloom’s equivalent to Stephen’s creative effort at the end of Proteus’ [10 Nov. 1948; Mason, LAC]. Weda seca whokilla farst? (554): Mason advises: ‘I refer back to p. 201 “Bestabed, Secabest, Leftabed” for aid in translating Shakespeare’s remarks. “Seca” thus becomes “second”’ [10 Nov.; Mason, LAC]. The line is a dialect rendering of ‘None wed the second but who kill’d the first’ (Hamlet 3.2.180), an appropriate response to the appearance of ‘Mrs. Dignam, widow woman,’ clutching ‘a Scottish Widows’ insurance policy.’ John J. Slocum (8 Nov. 1948) the Joyce microfilm: See the note to ‘five dollars … microfilm’ in the letter to Slocum of 7 October [p. 426]. trip to Montreal: Writing on 26 October 1948, Slocum had indicated plans to visit ‘an aunt and uncle, the Frederick M.A. Staffords’ in Montreal sometime in the fall [Slocum, YaleU]. Ellsworth Mason (8 Dec. 1948) note on Deshil: On 5 December, Mason had written ‘a hasty note on “Deshil”’ – a puzzling allusion on page 377 [Mason, LAC]: ‘The Irish word is “Deiseal,” meaning “a turning to the right (from dessa – right hand); sunwise.” As an interjection, said when a person sneezes, or chokes over food, it means “may it go right.” Thus, in connection with the birth of a child, it is a kind of good luck charm, at the same time getting in the Sun idea. Joyce apparently got the spelling from Patrick W. Joyce’s SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND, I, 301, which describes deshil ceremonies. Going “deshil,” i.e. sunwise, counter-clockwise, was for blessing and good luck. So, the Deshil Holles Eamus, means, “Let us go ‘deshil’ around the Holles St. Hospital,” or something to that effect. This all comes from Kelleher, and if you use it, you ought to ask his permission.’ Gilbert: Stuart Gilbert; see the note to ‘Gilbert … Homeric framework’ in Klein’s letter to Henry Allen Moe, 17 July [p. 423]. Gilbert’s translation of Ulysses into French: The 1929 French translation was, in fact,

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a group project involving Valéry Larbaud and Auguste Morel as well as Stuart Gilbert and Joyce himself. fons et origo: (Lat.) ‘source and origin’ Mr. Kelleher’s note: See ‘note on Deshil’ above. Klein did not make use of this information in his published essays on Ulysses. Joyce, Patrick W.: Linguist, musicologist, and historian Patrick Weston Joyce (1827–1914) was the author of many books on Irish culture, including the two-volume A Social History of Ancient Ireland, treating of the government, military system, and law; religion, learning, and art; trades, industries, and commerce; manners, customs, and domestic life, of the ancient Irish people [Dublin: M.H. Gill 1903–20], which was one of Joyce’s sources for Ulysses. your paper … the 27th: Mason was to read a paper at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association on December 27: ‘It will set examples of what Joyce took from the Scienza Nuova, set forth tentatively my theory of how Joyce is manipulating the references, and indicate some of the directions the study points, willy-nilly its validity. I’ll send you a copy of the paper when I have some run, although you have seen it all in my dissertation except for a comparison I’ll make between Vico’s concept of the cosmos and the broader outlines of ULYSSES. Nothing very important, though’ [5 Dec. 1948; Mason, LAC]. A Pisgah Sight of Palestine … by Fuller: The reference is to Stephen Daedalus’s allusion in ‘Aeolus’ to ‘A Pisgah Sight of Palestine or the Parable of the Plums.’ The book by Thomas Fuller (1608–61) was published in 1650. Japhet in search of a father: Milligan calls Stephen Daedalus ‘Japhet in search of a father’ [U, p. 18], alluding to the title of a foundling tale by Frederick Marryat (1792–1838) [New York: Wallis and Newell 1835]. gift of tongues: in Acts 2.3–4, the apostles are gifted with the ability to ‘speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance’ John J. Slocum (9 Dec. 1948) received the microfilm: See the note to ‘five dollars … microfilm’ in the letter to Slocum of 7 October [p. 426]. trip to Montreal: See the note on ‘trip to Montreal’ in the letter to Slocum of 8 November [p. 432]. Alan Crawley (10 Dec. 1948) commemorative volume … the forties: never published my work on Joyce’s Ulysses: Klein first outlines his massive project to annotate Joyce’s novel in his letters to Leon Edel, 22 January 1948 [pp. 152–3] and John J. Slocum, 26 January 1948 [pp. 154–5].

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finished … the end of 1949: Two and three months later, he was less sanguine, complaining that he would need a two-year leave of absence from the pressures of work to complete the project. See the letter to James Laughlin, 7 March 1949 [p. 187]. Ellsworth Mason (24 Dec. 1948) your note of the thirteenth: In his letter of 13 December [Mason, LAC], Mason continued their discussion of Joyce’s failure to correct the errors of his critics and translators. See Klein’s letter to Mason of 8 December [p. 176]. Kelleher’s surmisal … Gilbert’s error: See the first paragraph of Klein’s letter to Mason of 8 December [p. 176] and the note to ‘note on Deshil’ [p. 432]. In his letter of 13 December, Mason went on to explain Kelleher’s theory of how the error occurred: ‘I had not thought it worth mentioning, but ferret-eye Kelleher has an appendix which will interest you. He finds on I, 466 of [Patrick W.] Joyce’s Ancient history, a discussion including “Deiseabhair na grene, literally the ‘southing or going south by the sun.’” K. suggests that J[ames] J[oyce] told Gilbert he had gotten the concept from P.W.J.’s book, and that Gilbert pounced on the Irish phrase above as being “Deshil.” Sounds likely. It is clear that J.A. was taken by the works of P.W. Working with his Short History when doing my study showed a number of instances where JJ seemed to be using PW’s facts.’ In his letter of 12 February 1949, however, Mason admitted that he had ‘inadvertently undermined Kelleher’s explanation … when I picked up an Irish dictionary, printed in the 1920’s, and found one of the definitions of [desshil] as “southing, going south,” so Gilbert may have picked up his incorrect definition (in Joyce’s context) from some Irish dictionary at hand’ [Mason, LAC]. French edition … revue or relue: The title page reads ‘Ulysse. Traduit de l’anglais par M. Auguste Morel, assisté par M. Stuart Gilbert. Traduction entièrement revue par M. Valéry Larbaud, avec la collaboration de l’auteur.’ Linati letters: Critic Carlo Linati (1878–1949) published Italian translations of Exiles [‘Esuli,’ Il Convegno (Milan) 1, 3 (April 1920), pp. 27–52; 1, 4 (May 1920), pp. 27–46, and 1, 5 (June 1920), pp. 22–37], as well as selections from Ulysses [‘Da l’Ulysses di James Joyce,’ Il Convegno (Milan) 7, 11–12 (Nov.–Dec. 1926), pp. 813–28]. the list of errata: As Mason indicates in his letter of 12 February 1949, Joyce had supplied a list of corrections in response to Linati’s queries about difficult passages in Exiles. not due to lack of condescension: The wording is Mason’s, in his letter of 13 December [Mason, LAC]. Mason noted that Joyce had not even looked at Linati’s

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translation of Exiles, which ‘stinks,’ but that the French translation of Ulysses, a project ‘quite close to him,’ was a different matter. theosophical allusions … Gilbert: Mason had queried Stuart Gilbert about Joyce’s reading in theosophy, and writes that he hopes Klein ‘is exploring [these], since the novel uses many theosophical ideas and cycles’ [13 Dec.]. On 12 February 1949, in response to this letter, Mason admitted that ‘a good deal of Gilbert’s commentary on theosophical allusions are his, rather than Joyce’s, but it is also true that there is much theosophical material in ULYSSES which Gilbert does not call to attention. I have only Stanislaus’ statement as evidence that Joyce ever took Theosophy seriously for any period of time at all, and it is clear that, if he did, it was only a short-lived period’ [Mason, LAC]. visit to A.E.’s quarters: ‘A.E. was the pseudonym of poet, dramatist, and painter George William Russell (1867–1935), whose work was deeply influenced by Theosophy. Joyce had introduced himself to Russell in 1902, querying him about his beliefs. the Pink’Un: The Sporting News was called ‘the Pink’Un’ because it was printed on pink paper. Paul de Kock: Bloom buys a novel, Sweets of Sin by ‘Paul de Kock,’ for Molly. Mason speculates that the reference is to French novelist Charles Paul de Kock (1793–1871), ‘who just poured out cheap novels (B.N. cat. lists 1098 entries),’ although none was titled Sweets of Sin [13 Dec. 1948; Mason, LAC]. the Cecilia Street reference: See the note to ‘the y for the x … p. 274’ in the letter to Mason of 2 November. On page 274, a piano is playing in St. Cecilia Street. In the fall of 1902 and again in 1903, Joyce studied briefly at the Catholic University Medical School in Cecilia Street, before deciding to pursue his medical studies in Paris. a hapax legomenon: (Grk.) literally ‘thing said once’; a word which has only a single occurrence St. Cecilia: Patron saint of church music, associated most closely with the organ your paper: See the note to ‘your paper … the 27th’ in Klein’s letter to Mason of 8 December [p. 433]. Karl Shapiro (27 Dec. 1948) Mr. Shapiro: American poet Karl Shapiro. See the note to ‘Shapiro,’ letter to George Dillon, 31 August 1942 [p. 365]. mourned you as a lost Jew: In ‘Annotation on Shapiro’s Essay on Rime,’ Klein had commented on Shapiro’s ‘uncertainty about his position as a Jew in American letters …, this feeling of alien-ness [which] disturbs Shapiro, disturbs him so much that it takes on a pathogenic form’ [CJC (22–9 Mar. 1946);

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LER, pp. 175–6]. In ‘Those Who Should Have Been Ours,’ Klein particularly ‘mourns’ Shapiro’s ‘denial’ of his heritage because ‘[a] voice such as his had not been heard in American poetry – a perfect, an impeccable recreation in words of the very sound and texture of the American scene’ [CJC, 16 Nov. 1945; LER, pp. 250, 248]. More recently, however, Shapiro had begun work on a series of autobiographical poems addressing his Jewish identity, later published as Poems of a Jew [New York: Random House 1958]. In addition, as one of the Fellows in American Literature of the Library of Congress, he had voted in 1948 against the controversial decision to award the Bolligen Prize to Ezra Pound on the grounds of his overt anti-Semitism. your note of congratulation: Klein, LAC – MS 418 the recent Maccabaean events: In the first and second centuries BCE, the Maccabee family led a successful revolt against Syrian control of Judaea, liberating the Temple in 164 BCE [1 and 2 Maccabbees]. Klein’s analogy is to contemporary attempts to establish a Jewish state. Rashi: Hebrew acronym for Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (1040–1105), one of the most authoritative commentators on the Bible and Talmud a symposium published in 1940: Klein comments at greater length on this symposium of Jewish poets – titled ‘Under Forty’ and published in the February 1944 issue of Contemporary Jewish Record – in ‘Those Who Should Have Been Ours’ [CJC, 16 Nov. 1945; LER, pp. 246–51]. As in this letter, he focused on the negative attitude towards Judaism of Delmore Schwartz, David Daiches, and Karl Jay Shapiro. Delmore Schwartz: (1913–60) American poet, short-story writer, and critic. As an editor of The Partisan Review (1942–55), Schwartz was an influential voice among Jewish writers following the Second World War. David Daiches: (1912–2005) British critic, author of studies on Burns, Milton, Boswell, Scott, Woolf, and others Maimonides … Arabic: See the note to ‘Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed,’ letter to Samuel Charney [Shmuel Niger], 21 January 1941 [p. 351]. Mendelssohn … German: [Jacob Ludwig] Felix Mendelssohn[-Bartholdy] (1809– 47), German composer, conductor, and pianist. In speaking of his having ‘judaized even the German,’ Klein is alluding to his choral compositions, specifically the oratorio Elijah. in vacuo: (Lat.) ‘in a vacuum’ Our miracle … contemporaneity: tu quoque: (Lat.) ‘you, also’ or ‘you’re another’ my Gallic prototype’s beatific vision: the Catholic belief in redemption through

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belief in the Christian Messiah, Jesus, which takes the form of ever-lasting life (with an immediate knowledge of God) in a New Jerusalem the original: the original Jerusalem, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE Leon Edel (28 Dec. 1948) our oyster … oysters are treif: Unfortunately, worldly success has proved to be forbidden to Jews – treif – like non-Kosher meat. maintes fois: (Fr.) ‘many a time’ nameless work in progress: Edel would publish two books in 1949: his editions of James’s ghost stories and complete plays. See Klein’s letters to Edel of 23 February 1949 [p. 186] and 20 December 1949 [p. 196]. Jacobinism: A defence of a radical political position, but also a pun on ‘James’ which in Latin was ‘Jacobus.’ Klein is suggesting that Edel was a radical critic in his early attention to Henry James’s work. Jolas’ about-to-be resurrected transition: The Parisian journal transition was a monthly publication founded in 1928 by Elliot Paul and Eugene Jolas with the purpose of encouraging experimental writing. By the time the journal ceased publication in 1938, they had published Gertrude Stein, e.e. cummings, Hart Crane, and Archibald McLeish and, between 1927 and 1930, serialized sections of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake under the title ‘Work in Progress.’ The following year, Jolas returned to the United States, and in February 1947 revived transition with Georges Duthuit as co-editor. The new series ran for 6 issues (1948–50), featuring the writing of modern French writers including Jean-Paul Sartre. Transition Press also issued, in 1949, the James Joyce Yearbook edited by Maria Jolas, and an anthology of works from the original review. in fair Paris in explication of the Master: Klein is responding to Edel’s suggestion that he might appear in the journal most closely associated with Joyce’s time in Paris. essay on any of the following topics: This list provides an intriguing prospectus for Klein’s commentary. His three published essays touch on only some of the topics proposed, and Klein’s papers include no drafts of other essays, suggesting either that he destroyed his work-in-progress, or that he had not moved on to these topics. Klein did not publish on items 3, 5, 8, and 9. parodies of The Oxen of the Sun: This is the topic of Klein’s first essay on Joyce, ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ [Here & Now 1, 3 (Jan. 1949), pp. 28–48]. The Fox and his Grandmother: See the note to ‘1. riddle on p. 27 … riddlesome answer’ in Klein’s letter to Henry Allen Moe, 17 July 1948 [p. 423]. Poetic and Mimetic Techniques: Although Klein did not publish an essay specifi-

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cally on this topic, his three published essays explore examples of Joyce’s ‘mimetic’ play in some detail, and in his correspondence he repeatedly comments on the poetic and mimetic nature of Joyce’s language, although with a particular emphasis on Finnegans Wake. See, for example, his letter to James Laughlin, 3 November 1942 [p. 58]: ‘I believe that Finnegans Wake has uncovered a marvellous technique, marvellous in that it approaches the virtues of music, not by mere echolalia, but by releasing simultaneously a swarm of concordant melodies. But it is a technique for poetry, and not for prose.’ The Black Panther: The title of the essay on chapter 1 of Ulysses, which Klein published in Accent 10, 3 (Spring 1950), pp. 139–55 [LER, pp. 326–42] Viconian Thought in Ulysses: The subject of Klein’s third essay on Joyce, ‘A Shout in the Street,’ New Directions 13 (1951), pp. 327–45 [LER, pp. 342–66] The Christology in Ulysses: Klein’s essay ‘The Black Panther’ is divided into sections subtitled ‘Imitatio Dei,’ ‘The Mass,’ ‘The Witches’ Sabbath,’ and ‘Significacio.’ PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association, the major academic journal on language and literature in North America ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ essay: See the note on ‘parodies of The Oxen of the Sun’ above [p. 437]. Stephen S. Wise, OPINION (10 Jan. 1949) Greenberg ... The Nation: ‘A Major Poet Translated in a Minor Key’ (16 Dec. 1948) Efros book: Hayyim Nahman Bialik: Complete Poetic Works, Translated from Hebrew [New York: The Histadruth Ivrith of America Inc. 1948]. The collection was edited and introduced by Israel Efros, but the translations were by a variety of other writers, including Klein. Wise had asked whether Klein would review the book for Opinion. a hole in a mem: The pun is obscure. Mem () is the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, equivalent to the English ‘m’ in sound, and the number 40 as a numeral. Samuel’s translations: Maurice Samuel’s Selected Poems of Chaim Nachman Bialik [Hebrew & English texts. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations 1972, 1926] had been the first major translation of Bialik into English. ‘kol ha’norim’: (Heb.) ‘all the boys.’ The phrase is usually used with the word ‘im,’ meaning ‘with’: im kol ha’norim is a folk expression used to describe the practice during the celebration of Simchat Torah in which an adult is called up to read from the Torah ‘with all the boys’ who have not yet reached bar mitzvah. In modern Hebrew, the phrase has come to mean ‘together; with everybody; altogether; in a group.’

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Mother Rachel … ‘in the way of Ephrath’: Rachel, wife of the patriarch Jacob, died giving birth to Benjamin ‘in the way of Ephrath’ or Bethlehem. A monument marks her tomb [Gen. 35.20]. Bialik lies there too!: Klein’s analogy suggests that Bialik, like Rachel, has not reached his destination. Leon Edel (15 Feb. 1949) address the Joyce Society: Klein did not address the James Joyce Society in New York City until 2 February 1951. Lippincott: J.B. Lippincott and Company was the publisher of Edel’s edition of The Complete Plays of Henry James, published in 1949. a patron … my annotation: Klein had made similar comments in his letters to Henry Allen Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation (17 July 1948) [p. 168] and Ellsworth Mason (8 Dec. 1948) [p. 177]. Miss Weaver … financed Joyce: Harriet Shaw Weaver was the founder of the London journal The Egoist, in which Ezra Pound, as literary editor, serialized Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist. Weaver truly was James Joyce’s ‘patron,’ funding and supporting his work throughout his career. a copy of Here & Now: Klein’s first Joyce essay, ‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ was published in Here & Now 1, 3 (Jan. 1949). Ellsworth Mason (19 Feb. 1949) your paper on J.J. and Vico’s cycle: Mason delivered his paper at the Modern Language Association conference on 27 December 1948. On 12 February 1949 [Mason, LAC], he wrote: ‘My paper was well received. As a matter of fact, everyone thought it was much better than it actually was’ because the other papers in the session – by Kenneth Burke and Harry Levin – were (respectively) ‘too long, poorly organized and completely abstract’ and ‘nice, but very insubstantial.’ Mason held out hopes that ‘it was a good advertising venture,’ as he was searching for an academic position. reduce … to a detailed paradigm: See Klein’s assessment of Mason’s dissertation in his letter of 14 October 1948 [pp. 171–2]. There, as here, Klein expressed doubt about the generalized nature of the Viconian parallels and Mason’s ‘sociological’ approach. Harvard … the Levin-Kelleher seminar: Mason had written that he was going to audit a ten-week seminar on Finnegans Wake given at Harvard University by Harry Levin and John Kelleher [12 Feb. 1949; Mason, LAC]. typewriting auditor: Mason typed his letters to Klein. your note on Tindall: In his letter of 12 February [Mason, LAC], Mason had reported on the previous week’s meeting of the Joyce Society, at which

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Irish poet Padraic Colum had read from the Cyclops episode in his ‘Dublin brogue’ and William York Tindall had announced the completion of a book on Joyce he had begun the previous May – James Joyce: His Way of Interpreting the Modern World [New York: Scribner’s 1950]. Mason comments sarcastically: ‘It will undoubtedly be a very thorough work. Somehow Columbia seems to encourage this kind of flashy superficial scholarship.’ Miss Steloff: Frances Steloff, proprietor of the Gotham Book Mart; see the note on ‘Joyce Society,’ letter to Leon Edel of 6 July 1948 [p. 421]. my essay on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’: Here & Now 1, 3 (Jan. 1949), pp. 28–48 Leon Edel (23 Feb. 1949) your book … Ghostly Tales: Edel edited and introduced The Ghostly Tales of Henry James [New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press 1948]. amended … vaunting a chart: Klein had added details and schematic representations to the essay to answer the extremely detailed critique of the essay by Ellsworth Mason in his letter of 24 August 1948 [pp. 172–3]. Ellsworth Mason (23 Feb. 1949) amended in answer to … objections: Klein had sent an early draft of the essay to Mason for commentary on 23 June 1948, and on 24 August Mason returned detailed notes on Klein’s argument [Mason, LAC]. Klein’s letter of 14 October 1948 [pp. 172–3] contains his response. the chart: In the table entitled ‘The Oxen of the Sun: The Labyrinth Charted,’ Klein’s columns indicated the ‘Month’ of gestation, ‘Pagination’ in the Random House edition, ‘Embryological Indicia,’ ‘Recapitulation,’ ‘Evolutionary Stage,’ and ‘Parody Style’ [LER, pp. 322–5]. James Laughlin IV, New Directions (7 Mar. 1949) my essay … in Here and Now: In his letter of 20 April [New Directions], Laughlin writes: ‘This is absolutely fascinating stuff and I congratulate you on it. I am not enough of a Joyce scholar to know whether you are completely on the beam, but certainly it is very impressive and convincing. When I get back to New York, I will take the matter up with Slocum and see what he thinks about the possibility of getting the James Joyce Society to subsidize your research and the eventual publication of the book at New Directions.’ In addition, Laughlin offered to print ‘a new group’ of Klein’s poems in the next New Directions annual. Maecenas: A Roman of Etruscan heritage who was a trusted friend and counsellor to Augustus Caesar, Caius Maecenas was a patron of Virgil, Horace, and Propertius.

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Etruscan: an allusion to Maecenas’s heritage Ellsworth Mason (14 Mar. 1949) the issue of Here and Now: On 26 February [Mason, LAC], Mason had written asking for the volume and number of the issue of Here & Now in which Klein’s article on ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ had appeared, as the citation was not indicated on the offprint Klein had sent on 23 February. Despite his protests here that none was available, Klein found an additional copy of the issue which Mason acknowledged in his letter of 30 April. Stan Joyce’s article on J.J.: Mason was translating an article by Stanislaus Joyce, originally published as ‘Ricordi di Joyce’ [Letteratura 5 (1941)], and reprinted the following year in Recollections of James Joyce, by His Brother Stanislaus Joyce [New York: James Joyce Society 1950], which Mason edited. In his letter of 12 March [Mason, LAC], Mason commented: ‘[I]t will be interesting to compare his remarks on Joyce shortly after his death with what he is scheduled to write for Hudson Review sometime this year.’ Stanislaus Joyce’s ‘James Joyce: A Memoir’ appeared in Hudson Review 2, 4 (Winter 1950), pp. 485–514. Archibald MacLeish: (1892–1982), American poet and dramatist the F.W. seminar … list of themes: See the note to ‘Harvard … the Levin-Kelleher seminar’ in Klein’s letter to Mason of 19 February [p. 439]. On 26 February [Mason, LAC], in response to Klein’s inquiry about getting notes from the class, Mason wrote: Just by chance, I happen to know of a methodical typewriting auditor of the FINNEGANS WAKE seminar who will be glad to provide you with a copy of anything coherent that goes on in seminar, i.e., come summer vacation when I can look over the notes. There are no formal lectures. So far, there has been only a kind of co-operative running commentary on the text … The students have been assigned characters, to trace in their different manifestations …, and themes which occur in slightly changed forms throughout the book. They are forming a file of this material in the hope of ultimately discerning the structure of the book. Ellsworth Mason (6 Apr. 1949) your translation of the Joyce essay: See the note on ‘Stan Joyce’s article on J.J.,’ letter to Mason of 14 March [p. 188]. his father … ‘debauched’: On 9 April [Mason, LAC], Mason writes that he has checked the original Italian, and the word used by Stan Joyce was ‘scapiguiata vita – disorderly life.’ Nora: Nora Barnacle, James Joyce’s wife his first sentence … Cain: Stanislaus Joyce also used Cain’s phrase in Genesis 4.9

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as the title of his book, My Brother’s Keeper: James Joyce’s Early Years [ed. Richard Ellman (New York: Viking Press 1958)]. ‘an epiphany’: ‘a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or in a memorable phase of the mind itself … the most delicate and evanescent of moments’ [Stephen Hero: Part of the First Draft of ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ (London: Cape 1956), p. 217] Thom’s Directory: an annual directory of names and addresses of individuals, businesses, and institutions in Dublin Labouett’s (p. 10): Mason replied: ‘I find listed in the directory: Labouette’s carriage and funeral establishment 68 Marlborough St.’ [9 Apr. 1948; Mason, LAC]. Seymour and Clive Kempthorpe (p. 9): Mason suggested that Klein check an Oxford directory to identify the Kempthorpes, or write to Oliver St John Gogarty. (See the note to ‘Malachi Mulligan ... for Oliver Gogarty’ in the letter to Henry Allen Moe, 17 July 1948 [p. 425]). However, he warns Klein: [I]f your argument rests as heavily on the fact that these two men are not realistic details, as you seem to imply, you had better be sure that they aren’t. The great disadvantage we have working in Dublin at such a temporal and cultural distance is that we have to grub around in remote spots for information that all Dubliners have at their fingertips. Some of the best Joyce exegetes, I am told, do their exejesusing at Dublin bars, and never think of laying hand to paper. [9 Apr. 1948; Mason, LAC] my complete annotation on Chapter one: later published as ‘The Black Panther: A Study in Technique’ in Accent 10, 3 (Spring 1950), pp. 139–55 [LER, pp. 326–42] Ellsworth Mason (2 May 1949) seminar notes on F.W.: See the note to ‘the F.W. seminar … list of themes’ in Klein’s letter to Mason of 14 March [p. 441]. Mason’s letter of 30 April [Mason, LAC] contained additional ‘impressions’ of the seminar, and a warning to Klein that the promised notes would be sketchy because the approach was basically to develop a set of footnotes on the text and, consequently, ‘most of my notes are in the margins of my book.’ your own Vico thesis: In his letter of 30 April [Mason, LAC], Mason had deplored recent publications on Joyce as the product of ‘loose minds’: ‘it reminded me strongly that I am the victim of a loose mind … I shall have to rethink the whole Vico business this summer, and probably wash it down the drain (painful as this would be).’ my essay on ‘The Black Panther’: See the note to ‘my complete annotation on Chapter one’ in the letter to Mason of 6 April [p. 442].

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the basic (sic) discovery about Ulysses: His ‘discovery’ is the complex theological underpinning of the first chapter which makes ‘Telemachus’ ‘an Imitatio Dei of the year 1904’ [LER, p. 329] with Stephen Daedalus as Christ, Mulligan as St John, and Haines as Satan. He argues for distorted ‘interlinear’ parallels with the mass said on the Feast of Corpus Christi, constituting a ‘Black Sabbath.’ why June 16th: At the conclusion of ‘The Black Panther,’ Klein argues that 16 June was chosen as ‘Bloomsday’ because it is the closest Thursday (the day of the week on which Witches’ Sabbaths were held) to the Feast of Corpus Christi on which there was no ‘Feast of Obligation’ [LER, pp. 340–1]. Judge Woolsey … the ban: On 6 December 1933, Judge John M. Woolsey overturned the ban on American publication of the book which had been in place since 1921, having determined that the book was not legally obscene. whether Kempthorpe is real or fictitious: See the note to ‘Seymour and Clive Kempthorpe’ in the letter to Mason of 6 April [p. 442]. hapax legomena: In the first chapter of an unfinished novel, ‘Hapaxlegomena’ [Klein, LAC – MS 4458–72; NB, pp. 129–37], Klein elaborates: ‘... that class of words in the Scriptures known as millot bodedot. Isolated words. Lonesome words. They occur but once in the whole Torah, and are related to no other word. In English, or rather in Greek, they are called hapaxlegomena, words of a single occurrence. Once, only once, they appear in the Bible, and then are not heard from again’ [NB, p. 131]. Maurice Hartt (24 June 1949) Mort Hartt: Maurice Hartt (1895–1950), Liberal Member of Parliament for Cartier, against whom Klein was running as CCF candidate in the 1949 election. free ad you gave my book: For Klein, the personal insults in Hartt’s election advertising evoked Shylock’s speech in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, ‘Hath not a Jew eyes?’ (3.1.59) – and thus the title of his first book of poetry, published in 1940. In the poster (reproduced in Caplan’s biography [LOTD, p. 158]), the captions read ‘Dirt in Cartier’ and ‘A mud hole is no substitute for a platform!!’ On the left, Klein is pictured standing up to his waist in mud, wearing a button bearing his campaign slogan phrased as a question: ‘A man to be proud of?’ On the right, the CCF is referred to as a ‘splinter party’ and associated with the anti-Zionist’ policies of the British Labour Party; Klein is labelled as ‘the C.C.F. puppet.’ first page … compliment: a reference to the inscription Klein had written in Hartt’s copy of Hath Not a Jew. Klein’s assertion that Hartt would be ‘a dif-

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ferent man today’ if he had actually read the book is a thinly veiled insult to Hartt’s politics, and perhaps a rebuttal to his attempts to portray Klein, as the CCF candidate, as a ‘puppet’ of the anti-Zionist British Labour Party [LOTD, pp. 158–9]. chassid: (Heb.) a ‘righteous man’ mithnagid: a Jew opposed to Chassidism  : musar (Heb.): an informer, slanderer or sycophant the 27th: election day Leon Edel (29 June 1949) Leo: The name by which Leon Edel had been known to his friends at McGill. recognition … arbiters of Canadian literature: Klein won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry in 1949 for The Rocking Chair. As the letter to E.K. Brown of 13 October 1944 [p. 113], suggests, his earlier books may not have been eligible for the competition, either because they were published in the United States, or because they were not submitted for consideration by his publishers. word with your publishers … commentary: Klein had broached this subject in his letter of 15 February [pp. 183–4]. Although Laughlin was open to publishing the study, Klein was anxious to find a more prominent publisher. revolutionary analysis … first chapter: His analysis was published as ‘The Black Panther: A Study in Technique,’ Accent 10, 3 (Spring 1950), pp. 139–55. the James plays: Edel’s edition of The Complete Plays of Henry James, published by Lippincott and Company in 1949 Kennedy: See the note to ‘Leo Kennedy’ in the letter to Kennedy of 2 June 1939 [p. 337]. Ellsworth Mason (18 July 1949) My exegesis … first chapter of Ulysses: See the letter to Mason of 2 May [p. 190]. Mason wrote on 21 July [Mason, LAC] that he had received the essay, but had been too busy to devote ‘a couple of unbroken days checking it as thoroughly as I did your explication of OXEN OF THE SUN.’ As in the case of Klein’s first essay, Mason was not convinced: ‘You seem, at points, to be so awed by Joyce’s ingenuity (this, to some extent, because it reminds you of your own) that you are carried away, and consequently overvalue, if I am right, what you see as Joyce’s patterning ability.’ the election: Klein’s campaign as the CCF candidate for Cartier in the federal election had ended on 27 June, with a Liberal victory. off to Europe: Klein was to leave on 30 July for his ‘fact finding’ trip to Israel, Europe, and Northern Africa for the CJC. (See Appendix A, pp. 485–7.)

Explanatory Notes pp. 192–4

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John J. Slocum (18 July 1949) letter of June 21st … enclosure: In his letter of 21 June [Slocum, YaleU], Slocum acknowledged receipt of an offprint of Klein’s essay ‘The Oxen of the Sun,’ and extended an invitation to spend a ‘few days going over my critical library’ whenever he visited New York. In addition, he enclosed ‘a copy of the translation of Jung’s [essay], also on ULYSSES, which you have probably already read in the original German’ [The 1932 essay ‘Ulysses: Ein Monolog’ by Carl Gustav Jung, translated by Stanley Dell as Ulysses: A Monologue (NYU: Analytical Psychology Club of New York 1949)]. Finally, he suggested that Klein speak to Leon Edel, now chairman of the publications committee of the James Joyce Society, about possible publishers for his study. political campaign: See the note to ‘the election’ in the letter to Mason, 18 July [p. 444]. 16th day of June: the day on which Leopold Bloom’s epic journey through Dublin takes place. See the note to ‘why June 16th’ in the letter to Mason, 2 May 1949 [p. 443]. Summa: the sum-total, the consummation dormientibus: (Lat.) ‘for those who are asleep’ ‘Jung and easily freudened’: Finnegans Wake, p. 115 Israel & Europe (Ireland included): Klein was to leave New York for his ‘fact finding’ trip for the CJC on 31 July. His visit to Ireland consisted of changing planes in Shannon for ‘about an hour during which we partake of much Irish courtesy but little food, listen to Gaelic coming throaty from the loudspeaker … and hearkening to the policeman bemoaning the fate of Ulster …’ [CJC, 26 Aug. 1949; BS, p. 346]. John J. Slocum (7 Sept. 1949) your note of August 30th: Learning that Klein would be flying out of New York, Slocum had hastily written to ask if they might meet at the end of September on his return from his overseas trip. through correspondence, darkly: an echo of 1 Corinthians 13.12. Klein uses the same metaphor in his letter to Henry Allen Moe, 17 July 1948 [p. 169]. butcher called Dlugasz: In the fourth episode of Ulysses (‘Calypso’), Bloom is offered, at the Jewish pork-butcher’s, an advertisement of a community in the Jewish homeland, which he and Moses Dlugasz have renounced, but which still attracts him. historian named Laredo: Bloom’s wife Molly, née Marion (Molly) Tweedy, is the daughter of Major Brian Tweedy and Lunita Laredo. Dublin … Foot and Mouth disease: In the ‘Cyclops’ episode, the tavern discussion is about an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

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in Kinnereth – by Kinnereth: In the ‘Circe’ episode, a mirage of the lake of Kinnereth or Galilee appears. In Numbers 34.12, this ‘salt sea’ marks the eastern border of the Promised Land. Stuart Gilbert: Part of Joyce’s Paris circle. In James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ [London: Faber and Faber 1930], Gilbert had published the schema Joyce used in 1921 to describe the novel’s complex structures. McKee and Batchelder (15 Dec. 1949) McKee & Batchelder: Klein’s previous correspondence in the letters of 13 July [pp. 165–6] and 22 October 1948 [Appendix C, pp. 496–7] had been under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher.’ How are the notorious Russian confessions extorted?: Klein also asks this question in an editorial entitled ‘The Confessions’ [CJC, 24 Feb. 1950; BS, p. 387]. Rejecting the assumption that ‘the Russian soul … presumably is infatuated with self-mortification, or the consequences of the Marxist dialectic … apparently leads to a confusion between concepts and their antonyms, that is to say, between innocence and guilt,’ he argues that ‘[t]here must be some musical adept – a psychological Shostakovitch – who is able to arrange this confessional music to suit all times, occasions, and countries.’ In the short story he is marketing, ‘Letter from Afar’ [Klein, LAC – MS 3333–52; Stories, pp. 255–71], he suggests that the political leaders convicted of conspiring against Stalin may have been convinced to make a final sacrifice for the Revolution – not of their lives, but of their reputations – by becoming willing collaborators in their own convictions: ‘The firing squads had existed merely in a news release. Shadows had been flung upon the screen of History, simulating death; but the actors had walked off to their retirement, to the reward for final immolation, not of themselves, but of their names’ [Stories, p. 267]. first Trial of the Sixteen: The first of the infamous ‘show’ trials of prominent Bolsheviks under Stalin, the ‘Trial of the Sixteen’ in December 1936, was followed by the ‘Trial of the Seventeen’ (which Klein may be thinking of as a second ‘Trial of the Sixteen’) in January 1937, the trial of Red Army generals in June 1937, and the ‘Trial of the Twenty One’ in March 1938. The trials were characterized by the complete and expansive confessions of the defendants to participation in conspiracies to assassinate Stalin and undermine the regime economically and politically. short story: Miss McKee apparently had no success placing Klein’s story, ‘Letter from Afar.’ Klein himself submitted it to Knox Burger, fiction editor of Collier’s Magazine on 25 January 1951 [p. 207]. title … Lenin’s famous communication: Lenin wrote several ‘Letters from Afar’ to his followers when news of the revolution reached him in London. These

Explanatory Notes pp. 195–7

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were designed to be forwarded to Russia for publication in Pravda, the first being published in instalments in March 1917. Leon Edel (20 Dec. 1949) The Daily Compass: Ted Thackery founded the radical left-wing paper Daily Compass (1949–53) after the demise of P.M. See note on ‘P.M.’ in Klein’s letter to Edel, 22 January 1948 [p. 414]. away from Montreal … five months: Klein had been abroad in Israel and Europe in July and August, and subsequently on a lecture tour to raise funds for Israel and refugee relief. See Appendix A [pp. 485–7]. your Edition … plays of Henry James: Edel’s edition of The Complete Plays of Henry James [New York: Lippincott & Co. 1949] W.E. Collin (18 Jan. 1950) my unpublished manuscript: One of the bound typescript volumes Klein circulated to publishers in the 1930s: Gestures Hebraic [1932, 1934] or Poems [1932, 1934]. introductory remarks … flattering estimates: Collin had introduced Klein at a recent speaking engagement in London, Ontario. the Montreal Group … extant … additions, accretions: A.J.M. Smith, F.R. Scott, Leo Kennedy, and A.M. Klein composed the ‘Group’ when Collin wrote about them in The White Savannahs [1936]. By 1950, Smith and Kennedy had moved to the United States, but the Montreal scene had expanded considerably, to include the members of the former Preview and First Statement groups. Earle Birney (27 Feb. 1950) Poetry Commonwealth: Birney had been invited by Lionel Monteith, editor of the English journal Poetry Commonwealth, to edit a special issue on Canadian poetry. After some delay, the issue was published in Spring 1951. peregrinations: Klein’s extended lecture tour following his ‘fact-finding’ trip to Israel, Europe, and North Africa. See appendices A [pp. 485–7] and B [pp. 488–91. use anything … published: Birney opted not to include Klein’s previously published poems. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Centre Lecture Bureau (6 Apr. 1950) Samuel D. Freeman … Jewish Centre Lecture Bureau: The JCLB was a central booking agency for Jewish lecturers and artists. The terms of Klein’s agreement with the CJC prior to his ‘fact-finding’ trip to Israel, North Africa, and Europe [Appendix A, pp. 485–6] had committed him to a speaking tour ‘in the late summer or early fall … for a period of 6 weeks to 2 months,’ but also

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‘spot assignments, the details of which we can work out’ [p. 486]. That commitment had been fulfilled, and he was now free ‘to accept speaking engagements for and behalf of other organizations’ [p. 486]. Memorandum of availability … 1950–1951 season: A completed copy of the Jewish Centre Lecture Bureau’s standard ‘Memorandum on Availability for Lectures and Concerts for Program Year 1950–1951 (September 1, 1950–August 31, 1951)’ [Klein, LAC – MS 477–84] was enclosed with this letter. Klein indicated that he would be available for bookings ‘throughout the year, upon due notice’ and proposed a fee schedule of $150 for local bookings, $200 for ‘short overnight trips,’ and $250 for ‘longer trips.’ circular: On 24 April [Klein, LAC – MS 485], Freeman sent several samples of advertising ‘circulars’ for speakers represented by the Lecture Bureau, recommending that Klein print ‘at least 2500 since 2000 are distributed by us in our mailing,’ with the remainder used to reply to ‘individual inquiries.’ Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (20 Apr. 1950) enclosed … The Second Scroll: On 11 May 1950 [Knopf, HRC], Herbert Weinstock, an editor for Alfred A. Knopf, responded with a polite rejection: ‘We have now read and discussed your manuscript entitled The Second Scroll. While we all admire your writing, we all feel that this book fails of its intended effect, largely because it sprawls in a structural sense. I’m afraid we could not publish it in a way to satisfy either you or ourselves. I am therefore returning the manuscript to you under separate cover with our thanks.’ Klein subsequently submitted a revised version which Weinstock sent on 26 September to Maurice Samuel [Knopf, HRC] for his opinion: ‘Parts of this manuscript fascinate me, but I am sure that some of it simply goes over my head.’ On the basis of Samuel’s report, Weinstock accepted the novel for publication [6 Oct.; Knopf, HRC]; and used Samuel’s comments on the dustjacket when the novel appeared in 1951: It is a great piece of writing; and any first-rate publishing firm should be proud to have such a work on its list. Among the books that have been written since the creation of the Jewish State, this is the first that rises to the height of the occasion. But it is not propagandistic: it is beautiful, intricate, and fascinating writing. There will be a cultured minority which will understand most of the allusions woven into the arabesque text; but even the uninitiated will get the feel of something unusually rich and significant here. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Centre Lecture Bureau (31 May 1950) fee for engagement … $200: Klein was evidently advised to lower his fees. In subsequent correspondence, his out-of-town fee is $150, plus expenses.

Explanatory Notes pp. 199–200

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West Coast, Los Angeles, and points thereby: He was giving fund-raising speeches for the Joint Distribution Committee. circular prepared … before July 1st: See ‘26 June 1950, Copy Art Photographers’ and ‘18 July, Samuel D. Freeman’ in Appendix B [p. 489], and the letter to Freeman of 6 April [pp. 197–8]. Leon Edel (2 Aug. 1950) Tomorrow … James and Joyce: ‘The Future of the Novel: James and Joyce,’ Tomorrow 9, 12 (August 1950), pp. 52–6. Chassidim … Telser Rebbe … Belser Rebbe: Klein’s conceit of himself and Edel as rabbinical scholars writing glosses or, as here, arguing the merits of their respective Rebbe – Joyce and James – is also used in his letter of 6 July 1948 [p. 200]. your artist Mackey: possibly John Mackey, who in 1948 briefly had been resident caricaturist for Sardi’s Restaurant in New York Files: Harold Files, professor of English at McGill University, had been Klein’s ‘closest colleague in the department’ [LOTD 154–5] during Klein’s lectureship in the mid-1940s. your coming to McGill: Frustrated with the uncertainty of journalism, and anxious to focus on the biography of Henry James recently commissioned by Lippincott, Edel had begun to accept positions as visiting professor at various universities. a course on Ulysses in 1951–52: Klein never gave the course. When Files became head of department, he approached Klein on at least two occasions – in 1947 about teaching a course on Canadian literature [LOTD, p. 129], and in 1950 about teaching Joyce’s Ulysses – but Klein did not return to teaching. New York … in September: This trip probably did not take place. Klein’s next letter to Edel, dated 16 January 1951 [pp. 205–6], discusses his trip to address the James Joyce Society on 2 February. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (11 Oct. 1950) your letter of October 6th: Weinstock’s letter [Knopf, HRC] begins, ‘We should like to publish The Second Scroll. I read the manuscript with mounting interest and a real appreciation for the work you had put into making it more solid structurally. When I had finished, though I was enthusiastic, I felt that my own opinion was not enough – largely because many of the references were over my head, I having had no training in religious matters or in Jewish lore. I therefore asked Maurice Samuel to read the manuscript for me. He turned up most enthusiastic and seconding my opinion that we ought to publish. I discussed the whole matter with Mr. Alfred A. Knopf, and he has authorized me to make you a publication offer.’ He proceeds to discuss details of

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the contract, offering ‘an advance against royalties of $300.00’ and ‘options on your next two prose works, from which the study of Joyce might be excepted.’ Finally, he asks that ‘our stylist’ be allowed to edit Klein’s eccentric punctuation. On 18 October [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock sent the contract, acknowledged receipt of the original manuscript (Klein had submitted a carbon copy), and informed Klein that he would be working with copy-editor Raymond A. Preston. Klein’s advance of $255.00 us ($300 less taxes) was sent on 26 October. that borzoi on leash: The long-haired Russian greyhound has always been the corporate logo of Alfred A. Knopf. Here and elsewhere in his correspondence with his publisher, Klein is echoing the much publicized values of the publishing house. Although the ‘Borzoi Credo’ did not appear until 1957, it built upon Knopf’s well-established reputation: ‘I believe that a publisher’s imprint means something, and that if readers paid more attention to the publisher of the books they buy, their chances of being disappointed would be infinitely less. I believe that good books should be well made, and I try to give every book I publish a format that is distinctive and attractive. I believe that I have never knowingly published an unworthy book.’ [Atlantic Monthly, November 1957] your stylist … carte blanche: Knopf was known for the quality of its book design, employing famous designers and typographers such as Frederic W. Goudy and Bruce Rogers [‘Alfred A. Knopf,’ DLB 46, p. 206]. ayant lu tous les livres: (Fr.) ‘having read all the books’ lay-out of Michelangelo’s ceiling: Klein planned that the form of the commentary on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in ‘Gloss Gimel’ mirror its subjectmatter. See his letters to Weinstock of 10 and 18 April 1951 [p. 210 and 211]. re-read a corrected manuscript: Klein’s original manuscript had been rejected. See the note to the letter to Knopf of 20 April 1950 [p. 198]. exegi monumentum: (Lat.) from Horace’s assertion of the immortality of his poetry: exegi monumentum aere perennius, ‘I have reared a monument more lasting than brass’ John J. Slocum (4 Nov. 1950) loan of the Joyce letter: Ellsworth Mason had sent Klein a transcription of a letter in Slocum’s personal collection in which Joyce explained the structure of ‘The Oxen of the Sun’ to his friend Frank Budgen. See note to ‘letter from Joyce to Budgen’ in the letter to Leon Edel, 6 July 1948 [p. 421]. bibliography: See Klein’s letters to Slocum of 24 December 1947 [p. 150] and 26 January 1948 [pp. 154–5].

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microfilm: See Klein’s letters to Slocum of 7 October [p. 171] and 9 December 1948 [p. 177]. afternoon … in your library: Recognizing Klein’s scholarly commitment to Joyce, Slocum had issued a standing invitation to him to make use of his personal library when he came to New York. The dates of his visit are uncertain, but he mentioned in his letter to Edel on 2 August [p. 200] that he planned to visit the city ‘sometime in September.’ Ulysses, in French: the French translation by Auguste Morel, Stuart Gilbert, and Valéry Larbaud with the collaboration of the author [Paris: La Maison des Amis des Livres, 7, rue de l’Odéon 1929] John J. Slocum (7 Nov. 1950) invitation to … James Joyce Society: On 1 November [Slocum, YaleU], Slocum wrote: ‘Leon Edel and I are both writing you to ask if you will speak at the anniversary meeting of the James Joyce Society on February 2, 1951 … We would like you to talk to us about your work on ULYSSES and to speak from 45 minutes or more depending on how much time you need.’ anniversary: the anniversary of James Joyce’s birth, 2 February 1881 ‘Nestor’ … Vico, Blake, and Joachim Abbas: the topic of Klein’s third published article on Joyce: ‘A Shout in the Street: An Analysis of the Second Chapter of Joyce’s Ulysses,’ New Directions 13 (1951), pp. 327–45. Dr. Peter Kavanaugh: In his letter of 1 November, Slocum had recounted the following anecdote: We had a most interesting meeting of the Society last night at which Horace Gregory read several of Joyce’s poems with humane understanding and wise scholarship. He was accompanied by an Irish gentleman, Dr. Peter Kavanaugh, who roundly denounced Joyce, Joyceans, and obscure autism in modern literature. The meeting developed into one of the liveliest we have ever had, with members attacking and defending Mr. Kavanaugh’s position with vehemence. However, it was a little bit too much like a circus, and we are looking forward to having you provide us with a serious meeting. In his letter of 15 November [Slocum, YaleU], Slocum told of a subsequent meeting with Kavanaugh during which he protested the rudeness of the members. Slocum jokingly warned Klein: ‘So now you know what a tough bunch our Joyce Society is and how, if you refer to all admirers of Joyce as the derrière gard, you may be subject to the same type of barrage as Dr. Kavanaugh.’ John J. Slocum (8 Jan. 1951) analysis … ‘Vico and Ulysses’: See the note to ‘“Nestor” … Vico, Blake, and Joachim Abbas’ in letter to Slocum of 7 November 1950 [p. 451].

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disbursements for the trip: On 1 November 1950 [Slocum, YaleU], Slocum had written on behalf of the Joyce Society indicating that they would pay for Klein’s return ticket. transact some business: Unidentified. Owing to this other ‘business,’ Klein did not stay at Slocum’s home as had originally been arranged. 45 minutes: This was the time suggested by Slocum in his letter of 1 November 1950. On 23 January [Slocum, YaleU], he replied: ‘The actual time length of your talk doesn’t matter as I am sure it will result in many many questions. Anything between half an hour and an hour is perfectly all right with the association, and from what you say of your subject matter I am sure it will be a question of the longer the better.’ Yale Library … address: Slocum was to open an exhibition of his Joyce collection at the Yale Library on the tenth anniversary of Joyce’s death. On 23 January [Slocum, YaleU], Slocum wrote: ‘I wish you would make a serious effort to include a visit to the exhibition at New Haven in the schedule of your trip to New York. We might go up there together February 3rd if that would suit you. There is a lot of material in the collection that is new since you saw it and some of it may be interesting to you in your ULYSSES study, although the most significant predates the publication of that work by some twenty years.’ Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (12 Jan. 1951) passage on page 50: The passage in question is: ‘… reclining against a wall waiting for tomorrow against a wall to recline’ [SS, p. 39]. On 10 January 1951 [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock had forwarded an inquiry from Klein’s copyeditor, Raymond A. Preston: ‘Mr. Preston feels (a) that he may be missing a reference or (b) that some punctuation might make this clear or (c) that it is simply a mistyping. Will you clarify?’ chiasmus: from the Greek, ‘crossing’: a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases minor corrections and changes: See the note to ‘demurrers and … second-sight changes’ in the letter to Weinstock of 22 January [p. 453]. February 2nd … James Joyce Society: Weinstock wrote Klein on 24 January to say that he would be out of town on a two-week trip to Texas, and would be unable to meet him. Mr. Preston: Klein’s copy-editor; see the note to ‘passage on page 50’ above. Leon Edel (16 Jan. 1951) Miss Kiel … The Society: Muriel Kiel, secretary of the James Joyce Society business to transact: unidentified

Explanatory Notes pp. 205–7

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dominie: ‘a schoolmaster; a pedagogue’ [OED] detailed analysis of the Nestor chapter: See Klein’s letters to John Slocum of 7 November 1950 [p. 202] and 8 January 1951 [p. 203]. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (22 Jan. 1951) my manuscript: On January 15 [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock had sent the copyedited manuscript of the opening chapters, asking for ‘any criticisms, suggestions, and demurrers.’ changed words and reconstituted sentences: As the Klein fonds contain the original manuscript for only one chapter of the novel, ‘Exodus,’ these cannot be fully identified. The revisions to ‘Exodus’ are numerous but minor [Klein, LAC – MS 3597–608; SS, pp. 115–18]. Geiger of three dots: ellipses are compared to an instrument for detecting radiation two sheets … demurrers … second-sight changes: These include the ‘minor corrections and changes’ Klein asked permission to make in his letter of 12 January [p. 452]. The Klein fonds contain a two-page list of words and phrases keyed to the ‘Exodus’ typescript [Klein, LAC – MS 3609–10]; however, these do not provide any indication of the original wording. On 24 January [Knopf, HRC], acknowledging receipt of the copy-edited manuscript for the first half of the novel, Weinstock responded: ‘Mr. Preston has gone over your sheets of demurrers and second-sight changes, and has made everything read as you wished it.’ publication date: Weinstock replied that a date had not yet been set, but it was likely to be early in the Fall [24 Jan. 1951; Knopf, HRC]. Knox Burger, COLLIER’S (25 Jan. 1951) Knox Burger, Collier’s: Knox Burger was fiction editor for Collier’s, founded in 1888 as a magazine of ‘fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humour, news.’ short story: A year earlier, Klein had sent this same story, ‘Letter from Afar,’ to his literary agent, Elizabeth McKee of the firm McKee and Batchelder, noting that it was suited to such publications as the Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s. Klein’s description of the story is virtually identical in the two letters. See the notes to Klein’s letter to Miss McKee, 15 December 1949 [p. 195]. John J. Slocum (29 Jan. 1951) dinner appointment: Slocum had written to make arrangements to take Klein to dinner before his address to the Joyce Society on 2 February. exhibition at New Haven: See the note to ‘Yale Library … address’ in the letter to Slocum of 8 January [p. 452].

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John J. Slocum (8 Feb. 1951) evening … Joyce’s birthday: Klein had addressed the James Joyce Society on 2 February, Joyce’s birthday. Slocum responded on 10 February [Knopf, HRC]: ‘I was embarrassed to receive your letter yesterday as it is I who should have written you and thanked you for having made the Joyce Society meeting the most successful we have had in years. You absolutely had the graduate students, who believe themselves to be expert in research, bowled over, and I feel that they will be far more modest in the future in their appraisals of their own work.’ BBC broadcast: The reference to ‘utterers’ in the plural suggests that Slocum may have shown Klein an advance copy of the script of the two-hour Third Programme broadcast, ‘Portrait of James Joyce,’ scheduled for 13 February 1950. Involving over 30 interviews with Joyce’s friends and acquaintances, the documentary consisted of two parts: ‘Portrait of James Joyce as a Young Man’ (edited by W.R. Rodgers; produced by Maurice Brown; narrated by Duncan McIntyre; and later published as a chapter in Rodgers’ book, Irish Literary Portraits [BBC 1972]), and ‘The Artist in Maturity.’ photostats … apocalyptic: Pages from the original manuscript of Stephen Hero, an early version of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. On 10 February [Slocum, YaleU], Slocum writes to provide ‘the provenance’: To the best of my knowledge this is all that survives of the original part of the manuscript. As you know, the published version runs from pages 516 to 904 (approximately). When Ted Spencer edited these for Harvard he stated that he believed that this was all that existed, and the discovery of the pages I sent you represent to Joyceans a major literary discovery. Besides yourself, they have been read by no one except Herbert Cahoon, Richard Kain and a few of the people at Yale. The earlier pages must be presumed lost. My source of this manuscript states that he does not have any more of it, and my feeling is that Joyce may quite well have destroyed them as he incorporated the material into A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN. To me it is particularly significant that the passage begins with the next to last paragraph of A PORTRAIT. This should have some bearing on speculation concerning how much of the original material was incorporated into THE PORTRAIT as written … edit the thing … published: Theodore Spencer’s edition of Stephen Hero from the manuscripts in the Harvard University Library was subsequently revised to take into account this new material: Stephen Hero: Part of the First Draft of ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ by James Joyce, edited with an introduc-

Explanatory Notes pp. 208–10

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tion by Theodore Spencer; revised edition with additional material and a foreword by John J. Slocum and Herbert Cahoon [New York: New Directions 1955; London: Jonathan Cape 1956]. Laughlin: James Laughlin’s New Directions Press had been the American publisher of Stephen Hero in 1944. As Klein predicted, he published the revised edition in 1955 (see the previous note). Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (7 Apr. 1951) initial letter of each chapter … Star of David: Weinstock replied [13 Apr. 1951; Knopf, HRC] that change was impossible for two reasons – the authority of the designer and publisher, and the costs involved in changing it: At Mr. Alfred A. Knopf’s special request, your book was designed, typography included, by Mr. Lucian Bernhard, a very distinguished designer. The Star of David was his idea and appeared on a sample page approved by Mr. Knopf. I do not share your feeling that it is too obvious. While I should like to please you in all details, I am afraid I cannot in this matter, as the use of any other form of initial letter would require expensive and slow resetting. I trust that this will not displease you too much. Lucian Bernhard, a famous designer of typography, was indeed a name to conjure with; as Weinstock implies, it was an extraordinary compliment to Klein’s book that he had been asked to design it. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (10 Apr. 1951) Sistine Chapel ... Latin quotations: ‘Gloss Gimel’ [SS, pp. 73, 74, 75, 76, 77]. Weinstock replied [13 Apr. 1951; Knopf, HRC] that ‘the narrowness of the typepage makes the scheme used in your manuscript impossible’: The impossibility is not as obvious in galleys as it would be in pages, where utterly impossible arrangements would occur if a page-break came in the middle of either a left-hand or a right-hand quote. I have two suggestions to make to you. We could use small cap running heads above the individual quotations – perhaps The Prophet above the first one in each case, The Sibyl in the second. Or we could reset the first two quotations (galley 43), putting the Prophet or The Prophet, followed by a colon, before the quotation, and Sibyl or The Sibyl before the second. If this second scheme were adopted we could introduce the quotations on galleys 44 and 45 with initials – P: and S:. See the letter to Weinstock of 18 April [p. 211]. Thirtieth Psalm … cloister black: Weinstock replied [13 Apr. 1951; Knopf, HRC], ‘We shall be happy to reset the Thirtieth Psalm in cloister black.’

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Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (14 Apr. 1951) page 109 of the manuscript: See ‘Gloss Dalid,’ SS, p. 81. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (18 Apr. 1951) The Star of David: See the letter to Weinstock of 7 April [p. 209]. The borzoi: Although the borzoi logo appeared on the dust-jacket, Knopf had agreed not to use ‘our dog trademark on the title page underneath the Scroll’ [Weinstock to Klein, 13 Apr. 1951; Knopf, HRC]. The Prophets and the Sibyls: See the letter to Weinstock of 10 April [p. 210]. Material for extra page: In a second letter of 13 April [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock had written to request that Klein supply a second epigraph: ‘… your book will have a title page in two colours. Mr. Bernhard would like also to use the second colour on the contents page. Mechanically this will be possible only if there is a page with some printing on it between the title and the contents page. We do not wish to move the quotation [from Areopagitica] off the title page. Would it be possible for you to supply any meaningful or significant note or dedication or other material, very short, that could appear on this extra page, which would face the copyright page, which in turn backs up the title page?’ Rebono shel olam … Thou!: a translation of part of the Yiddish folk-song a du-du, attributed to the Chassidic master Rabbi Lev Yitzchak of Berditchev. In ‘The Yiddish Proverb’ [LER, p. 121], Klein describes how the rabbi summons ‘his maker … to a law-suit to answer for His treatment of Jewry’: ‘For the Jew, however, such intimacies had in them nothing of the audacious; was not God a constant Presence, a present help? His rabbis were more than rabbis, they were cronies of the Lord, familiars in heaven, able to address the Rebono Shel Olam in the second person singular: I will sing thee, says Rabbi Levi Yitschok of Berditchev, a thou-song.’ (For Klein’s translation of the song, see CP 2.839.) Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (19 June 1951) your fir-tree: the corporate logo of The Ryerson Press Alan Crawley (23 July 1951) the C.V. anthology: The possibility of an anthology of the poetry of ‘the forties’ is first mentioned in the letter to Crawley, 10 December 1948 [p. 178]. the special number: Crawley was soliciting material for a special number of Contemporary Verse celebrating its tenth anniversary [Alan Crawley and ‘Contemporary Verse’ (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press 1976), p. 44]. Klein wrote little poetry after 1950 and did not publish again in Contemporary Verse, which closed in February 1953 with the belated publication of number 29.

Explanatory Notes pp. 213–15

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Leon Edel (25 July 1951) reprint of the James article: Edel’s recently published article ‘The Architecture of Henry James’ “New York Edition,”’ New England Quarterly 24, 2 (June 1951). James had in mind … Twenty-three!: James had planned that the New York edition of his novels and tales would comprise twenty-three volumes. twenty-three skidoo!: 1920s slang: ‘an exclamation of uncertain meaning; later used [to mean] go away, “scram”’ [OED] Hochelaga: Montreal; from the name of the original Iroquois village on the site James Laughlin IV, New Directions (2 Aug. 1951) Vico essay for inclusion in N.D. 13: ‘A Shout in the Street,’ appeared in New Directions 13 (1951), pp. 327–45. Irving Layton: (1912–2006) Montreal poet, short-story writer, and essayist; a member in the 1940s of the First Statement group. Layton’s credo was that a poet should disturb complacency, resulting, as Klein observed in his review of Here & Now [1945], in ‘a sense of adventure spiced with a refreshing cynicism’ [CJC, 8 June 1945; LER, p. 213]. Layton published over fifty poetry collections after 1945, including A Red Carpet for the Sun [Toronto: McClelland & Stewart 1959], which won the Governor General’s Award for poetry. the N.D. Anthology: No poems by Layton appear in the anthologies for 1951 or 1952. However, ‘The Trumpet Daffodil,’ ‘Terrene,’ and ‘To a Very Old Lady’ were published in the 1953 anthology [ND 14 (1953), pp. 132–4]. Laughlin published Layton’s Selected Poems in 1977. J’ocean: An allusion to the ‘Neptune’ section; as usual, the self-deprecating ‘(sic)’ draws attention to the pun. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (14 Aug. 1951) first five copies: On 9 August [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock had written to announce that Klein’s complimentary copies were being sent: ‘I shall be very much interested to know how you like the looks of the book.’ Mr. Bernhard: the book’s designer. See the note to ‘initial letter of each chapter … Star of David’ in the letter to Weinstock of 7 April 1951 [p. 455]. boustrophedontism: from ‘boustrophedon,’ a noun derived from the Greek adverb, ‘ox-turning’; hence, ‘written alternately from right to left and from left to right, like the course of the plough in successive furrows; as in various ancient inscriptions in Greek and other languages’ [OED]. On 22 August [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock replied: ‘Your letter of August 14th caused a good deal of hilarity in this office. Nobody here knew the meaning of boustrophedontism. We also had difficulty with one or two other words!’ in old gold the dignified scroll: Klein is referring to the effect of Lucian Bernhard’s

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two-colour design of the title page, in which the title and first epigraph appear on a green-gold scroll. chatoyance: a variant on the rare ‘chatoyment’: ‘changing or undulating lustre; play of colour’ [OED] Guy Sylvestre (30 Aug. 1951) request for a poem … L.N.R.C.: Sylvestre was soliciting contributions for a new literary journal based in Ottawa, La nouvelle revue canadienne: National Review of Literature (Feb. 1951–July 1954). Smith: A.J.M. Smith, from whom Sylvestre also wished to solicit contributions for his new journal Leon Edel (30 Aug. 1951) issue of Envoy: Envoy: An Irish Review of Literature and Art 5, 17 (Apr. 1951), a special number dedicated to James Joyce. The copy sent by Edel to Klein is in the A.M. Klein fonds (Library and Archives Canada). those letters: ‘Some Unpublished Letters of James Joyce,’ Envoy 5, 17 (Apr. 1951), pp. 46–61. The selection includes letters addressed to Joyce’s aunt, Josephine Murray; his patron, Harriet Weaver; Irish novelist Forest Reid; Miss Fanny Guillermet; and his close friend, Frank Budgen. The fascestcule: The word may be one of Klein’s neologisms, combining ‘festschrift’ (‘a collection of writings’ in honour of ‘a scholar or savant on the occasion of his attaining a certain age or period in his career’ [OED]) and ‘fascicule’ (‘a bundle’ [OED]). reference to me: In his article ‘A Short View of the Progress of Joyceanity’ [pp. 13–18], Denis Johnston critiques Klein’s analysis of ‘Oxen of the Sun’ in a fictional scenario: Gogarty slapped down a quarterly on the counter of the New York chophouse, and jabbed it with an indignant finger. ‘That’s what we’ve come to,’ he said. ‘The fellow once spent an evening with me in Holles Street Hospital. And now some character in Canada is probably getting a Ph.D. for analysing his profound knowledge of midwifery.’ I opened the periodical and glanced through the essay that had caused him such annoyance. Written by a Montreal attorney who combines poetry-writing with law, it proved to be an elaborate study of the Oxen of the Sun chapter in Ulysses, and was described in the poopsheet as the Appendix to a forthcoming critical examination of the whole book. Although it was obviously the flower of much learning, it could hardly be recommended as light and informative reading-matter, as it was couched in that

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irritating jargon that prefers expressions like ‘he essays no explication’ and ‘illustration seems to confirm the surmisal,’ to the simpler phraseology that you or I would use. And as if this were not trying enough, the author also had a way of putting the lay reader in his place by throwing out breezy asides such as: ‘Joyce is illustrating Haeckel’s fundamental biogenic law that ontogeny is a recapitulation of phylogeny.’ Nowadays the scholars and critics have gone one better than lawyers in this trick of turning their job into a mystery by a powerful use of hard words, and in this Mr. Klein had obviously a peculiar advantage by excelling in both fields. Nevertheless, he had much of interest to say about this meaty chapter, in which he had found embryological and geological parallels relating to each of the nine months of pregnancy. And in his genuine regard for every syllable of our bad boy from Belvedere, he is typical of the present attitude of almost all literate North Americans. [pp. 13–14] Balaam’s ass: One of Klein’s favourite insults; see the note to ‘Balaam ... Balaam’s ass’ in letter to Isidore Goldstick, 30 January 1946 [p. 405]. Gogarty: Oliver St John Gogarty (1878–1957), a friend of Joyce during his youth in Ireland and a model for the character of Buck Mulligan; but also Denis Johnston’s spokesman in his critique of Klein’s analysis of ‘The Oxen of the Sun.’ See note on the ‘reference to me’ above [pp. 458–9]. essay, by W.B. Stanford: In ‘The Mysticism That Pleased Him’ [Envoy, 5, 17 (Apr. 1951), 62–79], Stanford wonders: Where did Joyce find the mysticism that pleased him? The answer is to be found in the syllabus for the Intermediate Examination in 1894. The course set for English literature in the Preparatory Grade included the first seven chapters of Lamb’s Adventures of Ulysses, in Andrew Lang’s or John Cooke’s edition. Joyce, then twelve years old, took the Second Paper in English on the afternoon of Wednesday, the thirteenth (the date he dreaded later) of June, 1894. He had to answer five general questions, all far from ‘mystical,’ on the wanderings of Ulysses … [p. 65] Lamb’s Ulysses: The Adventures of Ulysses by Charles Lamb [Dublin: Browne and Nolan 1892] Hibernian: Irish immigrants from Minsk … Chaim Weizmann: Weizmann (1874–1952), a distinguished scientist, the long-time president of the World Zionist Organization (1920–30, 1935–46), and the first president of the State of Israel, was born in the Russian province of Minsk. Who … said … to understand infinity – … human stupidity: Voltaire comments of Joyce’s sisters: The ‘comments’ by Joyce’s sisters are from the Irish Press (14 Jan. 1941), and are included in the special issue of Envoy under the

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heading ‘Sisters of James Joyce Mourn for Two Brothers.’ Klein’s quotation of Eva Joyce’s reminiscence of her brother appears on page 78. the mick bully boys: ‘Mick’ is a ‘shortened form of the proper name Michael, used as a humorous (and at times derisive) term for an Irishman. A ‘bully boy’ is a ‘companion or mate,’ but also, more appropriately here where Klein is complaining of the antisemitism of the Irish critics, ‘a ruffian hired for purposes of violence or intimidation’ [OED] Levin … ‘an antichrist’: Niall Montgomery, in his article ‘Joyeux Quicum Ulysse,’ testily observes: ‘Dublin is the wittiest city in christendom, said a learned antichrist, according to its inhabitants’ [p. 32]. Klein identifies the critic being lampooned as Harry Levin, a leading Joyce scholar. See note to ‘Harry Levin’ in letter to John J. Slocum, 24 December 1947 [p. 412]. ‘an antichrist’: The Catholic Church traditionally blamed the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus; hence, Levin as a Jew is ‘an enemy or opponent of Christ’ [OED]. distinctions … Dublin and ‘oriental’ readers: The privileging of Irish over ‘eastern’ readers (an indirect reference to Jewish critics) is evident in Denis Johnston’s critique of Klein’s own work [see the note to ‘reference to me’ above], but also in Andrew Cass’s article ‘Child Horrid’s Pilgrimage’ [pp. 19–30]. This is to symbolize: ‘This’ is a blot on the page where Klein had stroked out two sentences (now illegible). Leon Edel (17 Sept. 1951) your one critical objection: Edel felt that Uncle Melech and his nephew should meet. Klein’s analysis in the rest of this letter is an extended defence of his refusal to enact closure. the Joycean-Aristotelian term: The term ‘recognition’ is based on the Latin recognitio, which literally means ‘knowing again, recollecting.’ In his linking of Joyce and Aristotle, Klein may be suggesting – to Edel, his fellow Joyce enthusiast – a similarity to Joyce’s concept of ‘epiphany.’ (See the note to ‘an epiphany’ in the letter to Mason of 6 April [p. 442].) a record, a memento of my pilgrimage, a scripture: The Second Scroll is based in part on the journal of Klein’s own ‘fact finding’ tour of Europe, North Africa, and Israel in 1949 on behalf of the CJC, which was published in serialized form as ‘Notebook of a Journey’ [CJC, 12 Aug.– 23 Dec. 1949; BS, pp. 340–83; Appendix A, SS, pp. 181–203]. jacket … scroll … flame … primordial parchment: See Klein’s letter to Herbert Weinstock of Knopf, 14 August 1951 [pp. 214–15]. the recapitulation – Israel: ‘Deuteronomy’ comes from the Greek for ‘second law.’ In describing the modern return of Jews to Israel as a ‘recapitulation,’ Klein

Explanatory Notes pp. 218–19

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is playing on the concept of doubling implicit in the name of his final chapter. Pentateuch … commentary – the glosses: As the novel’s progress parallels the process by which the people of Israel are lead into the promised land in the Pentateuch, so the ‘glosses’ parallel Talmudic commentary. passing strange … came … to pass: the first phrase is from Shakespeare’s Othello: ‘’twas strange, ’twas passing strange’ [1.3.160]; and ‘it came to pass’ is a refrain in the first three books of the Torah, as God’s divine plan unfolds. Messiah … creativity of the incognitos of the folk: Compare the narrator’s celebration of the creative re-invention of the ancient language of Hebrew in the new state of Israel: ‘… the creative activity, archetypal, all-embracing, that hitherto I had sought in vain, at last manifested itself … It was here all the time – the fashioning folk, anonymous and unobserved, creating word by word, phrase by phrase, the total work that when completed would stand as epic revealed’ [SS, p. 55]. The word ‘incognito’ is also used to indicate the messianic potential of the ‘folk’ in Klein’s description of the lists of refugees – ‘these catalogues of incognitos’ – through which he searches in hopes of finding his uncle. The list he includes in the novel has thirty-six names, each of which embodies some aspect of the messianic character. erlebnis: (Ger.) ‘experience.’ Klein’s description of his writing process as a ‘gathering up [of] the scattered fragments’ of his experience into ‘a unified Action’ is quite accurate. The novel incorporates previously written poems, the published journal of his own trip to Israel, and images and themes from his journalism [SS, pp. vii–xxvi]. This description also recalls the kabbalistic myth of ‘The Breaking of the Vessels’ (shevirah) which is the origin of evil in the world, and the redemptive role of the Jewish people in ‘gathering’ the pieces. See the introductory note to ‘Gloss Gimel’ [SS, pp. 159–61]. chasing of the money-lenders from the Temple: See Matthew 21.12, Mark 11.15. After Melech Davidson loses his faith and joins the Communist Party, his family hears of him only twice: ‘once when a dialectical essay of his appeared in English translation, and again when I read an account of the strike that he had organized among the employees of the Warsaw Bourse, where he had succeeded in keeping commodity transactions at a standstill for over a week’ [SS, p. 11]. rises from the grave: In a long delayed letter to his family in Montreal, Davidson recalls the massacre of the village of Kamenets in 1943: ‘“It was the middle of the night when I rose from the grave. All was now silence; the groans had ceased; the earth trembled no more. I rose up and, a shadow of the shadows of the night, I made my way toward the neighbouring forest”’ [SS, p. 19].

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the Anointed One: Anointing with oil is part of the ritual of consecration of a priest or a king; the king is designated by the formula ‘the Lord’s anointed’ (origin of the Hebrew term mashiah and the Greek cristos) in the Old Testament histories and psalms. ubiquitous élan: See the note to ‘Messiah … creativity of the incognitos of the folk’ above [p. 461]. fabulous uncle: Literally, Melech Davidson is ‘spoken of or celebrated in fable or myth; fabled, mythical’ [OED]. Chetiv … Keri: ‘And ask a Talmudist what ails the modesty of his marginal Keri that Moses and all the prophets cannot persuade him to pronounce the textual Chetiv’ [Milton, Areopagitica]. Keri (‘it is read’) and Chetiv (‘it is written’) are Aramaic terms used by traditional Jewish commentators (the masoretes) to indicate problematical readings in the Hebrew Bible. Chetiv refers to a word which appears to be written incorrectly and should be read (Keri) a different way. A.J.M. Smith (18 Sept. 1951) conspectus: ‘a general view or comprehensive survey (with the mind’s eye)’ [OED] Melech Davidson … king … messianic search: See the more detailed explication of Davidson’s messianic identity in the letters to Leon Edel, 17 September [pp. 217–21] and 19 October 1951 [pp. 227–8]. photograph … a double, a multiple exposure: the same phrase occurs in Klein’s explications of his novel to Leon Edel [17 Sept. and 19 Oct.] and Morris Laub [9 Oct.]. search for Israel’s poetic principle: The narrator of the novel, Davidson’s nephew, has been commissioned by his publisher ‘to undertake, for my spiritual advantage and his profit, a pilgrimage to Israel. It would be a good idea, he thought, if at this conjuncture in history I were to produce, after sojourning in the land, a volume of translations of the poems and songs of Israel’s latest nest of singing birds’ [SS, p. 14]. the stations of your Messiah: Klein compares the sufferings of Melech Davidson to the ‘stations of the Cross,’ which mark Jesus’ progress from condemnation to crucifixion. However, the list that follows corresponds more generally to events in the life of Jesus. Chetiv … Keri: See the note to ‘Chetiv … Keri’ in the letter to Leon Edel, 17 September [p. 462]. evangel: ‘the “good news” of redemption to the world through Jesus Christ; the religious teaching contained in the New Testament; the Christian religion’ [OED]

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Conrad: Polish-born novelist Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) Leon Edel (24 Sept. 1951) do … up brown: (slang) ‘“to do thoroughly,” suggested by roasting’ [OED] first of the reviews: Edel’s review of The Second Scroll: ‘Beautiful tale of a 20th Century Wandering Jew,’ Compass (23 Sept. 1951), p. 29 [rpt. in CJC, 5 Oct. 1951, p. 4] Leon Edel (8 Oct. 1951) marginal note: a gloss; an allusion to the play on the terms Chetiv and Keri in his letter to Edel of 17 September [p. 462] my own para-digmatic annotation (sic): an allusion to Klein’s commentary in his letter to Edel of 17 September [pp. 217–21] Balaam’s ass neighing: Ironically, in the tale of Balaam and his ass, the ass really does know better than his master [Numbers 22.21–35]. review … Gazette: Roy Kerwin’s review in the Montreal Gazette (29 Sept. 1951), p. 28. Kerwin wrote: ‘Mr. Klein would do his people and all Canadians more good if he wrote more as a Canadian and less as a Zionist … [His] talent is of world-wide value, but he aims at such a narrow field.’ S. Morgan Powell … ‘to do a job on me’: In fact, whatever the personal bias of Morgan Powell (1867–1962), long-time literary editor, the review in the Montreal Star was extremely positive [‘A Notable Contribution to War Literature by a Jew’ (Saturday, 13 Oct. 1951), p. 35]. Habent sua fata libelli: (Lat.) ‘each book has its particular fate’ the fourteen stations: Klein is comparing his own sufferings to the ‘fourteen stations of the Cross,’ which mark Jesus’ progress from condemnation to crucifixion. The analogy seems to have been suggested by his explanation to AJ.M. Smith of the messianic nature of Melech Davidson [18 Sept.]. Philip Friedman (9 Oct. 1951) Dr. Friedman: Historian Philip Friedman (1901–60), called the father of Holocaust literature, was engaged in an exhaustive compilation of material – written and oral – having to do with the Holocaust. His studies of the persecution of the gypsies were reprinted in Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust [ed. Ada June Friedman (New York: JPS 1980)]. information … liquidation of the gypsies: In a draft reply in the YIVO Archives, Friedman offers a list of his own articles on the subject, commenting that his work on a ‘bibliography of pertaining articles in periodicals’ was not yet complete because he was ‘busy with other projects.’ He reviews the sources

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of data, and wonders whether Klein would be willing to invest the ‘time and energy’ to review them or pay someone else to do so. Morris Laub (9 Oct. 1951) Morris Laub: Director for North African Operations for the American Joint Distribution Committee ( JDC) during Klein’s visit to Casablanca in 1949, Laub showed him around the Jewish quarter. In ‘A.M. Klein: A Recollection,’ Laub wrote: ‘I quickly recognized him to be an unusual man. The six hours which I spent with him on two different days are unforgettable. He was charming, witty, eloquent, erudite, a bit of a bon vivant and an unparalleled prober of Jewish values’ [Congress Bi-Weekly, 22 Dec.1972, 20–1]. first … my chronology was wrong: On 8 October, Laub had written to renew his acquaintance with Klein and correct two errors in The Second Scroll. The ‘first’ was that the conversion to Christianity of Zolli, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, occurred in 1944 rather than 1947 or 1948, as Klein had implied. second …Uncle Melech … killed by Jews: Laub’s ‘second point’ of disagreement in his letter of 8 October ‘is that I detect a possible Christian interpretation of Melech Davidson’s death at the hand of Jews. A king, the son of Jews, who tries to save the Jews, is once again killed by the Jews. Am I reading things non-existent into the tale? I cannot let your book go as mere fiction and apply to it the adage of oyf a mayse fregt men nit kayn kashes [with stories you don’t ask questions]’ [p. 20]. Alternatively, he asks whether ‘the allegory refer[s] to the Messiah, Mashiach be David, who, like many others of his generation, dabbles at many things, only to go home again to find his return still premature? Am I like your Comrade Krul applying ‘finicky legalism’ and pilpul? You see your story goes deep and has set me thinking’ [p. 21]. clearly indicated, p. 118: See SS, pp. 60–1. deeper understanding … messianic parable: See the notes to Klein’s fuller version of this exegesis of the messianic parallels in The Second Scroll in his letter to Leon Edel of 17 September [pp. 217–21]. élan vital: (Fr.) ‘the vital impulse’ lamed vav’nik: See the note to ‘Lamed Vav’nik’ in the letter to Louis Levinthal, 7 Aug. 1942. [p. 361]. Keri … Ketib: See the note to ‘Chetiv and Keri’ in the letter to Leon Edel, 17 Sept. 1951 [p. 462]. my evangel (sic): See the note to ‘evangel’ in the letter to A.J.M. Smith, 18 Sept. 1951 [p. 462]. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (9 Oct. 1951) letter of Mr. Weintraub: On 8 October, Weinstock had forwarded a letter from

Explanatory Notes pp. 225–7

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the editor of the Chicago Jewish Forum informing Knopf that the American rights to ‘Autobiographical,’ published as ‘Gloss Aleph’ in The Second Scroll, belonged to his magazine [Knopf, HRC]. ‘Autobiographical’: [CP 2.896–7; SS, pp. 63–5] appeared in the Chicago Jewish Forum 3 (Winter 1944–5), pp. 102–3. ‘Elegy’ … New Palestine: ‘Elegy’ [CP 2.919; ‘Gloss Beth,’ SS, pp. 66–70] appeared both in New Palestine, 4 Apr. 1947, pp. 106–7 and Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 25 Apr. 1947, pp. 8–9. ‘Grace Before Poison’ … Poetry Magazine: ‘Grace Before Poison’ [CP 2.884; SS, p. 101], the third of six poems making up ‘Gloss Hai,’ had been published in Poetry 58 (Apr. 1941), pp. 6–7. my other books … made … acknowledgments: Klein’s memory here is selective. He had repeatedly assumed that he retained copyright of his published poems. Homer nods: ‘Sometimes even the noble Homer nods’ [Horace, Ars Poetica, 1.359] Blackstone snores: Sir William Blackstone (1723–80) was the author of Commentaries on the Law’s of England (1765–9), the dominant law book in England and America in the century after its publication. New Palestine … Ludwig Lewisohn: Lewisohn served as editor of New Palestine from 1943 to 1948. Karl Shapiro of Poetry: Shapiro was editor of Poetry from 1950 to 1956. way … in which I can make amends: On 29 October, Weinstock wrote: ‘It now seems likely that we shall have to go back to press with a second printing of The Second Scroll.’ He asked for ‘a brief acknowledgment to all of the publications in which any parts of the book appear[ed] before our publication of it.’ Leon Edel (19 Oct. 1951) Habent sua fata libelli: (Lat.) ‘each book has its particular fate.’ The expression is also used in Klein’s letter to Edel of 8 Oct. 1951 [p. 223]. Aeolian: ‘Of Aeolus, the mythic god of the winds; hence of, produced by, or borne on the wind, or by currents of air; aerial’ [OED] explications I gave you: See Klein’s letter to Edel of 17 Sept. 1951 [pp. 217–21]. as Joyce’s to Larbaud: In November 1921, James Joyce sent French writer and translator Valéry Larbaud (1881–1957) a detailed explanation of the allusive scheme of Ulysses. Larbaud supervised the French translation. Melech Davidson: According to prophecy, the Messiah will be of the royal line of David [2 Samuel 7.4–17; Psalms 18.50] and will restore Israel to the promised land [Jeremiah 33, Ezekiel 37.24–6]. my fallen crown: Mayn croyn, ‘my crown’ [SS, p. 10], is a Yiddish term of endear-

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ment; but the phrase also recalls the messianic prophecies. See the note to ‘Melech Davidson’ above. the mellah: The impoverished Jewish ghetto of Casablanca is the setting for the ‘Numbers’ chapter. Here Davidson fulfils another aspect of messianic prophecy by living among and defending the disenfranchised. Spiro cites Sanhedrin 98a: ‘“And by what sign may I recognize him?” – “He is sitting among the poor lepers.”’ a pseudo-messiah: On arriving in Israel, the narrator advertises for his uncle in the Palestine Post and Davar. On ‘the third day … a man presented himself … a blue-eyed , frank-faced person … [who] unfortunately knew very little about himself, Melech Davidson’ [SS, pp. 96–7]. the Messiah, literally … ‘anointed’: SS, p. 61. See the note to ‘the Anointed One’ in Klein’s letter to Edel, 17 September [p. 462]. announced in gematria: Gematria is the Kabbalistic method of interpreting the numerical significance of Hebrew letters. In Bari, Italy, at a refugee camp, the narrator tries ‘to compose backwards from these human indices the book of our chronicles.’ One of the ‘tattooed arms’ bears the number 12165, which Klein interprets in this letter [SS, pp. 15–16]. In the analogy to that other ‘second scroll,’ the Christian New Testament, this man would be a silent version of John the Baptist, preparing the way of the messiah. legacy … a liturgy: ‘Gloss Hai,’ the secondary text appended to the chapter entitled ‘Deuteronomy,’ consists of ‘drafts for a liturgy’ [SS, p. 61, Klein’s footnote] composed by Uncle Melech. characters … same name: Krul [SS, p. 125]; Krongold [SS, p. 132]; Ketter [SS, p. 148]; Dauphin [SS, p. 138] a double – a multiple exposure: ‘All my life I had waited for this picture, and now at last I was to see him, Uncle Melech plain! … But his face – Uncle Melech had again eluded me. It was a double, a multiple exposure!’ [SS, pp. 38–9]. list of names … 36 of them: ‘roll-calls, lists of refugees, official records … I would go through these catalogues of incognitos; they were all alike; Uncle Melech was nowhere listed, yet each name seemed somehow his alias’ [SS, p. 49]. the twelve tribes … with gems and devices: The novel ends with Melech Davidson’s funeral service, which is described as an ingathering of the scattered tribes of Israel, recalling Numbers 10.11–29, in which each tribe travels under its own banner, and Deuteronomy 33, where the tribes assemble for Moses’ dying blessing. The ‘devices and gems’ [SS, p. 61] recall the ‘gems’ in the breastplate of Aaron [Exodus 39.6–14] and ‘devices’ worn by Jacob’s sons when they gather for his blessing [Genesis 49]. Werfel or Stern: Poet and novelist Franz Werfel (1890–1945) is best known for his novel The Song of Bernadette (1941) and the popular film based on it (1944).

Explanatory Notes pp. 228–9

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Klein may, however, be thinking instead of his contribution to The Ten Commandments: Ten Short Novels of Hitler’s War against the Moral Code, in which ten internationally prominent novelists including Thomas Mann, Rebecca West, and André Maurois explored the implications of the Holocaust. Rabbi Harry Joshua Stern (1897–1984) was the author of Martyrdom and Miracle [New York: Bloch 1950]. Flogged: The flogging of Jesus of Nazareth [Matthew 26.67; Mark 14.65; Luke 22.63–5; John 18.22, 23]. The persecution of Melech Davidson and the Jewish people was fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah 50.6 and 52.14 that the messiah would be brutalized. Temptation of Settano: The temptation of the narrator by Settano (‘Satan’) [SS, pp. 26–30 parallels the more sophisticated intellectual and spiritual temptation of Melech Davidson by Monsignor Piersanti [SS, pp. 22–5]. in the role of John the Baptist: While Settano threatens the narrator, he gazes at his reflection in a display window full of silver trays: ‘It was with great unease that I observed that my own head, level with the tray, seemed to be mirrored as lying upon it’ [SS, p. 29]. moneylenders out of the temple: See note to ‘chasing of the money-lenders from the Temple’ in Klein’s letter to Edel, 17 September [p. 461]. the first David … colophon: The novel ends with a section entitled ‘For the Day’ which consists of Psalm 30 in the King James translation: ‘I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me …’ Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (19 Oct. 1951) Letter of the 16th: Discovering that Klein had failed to secure permissions to reprint the previously published poems, Weinstock had written: ‘I am sure the entire thing can be ironed out. I think that you ought to write to Mr. Weintraub and Mr. Shapiro, explaining the situation. If you wish to write to Mr. Lewisohn, do so. I think, in that connection, that you would be interested in the enclosed [a letter of congratulation to Alfred A. Knopf on Klein’s book]. You can, of course, tell all three gentlemen that we should be happy to insert the proper acknowledgment in any future printing’ [16 Oct. 1951; Knopf, HRC]. See the letters to Weinstock of 9 October [pp. 225–6], 1 and 13 November [pp. 230–1, 233]. reviews … favourable: The Canadian notices to date included mixed reviews from Roy Kerwin in the Montreal Gazette [29 Sept. 1951, p. 28] and James Scott, ‘The Eternal Search for the Promised Land’ in the Toronto Telegram [6 Oct. 1951, p. 30], and fulsome praise from B.K. Sandwell, ‘About Eternal Murder,’ in Saturday Night [13 Oct. 1951, p. 27].

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Leon Edel’s in The Daily Compass: ‘Beautiful Tale of a 20th Century Wandering Jew,’ Compass, 23 Sept. 1951, p. 29 [rpt. CJC, 5 Oct. 1951, p. 4] Rupert Caplan … Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: Weinstock replied that Mr. Caplan should address his inquiries about broadcast rights to William A. Koshland in Knopf’s copyright and permissions department. See Klein’s letter to Koshland of 2 March 1952 [p. 245]. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (25 Oct. 1951) Mitchell Gertz, artist’s representative: A prominent theatrical agent in Hollywood in the 1950s, known principally for brokering the rights to Zorro to Disney Studios. Weinstock’s reply [31 Oct. 1951; Knopf, HRC] makes it clear that the letter Klein received was from Mr. William Herndon, one of Gertz’s associates. He advises caution: ‘I know nothing good or bad of him personally, but I have sufficient reasons for being gravely suspicious of the kind of letter he has written you. I suggest that you drop him the briefest of notes saying that your motion picture rights are handled by your New York publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.’ Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (1 Nov. 1951) second printing: A quotation from Weinstock’s letter of 29 October, in which he also requested a complete list of the journals in which any poems had previously been published. Thanks … for permission to reprint poems …: See the notes to the letter to Weinstock of 9 October [pp. 464–5]. Notably in the list provided here, and in his earlier letter to Weinstock on permissions, Klein forgets the previous publication of the final poem in ‘Gloss Hai,’ ‘And in That Drowning Instant’ [CP 2.905–6; SS, pp. 104–5], which appeared in Opinion 13, 12 (Oct. 1943), p. 17. proper legal assignments: In his response of 5 November [Knopf, HRC], Weinstock insists that ‘an understanding’ that permissions have been granted is not sufficient: ‘may I ask you to ask both Poetry and whatever of the other periodicals still exist to give you a formal assignment of copyright in your name. They are quite used to doing this, and our Mr. William A. Koshland, in charge of copyright and permission matters, feels that we must have such assignments filed with our contract with you.’ Hollywood Anonymous: See the note to ‘Michael Gertz, artist’s representative’ in the letter to Weinstock of 25 October [p. 468]. Leon Edel (12 Nov. 1951) A.D. 1951: This copy of A.D. 1951 is in the Klein fonds (Library and Archives Canada).

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article therein on Joyce: In ‘Ulysses, Cannibals and Freemasons’ [AD 2 (1951), pp. 40–5], L. Albert traced allusions to Masonic rituals. a right leal disciple: ‘leal’ (Scot.) means ‘loyal, faithful, honest, true’; hence, a truly loyal follower an eponym: (Grk.) ‘given as a name’ [OED]; a synonym Nation review … Mr. Swados: Harvey Swados’s review, ‘A Work of Splendor,’ in The Nation [New York], 3 Nov. 1951, pp. 379–80. Swados called The Second Scroll ‘the most profoundly creative summation of the Jewish condition by a Jewish man of letters since the European catastrophe.’ legend … Asmodeus … dethroned King Solomon: As Klein argues in his letters to Edel of 17 September [pp. 217–21] and 19 October [pp. 227–8], this legend does not provide the pattern for the novel. However, it is the basis for Klein’s poem ‘In re Solomon Washawer’ [CP 2.493–8, 498–504]. ‘For this legend for background, I imagine King Solomon persisting to the present day, and being that anonymous person who was captured by the Nazis in Warsaw in 1939. And it is concerning what took place then that the poem dedicates itself. It is a poem really about the nature of evil, the nature of the beast Asmodeus.’ [McGill reading; see notes to the poem, CP 2.964–5]. Jacob Schwartz: proprietor of the Ulysses Bookshop in London, England Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (12 Nov. 1951) Itzhak Norman … Israel Life and Letters: Weinstock replies on 15 November that ‘permission has been sent as long ago as October 30.’ See Klein’s letter to Weinstock of 30 May 1952 [pp. 250–1]. Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (13 Nov. 1951) assignment of copyright … Mr. Weintraub … Shapiro: See the letters to Weinstock of 9 and 19 October 1951 [pp. 225–6 and 229]. Irving Layton (21 Nov. 1951) Irving Layton: Klein was introduced to Layton by David Lewis in 1930. After tutoring him in high school Latin, Klein acted as a mentor to the young poet throughout the 1930s and 1940s, intervening on his behalf with editors and publishers [LOTD, pp. 99–100]. See the note to ‘Irving Layton’ in the letter to James Laughlin, 2 Aug. 1951 [p. 457]. La Margolian: unidentified emoluments: ‘profit or gain arising from station, office, or employment; dues; reward, remuneration, salary’ [OED] St. Goldberg: unidentified Betty: Layton’s second wife; the sister of John Sutherland

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Leon Edel (30 Nov. 1951) the Times reviewer: Harry Sylvester’s review of The Second Scroll, ‘Pathway to Israel,’ appeared in the New York Times Book Review, 25 Nov. 1951, p. 8. He admitted that the book contained ‘some good verse, some moving and unsentimental prayers,’ but declared it ‘an unsatisfying non-novel.’ Sylvester … librarian: Harry Sylvester (1908–63) was not a ‘librarian,’ but a New York–based journalist, short-story writer, and novelist. English writing … its Sylvester: Joshua Sylvester (1562–1618). The offending line is from his translation of Du Bartas’s epic The Divine Weeks and Works: ‘To glaze the Lakes, and bridle up the floods / And perriwig with wooll the balde-pate woods’ [ii.i.iv.187]. article replicative … you plan … to write: After his initial review, Edel did not write on The Second Scroll again until 1974: ‘Marginal Keri and Textual Chetiv: The Mystic Novel of A.M. Klein,’ in The A.M. Klein Symposium, ed. with intro. by Seymour Mayne (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press 1974), pp. 15–30. Maurice Samuel … Jewish Frontier: Samuel’s article ‘The Book of the Miracle’ appeared in Jewish Frontier [New York], Nov. 1951, pp. 11–15 [rpt. CJC, 14 Dec. 1951, pp. 10–11, 15]. Samuel writes of the ‘non-literary importance’ of the book for Jews, but also comments upon Klein’s ‘Judaeo-English’ language. Morris Laub (14 Dec. 1951) Moshe Pearlman … Israeli Army: Israeli historian, author of The Army of Israel [New York: Philosophical Library 1950] Bnai-attar: From the Hebrew bnai, ‘sons of,’ and the Persian attar, ‘perfume, essence’; an allusion to the spice vendors of the Casablancan mellah [SS, pp. 40–1]. Anthony Perverse: a satiric reference to Hervey Allen’s massive best-selling historical romance Anthony Adverse (1933), the antithesis of Klein’s compact novel Maurice Schwartz (14 Jan. 1952) Mr. Schwartz: Maurice Schwartz (1888–1960) founded the Yiddish Art Theatre in New York in 1918 where he produced, directed, and starred in original Yiddish-language plays and translations of classic drama from other languages. His production of Pedro Bloch’s The Hands of Eurydice represents one of several attempts to succeed on Broadway, after which he returned to the Yiddish stage, moving to Israel to establish a theatre in 1959. Here it is: ‘It’ was Klein’s adaption of Pedro Bloch’s Las Mãos de Eurídice (The Hands of Eurydice). The play was first performed on 13 May 1950 in the auditorium of the P.E.N. Club of Brazil and published in Rio de Janiero by N.S. de Fatima in 1954. Schwartz discovered it while on a South American tour,

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commissioning the English translation by Brazilian drama critic Claude Vincent and the adaptation to the North American stage by Klein. Klein’s script, entitled Conscience, is in the Klein Collection in the National Library of Canada [ms 4525–632]. Dr. Pedro Bloch: (1914–90) Brazilian surgeon and playwright, and author of over twenty-five, often controversial, plays. He is principally known for Las Mãos de Eurídice, ‘a tour de force monologue on man’s desperation in the modern world’ [Irwin Stern, ed., Dictionary of Brazilian Literature [Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press 1988]. See the letter to Schwartz of 2 April [p. 249] for Klein’s brief biographical sketch for the theatrical program. as producer, or actor, or both: Schwartz starred in, directed, and staged the production. Robert Burgess: the principal character in The Hands of Eurydice, called Gumersindo in the original Portuguese the Eumenides: in Greek mythology, the goddesses equivalent to the Furies Chopin: Polish composer and pianist Frédéric François Chopin (1810–49) Shakespeare … ‘a two-hours’ traffic of the stage’: Romeo and Juliet, Prologue, line 12 Frank Flemington, The Ryerson Press (31 Jan. 1952) the reprinted Rocking Chair: A second edition of The Rocking Chair and Other Poems, with illustrations by Thoreau MacDonald, was published in 1951 and reissued in 1966. Mr. MacDonald: Artist and designer Thoreau MacDonald (1901–92), son of J.E.H. MacDonald (1873–1932) of the Group of Seven, specialized in engravings and linocuts for book illustration. Alfred A. Knopf (15 Feb. 1952) Alfred A. Knopf: (1892–1984) Founder and owner of the publishing house which bore his name from 1916 until its sale to Random House in 1966. On 20 February [Knopf, HRC], Knopf replied to this ‘friendly and gracious letter,’ telling him that he had sent Klein a copy of the second printing of 2500 copies. through a glass … darkly: 1 Corinthians 13.12 two editions … second printing: Klein is confusing his terms. An ‘edition’ consists of all the copies of a book printed from one setting of type or from printing plates made from the typesetting. A second ‘printing’ would be part of the first ‘edition’ of his book. maieutics: From the Greek word for ‘obstetrics’: ‘pertaining to (intellectual) midwifery, i.e. to the Socratic process of assisting a person to bring out into clear consciousness conceptions previously latent in his mind’ [OED] Mr. Samuel’s enthusiasm: Maurice Samuel’s reader’s report had influenced the

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decision to publish the book. See the note to ‘enclosed … Second Scroll’ in the letter to Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 20 April 1950 [p. 448]. Maurice Schwartz (20 Feb. 1952) roils: ‘agitation or stirring up (of water)’ [OED] definition of tragedy … terror … pity: Aristotle defined tragedy as ‘an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions’ [Poetics 4.51]. ‘The Shrike’: A play by Joseph Kramm, produced and directed by José Ferrer (1912–92), who also played the betrayed husband. The Shrike was in production at the Cort Theatre in New York (15 Jan.–31 May), and would win the Pulitzer Prize for best play in 1952. Laughton’s had four characters: Charles Laughton (1899–1962), producer, writer, director, and award-winning actor, had won rave reviews for his recent success with Don Juan in Hell (the third act of George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman). After opening at Carnegie Hall on 22 October, the play ran from 29 November to 31 December 1952 at the New Century Theatre, and was scheduled for a return engagement (6 Apr.–24 May 1952) at the Plymouth Theatre. The play had four actors: Charles Boyer as Don Juan, Cedric Hardwicke as the Statue, Charles Laughton as the Devil, and Agnes Moorhead as Donna Ana. Four-Poster: Another current Broadway hit, a comedy by Jan De Horteg, directed by José Ferrer, and starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. The play ran for 632 performances (24 Oct. 1951–2 May 1953) at the Ethel Barrymore and John Golden Theatres. Emlyn Williams … Dickens: Emlyn Williams as Charles Dickens: A Solo Performance of Scenes from the Novels and Stories had opened at the John Golden Theatre on 5 February. It ran to 15 March, with an encore performance at the Bijou Theatre on 20 April 1953. Williams (1905–87), like Ferrer and Laughton, was both performer and director – a man whose successes Schwartz wished to emulate. William A. Koshland, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (2 Mar. 1952) dramatization of the Second Scroll: On 6 March 1952 [Knopf, HRC], Koshland replied that permission for the CBC broadcast ‘was obtained after considerable correspondence with this office and a fee of $100 is being paid for a one performance right. Our correspondence regarding the business details has been with Miss N. Alice Frick at the CBC’s Toronto Office, 354 Jarvis Street,

Explanatory Notes pp. 245–50

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although the original inquiry to adapt the book came from Mr. Rupert Caplan of the Montreal office (P.O. Box 6000).’ The Klein collection includes a partial recording of the radio play which was broadcast in the CBC Wednesday Night series on 7 May 1952 [Klein, LAC – ACC. 1973–81]. script … approved by me: Having the script approved by Klein had not been a condition of the permission to broadcast, but Koshland assured Klein that he would ‘write to Miss Frick at once urging her to do so and you might, meanwhile, want to get in touch with Mr. Caplan.’ For Klein’s response, see his letter to Herbert Weinstock of 30 May 1952 [p. 251]. Maurice Schwartz (14 Mar. 1952) The Schuberts: The play was produced by Joseph Kipness and Jack Small, in cooperation with the Shubert Organization. The Shubert family owned a number of Broadway theatres, including the Booth, where the play was to run. Claude Vincent: Brazilian drama critic when it is publicized: Klein’s phrasing was adopted. The theatrical bill read: ENGLISH TRANSLATION from the Portuguese by CLAUDE VINCENT / Adapted by A.M. KLEIN’ [LOTD, p. 187]. the title of the play … YOU!!!: In spite of Klein’s support for Schwartz’s suggested title, the play was re-titled Conscience rather than YOU! Melech Ravitch (21 Mar. 1952) Melech Ravitch: (1893–1976) Yiddish poet and essayist who had emigrated to Montreal from Poland. Klein had favourably reviewed his biographical collection of sketches of life in Warsaw between the wars, My Lexicon [CJC, 5 Oct. 1945; LER, pp. 46–9]. Ravitch returned the favour with an appreciative essay in Kanader Adler – ‘A New Genre in Jewish Literature?’ [2 Nov. 1951, pp. 4, 6] – praising The Second Scroll as ‘a kind of a bridge between Jews of the Old World and the New.’ 7 : letzte neyes (Yid.): ‘latest news’ France, – South America, and now Tel Aviv: Context suggests that Ravitch’s essay on Klein’s novel had been reprinted in a number of Yiddish newspapers. Maurice Schwartz (2 Apr. 1952) Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, etc.: actors known for playing gangsters in films Merkur: unidentified Leon Edel (26 Apr. 1952) speaking engagements … Israeli gospel: On his return from his trip to Israel in 1950, Klein had been sent by the CJC and the Joint Distribution Committee on

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a lecture tour to raise funds for Israel and refugee relief [Appendix A, pp. 485–6]. After his formal obligation ended in early 1951, he continued to lecture on a free-lance basis [Appendix B, pp. 488–92]. analysis … Walpole’s mind and psyche: Edel’s article ‘Hugh Walpole and Henry James: The Fantasy of The Killer and the Slain,’ in The American Imago 7 (Dec. 1951), pp. 351–69. Graecia capta Romanos cepit: (Lat.) a paraphrase of Horace, Epistle 2.1.156: ‘Graecia capta ferum uictorem cepit’ – ‘Greece, the captive, took her savage victor captive.’ bisexuality of the name Peter Quint: Edel had noted parenthetically that the name of the dead steward who haunts Miss Jessel and her charges in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw combines Peter or ‘penis’ and Quint, slang for the ‘cunt’ or vagina. sheath of brackets: a sly comparison of Edel’s parenthesis to a condom Mr. & Mrs. Klein entertained ...: a parody of a society page report in which ‘Mr. Klein poured ...’ (but presumably not the usual tea) Herbert Weinstock, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (30 May 1952) Israel: Life and Letters: See the letter to Weinstock of 12 November 1951 [pp. 232–3]. literary prize … Jewish Book Council of America: the National Jewish Book Award for English Poetry (1951) movie rights to The Second Scroll: Weinstock replied on 16 June [Knopf, HRC] that ‘I know almost nothing about selling movie rights to published books.’ However, he had solicited an opinion from Mrs. Shirley Collins in Hollywood. dramatization … set of records: See the note to ‘dramatization of The Second Scroll’ in the letter to William Koshland, 2 March [p. 245]. Work in progress: Weinstock replied [16 June; Knopf HRC]: ‘I am much interested in your book on Joyce and the collections of translations you mention. Don’t forget my interest in considering both of these for publication. I am less hopeful about our being able to handle the plays.’ Contractually, Knopf had an option on Klein’s next two books of prose. See the note to ‘your letter of October 6th’ in the letter to Weinstock of 11 October 1950 [pp. 449–50]. Heschel’s books: Abraham J. Heschel (1907–72) was a distinguished educator and author, as well as professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1945–72). His books The Earth Is the Lord’s: The Inner World of the Jew in Eastern Europe [1947], The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man [1951], and Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion [1951] were written for a popular audience and published by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux – the first two with elegant wood engravings by Ilya Schor. All are still in print.

Explanatory Notes pp. 251–4

475

Two plays … The Icepick … O Canada: The Klein fonds (Library and Archives Canada) contain unfinished manuscripts of both ‘The Icepick’ [MS 4688– 772] and ‘O Canada’ [MS 4773–98]. Maurice Schwartz (2 June 1952) Gesu Theatre: Conscience (The Hands of Eurydice) had opened at the Booth Theatre on Broadway on 15 May and had closed on 17 May after only 4 performances. The play had been savaged by the critics. Although Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times had focused on Schwartz’s ‘incoherent soliloquies,’ other critics focused on Klein’s ‘hackneyed and relentlessly purple’ script [Walter Kerr, Herald-Tribune; rpt. in LOTD, pp. 187–8]. In his telephone conversation with Klein on 30 May, Schwartz had proposed taking the play to Montreal’s Gesu Theatre. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Centre Lecture Bureau (21 Aug. 1952) list of lectures: See Appendix B for the related correspondence [pp. 488–92]. Samuel Abramson (27 Aug. 1952) Tindall: William York Tindall (1903–81), author of James Joyce: His Way of Interpreting the Modern World [London: Thames and Hudson 1950] and A Reader’s Guide to James Joyce [New York: Scribner and Sons 1959] essay … in Accent: ‘The Black Panther,’ Accent 10, 3 (Spring 1950), pp. 139–55 essay on second chapter: ‘A Shout in the Street,’ New Directions 13 (1951), pp. 327–45 afflatus: ‘Breathing or hissing’ (as the afflatus of a serpent), but also ‘miraculous communication of supernatural knowledge’ or ‘inspiration’ [OED]. Leon Edel (2 Oct. 1952) James Joyce – The Last Journey: Edel’s book on Joyce’s last days in Zurich was published in 1947 by the Gotham Book Mart. In his response, dated 7 October, Edel is somewhat taken aback at the detail of Klein’s inquiries which, in his words, threaten to ‘unmask me as a pastiche-maker and journalist.’ Several of the documents about which he asks are contained in a ‘memorial volume (a thing in green covers) … got up by Carole G[iedion]-W[elcker] … called “In Memoriam, James Joyce.”’ Edel suggests that Miss Steloff of the James Joyce Society may have copies. apt epigraph: ‘For / Eugene Jolas / The Instigator’ 1. … Jolas ‘an instigator’: In his letter of 7 October 1951, Edel replies: ‘I called Jolas the instigator because in planning my trip to Switzerland he induced me to include Zurich in my itinerary and to talk with Nora Joyce. I think I

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had Pound’s book “Instigations” in mind and perhaps used the word inaccurately …’ 2. … Did you recognize these waltzes?: ‘Since I took no notes I couldn’t tell you what Strauss Waltzes I heard – but it comes back to me as (without my being absolutely sure) the tales from the Vienna woods.’ [Edel to Klein, 7 Oct. 1951] 3. … has the Zoo a special name?: ‘I think the Zoo has a name, but I don’t know it.’ [ibid.] 4. Hotel Eden: ‘I was quartered by the Army at the Hotel Eden, and am convinced Mrs. Joyce insisted on coming to see me because she lived in too poor circumstances to allow me to come to see her.’ [ibid.] 5. … the Giedion-Welckers: ‘Monsieur Giedion-Welcker, an eminent authority on modern architecture, was in America at the time teaching at Harvard.’ [ibid.] 6. … quotation on page 31: ‘from a remarkable letter to Henry Adams. You will find it pp. 360–1 in Vol. ii of James letters (ed. Lubbock) Read it.’ [ibid.] 7. … letter to Kloeti: ‘Kloeti letter as I said is reproduced in facsimile’ [ibid.]. 8. … Stanislas … Stanislaus: ‘My spelling of Stanislaus was an error.’ [ibid.] 9. … Who was the other doctor? (p. 37): ‘I don’t remember his name.’ [ibid.] 10. … Schwesternhaus Rotkrauz … medical record: ‘I doubt whether the hospital would have given out the history without permission from Mrs. Joyce.’ [ibid.] 11. … sculptor Paul Speck: Edel has no knowledge of Speck, who had sculpted Joyce’s death mask, but suggests that Klein contact John L. Sweeney, the curator of the poetry room at Harvard, where the mask is displayed [ibid.]. 12. … words of … Straumann … arid: Edel admits that the dryness of Straumann’s speech may be owing to reading it in high German [ibid.]. 13. … Renan … p. 42: ‘Isn’t the quote a good one? It was the speech Renan made over the mortal remains of Turgenev and you will find it in James’s essay on Turgenev in “Partial Portraits.”’ [ibid.] 14. … Lord Derwent: Edel confirms Klein’s identification of Baron Derwent, and offers to let him go through his clippings file for this sort of detail when he is next in New York [ibid.]. a proparoxyton: (Grk. grammar) ‘an accent on the antepenultimate syllable’ [OED] J.C. Managan: Irish poet James Clarence Managan Ellsworth Mason (2 Oct. 1952) Miss Steloff: Frances Steloff, proprietor of the Gotham Book Mart, where meetings of the James Joyce Society were held bygmester: ‘big master’ as in the introduction of another mason, ‘Bygmester

Explanatory Notes pp. 256–8

477

Finnegan, of the Stuttering Hand, freeman’s maurer …’ in Finnegans Wake [p. 4] Let’s begin again: The correspondence breaks off here. There is no indication that Mason received or replied to this letter. Klein announces that he is abandoning his work on Joyce in his letter to Leon Edel of 15 October [p. 257]. you disparaged both Levin and Tindall: a reference to Mason’s gossipy letters to Klein about Joyce scholars and scholarship in 1948 and 1949. See the note to ‘your note on Tindall’ in Klein’s letter of 19 February 1949 [p. 439]. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Centre Lecture Bureau (14 Oct. 1952) illness … slipped disc: See 14 October 1952, Appendix B, for similar letters of cancellation to all Klein’s outstanding bookings [p. 491]. Leon Edel (15 Oct. 1952) your letter of the 7th: Edel had written a detailed reply to Klein’s inquiries about the research for his book James Joyce: The Last Journey. See the notes to Klein’s letter of 2 October 1952 [pp. 475–6]. I am putting my Joyce work aside: It is not clear what occurred in the first two weeks of October to cause this volte face. Klein did not publish on Joyce after 1951, and there is no evidence of a sustained attempt to return to his master commentary on Ulysses. your questionnaire: In his letter to Klein of 7 October, while indicating that ‘this is not quid pro quo or a demand for return on my answers,’ Edel had asked Klein for help in designing a series of seminars on James, Joyce, Richardson, and Woolf, to be delivered the following spring at Princeton. Klein’s description of the brief paragraph as a ‘questionnaire’ is misleading: ‘What I wanted to ask you was whether in your researches you have found anything that might be of help to me; whether you have worked out the different types of introspection indulged in by Joyce, and the devices by which he tried to render simultaneous experience of the senses. This he tries very hard to do even though a writer can only describe them chronologically.’ Melech Ravitch (26 Feb. 1953) I have not been well: In October 1952, Klein had suffered a slipped disc. library bricks: Prior to his illness, Klein had been actively involved in the fundraising drive for the new Jewish Public Library. Robert M. MacGregor, New Directions (16 Nov. 1953) Robert M. MacGregor: (1911–74) had been associated with New Directions since

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1950, serving as general manager and director since 1952. In 1954 he became managing director, and later a vice-president. He was also an editor for Theatre Arts Monthly, and a founder of Theatre Arts Books. Mr. Céline: French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894–1961); his second novel, Mort à credit [Paris: Denoel and Steele 1936], is referred to here by a version of its English title, Death on the Installment Plan. It was finally published by New Directions in a translation by Ralph Mannheim in 1966. Mr. Céline’s opinions touching Jews: On 17 December [New Directions], MacGregor thanked Klein for his ‘pleasant and nicely-turned letter of November 16th’: ‘I am just so unconscious of anti-Semitism … that I sometimes forget its sick and even diseased sources … I appreciate your point and apologize for having asked what amounts to a favor in his name.’ Lavy Becker (4 Jan. 1954) Lavy Becker: (1905–2001) A rabbi and businessman who Klein knew well from his service on the national executive committee of the CJC. Becker had founded the Orthodox Young Israel Synagogue in 1921, and the Conservative Beth-El in Mount Royal in 1951. As the founder of the Reconstructionist Movement in Canada, he established the Dorshei Ermet in Montreal in 1960. Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (19 Nov. 1954) postpone my trip abroad: As evidenced by the letters listed in Appendix B [pp. 491–2], Klein had committed himself to a demanding schedule of engagements. This postponement, ostensibly to accommodate additional bookings, was followed by cancellation of his trip to Europe and Israel. See the note to ‘Application for renewal’ in the letter to the Passport Officer, 19 November. pup: ‘to bring forth pups, to litter’ [OED]; hence, to proliferate D.V.: (Lat.) ‘deo volente’ (‘God willing’) Buffalo, Baltimore, … Cleveland … Washington: See the letters to Freeman dated 5 and 14 October 1954 [Appendix B, p. 491]. Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs (19 Nov. 1954) – 2 letters Application for renewal … Abraham M. Klein / Application for Canadian Passport of ‘Bessie Klein’: Caplan notes that, in November of 1954, Klein began planning an ambitious trip to Europe with Bessie. According to his notes, he was contemplating an itinerary that encompassed London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Zurich, Rome, Venice, Trieste, Athens, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Madrid, and Lisbon. A number of these destinations were to do with his research for The Golem; others were cities where Joyce had lived, suggesting that he

Explanatory Notes pp. 261–4

479

planned to return to his research on Ulysses. Hoping also to obtain entry to some Arab states on the way, he applied for a separate set of passports which would not bear the stamp of an Israeli visa. However, by the time the passports arrived in January 1955, he had already called off the entire trip. [LOTD, pp. 205–6] See the letters to the Passport Officer, 19 January 1955 [p. 262], and Melech Ravitch, 28 February 1955 [p. 263]. The Passport Officer, Department of External Affairs (19 Jan. 1955) second passports … for Israel only: Klein hoped to travel through Arab states on his way to Israel. See the note to ‘Application for renewal’ in Klein’s earlier letter to the Passport Office, 19 November 1954 [pp. 478–9]. Melech Ravitch (28 Feb. 1955) orienting yourself ... into the land: Ravitch had recently moved to Israel Rachel: Ravitch’s wife my own next visit to Israel: Klein had planned such a visit as recently as January (see his letter to the Passport Officer, 19 January [p. 262]), but had now completely abandoned the idea. Harold Clurman (17 Oct. 1955) Harold Clurman: (1901–80) A leading New York theatre director and critic; in 1931 Clurman and Lee Strasburg had founded the Group Theatre, a company which produced left-wing plays on important social issues. After the dissolution of the Group in 1941, he went on to direct many of the classics of American theatre, including Carson McCuller’s Member of the Wedding (1950), Eugene O’Neill’s Touch of the Poet (1957), and Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy (1957). He was drama critic for the New Republic (1948–52) and The Nation (1953–80). Plymouth Theatre: Clurman was directing a production of Tiger at the Gates by Jean Giraudoux, which began its run at the Plymouth Theatre on 4 October 1955 (closing 19 November, before moving to the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran until 7 Apr. 1956). Worse Visitors We Shouldn’t Have: An unpublished play [Klein, LAC – MS 4799– 5007]. Klein translated a number Chassidic folk-songs to be integrated into the production [CP 2.1052–3]. dybbuk: In Jewish folklore, a wandering soul with the ability of entering the body of a living person. Synge … Gaelic idiom … Yiddish idiom: In ‘On Translating the Yiddish Folk-Song’ [LER, pp. 109–12], Klein comments on the idiomatic nature of Yiddish with

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its ‘simple and direct utterance, expressing by forthright speech some touching aspect of an emotional situation’ [p. 109]. unsolicited missive: The Klein fonds contain no reply from Clurman. Father Stanley Murphy, s.j., Assumption College (24 Jan. 1956) Father Murphy: Head of Assumption College (later the University of Windsor), Murphy established the prestigious Christian Culture lecture series. talk on Hopkins: ‘Towards a Psychoanalysis of G.M. Hopkins’ [Klein, LAC – MS 5090–5; NB, pp. 125–8] was Klein’s last public lecture. Harry Aronovitch (6 Mar. 1956) Harry Aronovitch: Law partner with Klein and Samuel Chait from 1949 until Klein’s formal resignation from the firm. Letter … Secretary of the Bar: see the letter to the Bar Association of Montreal, 6 March 1956 [pp. 266–7]. Samuel Chait (6 Mar. 1956) Sam Chait: Klein had articled with Chait’s firm when studying law at the Université de Montréal. On graduation from law school in 1933, Klein formed a partnership with fellow-graduate Max Garmaise, but when that partnership was dissolved in 1940, he rejoined Sam Chait, establishing the firm of Chait and Klein. Harry Aronovitch joined the firm in 1949. Letter … Secretary of the Bar: See the letter to the Bar Association of Montreal, 6 March 1956 [pp. 266–7]. Bar Association of Montreal (6 Mar. 1956) practicing law … in the future: Klein never returned to the practice of law. Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen and Parton (14 Mar. 1956) Thorndike, Jensen, & Parton, Inc.: Originally called Picture Press, this firm was established by two veteran editors from Life – Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr, and Oliver Jensen – to handle publishing assignments from corporate clients. James Parton joined the firm in 1953. The partners went on to form the American Heritage Publishing Company. enclosures … specialists from the Time organization: Klein seems to be acting as managing editor for a Seagram’s publication designed to raise the company’s profile as a good corporate citizen (possibly ‘Partners in Democracy: Canada and the United States’). See the subsequent letters to Thorndike, 28 June [p. 269] and 21 August [p. 270]; on 6 October 1958, he submits a manuscript to Mrs White at Seagram’s [Appendix C, p. 498].

Explanatory Notes pp. 268–72

481

Father Stanley Murphy, s.j., Assumption College (28 June 1956) salaried employee of an industrial concern: Since resigning from his law firm (see the letters of 6 March 1956 [pp. 265–7]), Klein had continued to work as a public relations consultant at Seagram’s and on company-sponsored publication projects, with his wife Bessie acting as his secretary. Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen and Parton (28 June 1956) Mr. Leonard: Jonathan Norton Leonard (1903–75), Science editor of Time Magazine from 1945 to 1965 Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr., Thorndike, Jensen and Parton (21 Aug. 1956) the Handlin chapter: Eminent American historian Oscar Handlin (1915– ) had been commissioned to write a chapter on immigration. Handlin had won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize in history for The Uprooted: The Epic Story of the Great Migration That Made the American People, a history of immigration to America after 1820 [Boston: Little Brown 1951]. Economics of Abundance chapter: The catch-phrase suggests that the chapter was written by prominent economist Stuart Chase (1888–1985), author of The Economy of Abundance [New York: Macmillan 1934]. As co-founder (with Frederick John Schlink) of Consumers’ Research, Chase was a prominent advocate of the ‘people’s capitalism.’ Entertainment chapter: author unidentified Mrs. Métivier, Royal Society of Canada (26 July 1957) Royal Society of Canada … Medal: On 10 June 1957, Klein had been awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal by the Royal Society of Canada for his contributions to Canadian literature. He did not attend the ceremony. See his letter to Lorne Pierce, 28 August 1957 [p. 273]. Samuel Bronfman (7 Aug. 1957) Mr. Sam: Bronfman’s nickname annual report … difficulties: Klein had proposed an ambitious project to commemorate the centenary of Seagram Distilleries – a survey of Canadian history for the period of 1857 to 1957. As this letter makes clear, he did not feel competent to complete it. Klein had by this time virtually withdrawn from society and his literary output had ceased entirely. Perhaps in lieu of this project, Seagram’s published a corporate history, This is Seagram: At the Start of Our Second Century [New York: Seagram Spotlight 1957]. Leacock’s History in 1941: Seagram’s had published Stephen Leacock’s Canada: The Foundations of Its Future in 1941.

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protection … controversial matters: The juxtaposition with the allusion to Leacock’s Canada is significant, as the handling of ‘controversial’ issues in both the original and the French translation of Leacock’s history had been – and would continue to be with another of the Seagram centenary projects, the proceedings of a high-profile scientific symposium sponsored by the corporation – a major concern for Klein. See the letters to Bronfman dated 20 January 1944 [pp. 94–6] and 6 January 1958 [pp. 273–6]. Lorne Pierce, The Ryerson Press (28 Aug. 1957) permission for the use of the poems: ‘Bread’ and ‘The Rocking Chair’ were reprinted in Ralph Gustafson’s The Penguin Book of Canadian Verse [Harmondsworth: Penguin 1958]. a collected edition: In fact, Klein had prepared a manuscript of ‘Selected Poems’ in 1955 (see CP 2.1072–3). As Caplan comments, his polite refusal here is further evidence of his withdrawal from the outside world [LOTD, pp. 206– 7]. Ottawa … the Royal Society: Klein had been awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal for his contributions to Canadian literature, but had not attended the ceremony. See his belated letter of apology to Mrs Métivier of the Royal Society, 26 July 1957 [p. 271]. Samuel Bronfman (6 Jan. 1958) the ‘Proceedings’: The printed record of a conference held in New York on 22 November 1957 which had been sponsored by the Seagram Company in celebration of its centenary: ‘The Next Hundred Years’: A Scientific Symposium [New York: Joseph Seagram and Sons 1957]. Among the participants were Nobel laureates Hermann Muller and Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt, and rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. The discussion was moderated by Dr Detlev W. Bronk, president of the Rockefeller Institute, and the scientists were interviewed following their presentations by prominent television commentators Edward R. Murrow (CBS), John Daly (ABC), and Chet Huntley (NBC). The Seagram symposium took its name from a scientific meeting, organized by participants Harrison Brown and John Weir, at the California Institute of Technology in 1956: The Next Hundred Years: A Discussion Prepared for Leaders of American Industry [New York: Viking 1957]. The coincidence with Seagram’s celebration of its centenary offered the opportunity for a popular version of the event. the space on page 63: Pages 63 and 64 were reserved for Bronfman’s introduction to an essay surveying the major changes of the past hundred years (‘1857–1957: The Indispensable Decades,’ NHY, pp. 65–72). No biographical

Explanatory Notes pp. 273–6

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information was provided for the members of the interviewing panel of journalists, but a group photograph appears on page 47 of the pamphlet. Dr. Muller: Hermann Joseph Muller (1890–1967) was the 1946 Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology ‘for his epoch-breaking discovery that X-rays and related forms of radiation produce profound changes in the hereditary endowment of all things living’ (NHY, p. 32). As Klein’s summary indicates, Dr Muller’s ideas were controversial: in his speech he proposed that ‘foster pregnancy’ would involve the selection of ‘reproductive cells … from persons long deceased, so as to permit a better perspective to be reached on their worth …’ and the maintenance of sperm-banks (NHY, pp. 33–4). Dr. Szent-Gyorgi: Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt (1893–1986), a biochemist, had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1937 ‘for his pioneer studies on the processes of biological combustion that activate the fires of life’ (NHY, p. 15). Dr. Brown: Geochemist Harrison Brown (1917–86) had ‘employed fragments of meteorites from outer space as probes for the deep interior of the earth’ (NHY, p. 19), as well as contributing to the isolation of plutonium for use in the first atomic bombs. His speech focused on declining resources of food and energy with the spread of industrialization. Dr. Bonner: Biologist James Bonner (1910–96) was an expert in ‘the biochemistry of plants, their vital life processes and their growth’ (NHY, p. 28). He argued that ‘Only as the world population approaches stabilization can we realistically hope to better the lot of the world’s hungry people’ (NHY, p. 31). Dr. Furnas: Clifford Cook Furnas (1900–69), chancellor of the University of Buffalo in 1957, had been the assistant secretary of defense for research and development (1955–7) and scientific adviser to the United States House of Representatives under President Eisenhower. His research was focused on the social impact of science and technology. ENCLOSURE: This draft for an introduction to the ‘Proceedings’ was not used. Instead, the following paragraph appears on the title page: ‘Gazing into the future and inquiring into the shape of things to come requires not only scientific data, but imagination. It is our hope that this symposium, to which these great scientists so graciously gave of their time, provides some guidance as to how we and our children, and the great industries and institutions of our nation, can help create a better world.’ Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1958) your birthday: Bronfman’s sixtieth birthday. Despite his depression, Klein had written, and would continue to write to ‘Mr. Sam’ annually on the occasion of his birthday (see his letters to Bronfman of 4 March 1966 and 4 March

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1967 [pp. 277–8]). However, the progression of this message through three drafts shows Klein straining to achieve his characteristic wit and fluency [pp. 326–8]. ‘great … seeking the good of his people’: Esther 10.3. In The Book of Esther, Mordechai and Esther convince King Ahasuerus, ruler of Persia and Media, to intervene in the plans of Haman, his steward, to persecute the Jews. Klein had frequently used analogies between Purim and contemporary events in his political analyses. See, for example, ‘The Feast of Purim’ [CJC (16 March 1951); BS, pp. 394–5]. scroll of the Megillah: the Scroll or Book of Esther recited on Purim. In the first draft of this letter, Klein elaborates at length on how appropriate this gift is for Samuel Bronfman as a modern Mordecai, ‘the sage counsellor and wise leader’ of his generation [Klein, LAC – MS 1057–8; pp. 326–7]. Samuel Abramson (11 May 1959) Dr. Wise: See the note on ‘Stephen Wise’ in the letter to Joseph Frank, 5 August 1938 [p. 336]. On 9 October 1942 [Klein, LAC – MS 193], Wise had written Klein in his capacity as Editor of Opinion (1936-49), asking him if he would contribute a monthly column. Dr. Wise’s letters: His private correspondence was edited by his children, Justine Wise Polier and James Waterman Wise: Personal Letters of Stephen S. Wise [Boston: Beacon Press 1956]. Samuel Bronfman (1 Mar. 1966) returns of the day: Bronfman’s sixty-eighth birthday Samuel Bronfman (4 Mar. 1967) Happy Birthday: Bronfman’s sixty-ninth birthday

Appendix A Arrangements for Klein’s ‘fact-finding’ visit to Israel, North Africa, and Europe (31 July–6 September 1949) and lecture tour (September 1949– February 1950)

FROM SAUL HAYES, CANADIAN JEWISH CONGRESS April 26, 1949 Mr. A.M. Klein, University Tower Bldg. University and St. Catherine Sts., Montreal. Dear Mr. Klein: This will confirm our understanding whereby you will be willing to be temporarily on our staff for the purpose of report and subsequent speaking tour. The plan which I am authorized to confirm is as follows: – 1. Your trip overseas will cover the principal countries in which the J.D.C. has a major program, and for which Canadian Jewry is called upon to participate. The exact countries where we would ask you to go I have not finalized as yet in my own mind, although I discussed them with you, since I am awaiting to discuss the matter more particularly with Moses Levitt, Director of the J.D.C. The trip is also to include a visit to Israel. Generally speaking, the countries to be visited and the length of time in each will follow the discussion I had with you some weeks ago. 2. Financial terms and conditions of our understanding are that you will be paid $100.00 a week from the commencement of your trip overseas, until the termination of the fund raising activities, which are to be planning for you on your return. In addition, we of course will cover the transportation and expenses of the trip.

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3. You will undertake to spend about two months some time after your return to campaign for us either in Ontario or Western Canada. I have not worked out the details as yet, but it will be one of those two areas. The date of the Campaign will be in the late summer or early fall and will continue for a period of 6 weeks to 2 months. I would also like the privilege of calling upon you for spot assignments, the details of which we can work out. As there is a considerable investment on our part, you will understand that it will not make good sense for us if after your return and until your mission on our behalf is completed, were you to accept speaking engagements for and behalf of other organizations. If this were in the business world, I would put it in terms of being under exclusive contract to us. I am sure it is not necessary to make this point since it follows from our verbal understanding. May I thank you for the interest you have shown and for your willingness to undertake this, which although it will be of considerable interest to you will nevertheless mean hard work. With renewed thanks, I am, Cordially yours, Saul Hayes, National Executive Director.

From Saul Hayes, Canadian Jewish Congress August 8, 1949. Mr. A.M. Klein, c/o Mr. M. Melamed, American Joint Distribution Committee, 119 rue Saint Dominque, Paris, France. Dear Abe, The World Jewish Congress meets in Paris on the 25th of August. We are unable to send someone from here though we would like very much

Klein’s visit to Israel, North Africa, and Europe, and lecture tour

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to be present at the meeting. Sam Bronfman suggested that it might be possible for you to fit this in so as to be able to report back to us. Is it possible to rearrange your schedule in order to be in Paris for the 25th? It is a one day meeting. Please let me know by cable whether this is possible without too much damage to your schedule and to your plans. I trust everything is in order. Cordially, Saul Hayes, National Executive Director

Appendix B Correspondence concerning lecture engagements, March 1950 to June 1956

All of the following letters are from the Abraham Moses Klein fonds, LAC, and unless otherwise indicated are unsigned carbon copies of the originals, on plain paper, typed by various secretaries (e.g., FP, QK, MB, RW, LL). Only where Klein initiates or cancels a series of engagements are the texts included in this volume; asterisks [*] indicate these letters. For manuscript notes for Klein’s speaking engagements, see Appendix B in The Second Scroll, pp. 213–19. * 6 Apr. 1950, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 476]: availability in 1950–1 * 31 May 1950, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 489]: address to Toronto Hillel, 7 February; circular 23 June 1950, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 491]: booking for 7 February 1951; circular is being prepared and will be sent ‘in a week or two’ (see 31 May 1950) 26 June 1950, Copy Art Photographers [MS 492]: design and reproduction of circular for Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (see 31 May and 23 June 1950) 7 July 1950, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 494]: booking at Shaar Zeerei Synagogue (Montreal), 10 October 10 July 1950, Mrs. A.S. Keiller, Women’s Arts Society [MS 495]: unable to address the Women’s Arts Society of Montreal on the suggested date; schedule for lecture tour is in preparation 18 July 1950, Mrs. Wiesenthal [MS 496]: list of lecture topics enclosed 18 July 1950, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 498]: sending ‘several thousand’ circulars under separate cover; inquiry about Canadian ‘prospects’ 20 July 1950, Mrs. Marion S. Namm, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 499]: request from Shaare Zion Sisterhood for a reduced fee of $50 not acceptable

Correspondence concerning lecture engagements

489

16 Nov. 1950, Benjamin J. Shevach, Bureau of Jewish Education (Boston) [MS 510]: enclosing advertising package; discussion of the lecture topic suggested by Shevach – Zangwill (see 5 Dec. 1950) 5 Dec. 1950, Benjamin J. Shevach, Bureau of Jewish Education (Boston) [MS 515]: statement of expenses (see 16 Nov. 1950) 28 Dec. 1950, Rabbi Aaron M. Kamerling (Toronto) [MS 516]: address to B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation (Toronto), 7 February 1951 1 Feb. 1951, S. Unterberg, Canadian Jewish Congress (Montreal) [CJCA]: expenses for visit to Windsor, 30–31 January 1951 12 Feb. 1951, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 536]: a list of additional lecture topics 31 Dec. 1951, Mrs. Lillian Diamond (Detroit) [MS 602]: arrangements for address at Hadassah Conference (Louisville); $150 fee, plane fare plus expenses (see 11 Mar. and 23 Apr. 1952) 4 Jan. 1952, Boris M. Joffe, Jewish Community Council (Detroit) [MS 603]: April date and fee ($150 plus expenses) 11 Mar. 1952, Mrs. Elizabeth Kling (Louisville) [MS 632]: Hadassah Conference (Louisville) on 20 April; anticipation of Mrs. Perley’s adaption of The Second Scroll (see 31 Dec. 1951 and 23 Apr. 1952) 2 Apr. 1952, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 647]: renewal of subscription to the jclb’s service; list of available dates and lecture topics 23 Apr. 1952, Mrs. Lillian Diamond (Detroit) [MS 659]: expenses – Hadassah Conference (Louisville) (see 31 Dec. 1951 and 11 Mar. 1952) 21 June 1952, Miss Rose Wasserman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 672]: fee enclosed 23 June 1952, Max B. Nemoy (Toronto) [MS 674]: address on 16 October; fee ($150 plus expenses) (see 3 July 1952) 26 June 1952, Rabbi Aaron M. Kamerling (Toronto) [MS 678]: address to B’nai B’rith Hillel (Toronto), 26 October or 2 November; fee ($50 discount for Hillel) and suggestion of ‘a session of about two hours on The Second Scroll and kindred matter’ (see 14 Oct. 1952) 3 July 1952, Mrs. Jacob Louise Skarloff (Philadelphia) [MS 684; handwritten, lh9]: address to Sisterhood of Har Zion Temple (Philadelphia), 3 November; fee ($150 plus expenses); topic, The Second Scroll (see 14 Oct. 1952) 3 July 1952, Max B. Nemoy (Toronto) [MS 695]: talk on ‘The Yiddish Proverb – Its Wisdom and Humour’; advertising package enclosed (see 23 June and 14 Oct. 1952) 11 July 1952, Rabbi Benson Skoff (Philadelphia) [MS 693]: description of his talk on ‘JEWISH HUMOUR: Mirror of the Jewish Mind’: ‘an exposition of

490

Appendix B

the characteristics of the Jewish mentality as revealed in classic anecdote and humorous incident. The talk itself steers a middle path between serious psychological analysis and entertaining wit and humour.’ 21 July 1952, Mrs. Jacob Louise Sklaroff (Philadelphia) [MS 701]: agreement to a reduction of his usual fee (see 14 Oct. 1952) 8 Aug. 1952, Mrs. Henry L. Rogers (Baltimore) [MS 706]: has a previous booking in Philadelphia on 3 November; suggests alternative date of 6 November (see 29 Aug. and 14 Oct. 1952; 9 Nov. 1954) 12 Aug. 1952, Mrs. Ruth Selden (Cleveland) [MS 708]: arrangements for address on 10 December; fee ($125 plus expenses) (see 14 Oct. 1952) * 21 Aug. 1952, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 711]: commitments for Fall 1952 29 Aug. 1952, Mrs. Henry L. Rogers (Baltimore) [MS 725]: arrangements for address on 5 November; choice of four topics: ‘1. THE THREE GREATEST JEWS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY; 2. WHAT MADE US WHAT WE ARE: THE DRAMA OF JEWISH HISTORY; 3. READINGS FROM MY POETRY, WITH COMMENTS; 4. THE INGATHERING INTO ISRAEL, AS I SAW IT’ (see 8 Aug. and 14 Oct. 1952; 9 Nov. 1954) 10 Sept. 1952, Rabbi Schwartz (Winnipeg) [MS 729]: expenses for address to the Winnipeg Hadassah Conference, 6–8 September 25 Sept. 1952, Harry Kahn, B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation (Burlington) [MS 726]: available dates in November and December; fee ($75 plus expenses) 24 Sept. 1952, Dr. Joseph S. Noble, Jewish Education Association (Rochester) [MS 735]: enclosing advertising package 20 Sept. 1952, Julius Schatz, American Jewish Congress (New York) [MS 738]: acceptance of invitation to speak at a Tenth Anniversary Ghetto Meeting, 12 April 1953 20 Sept. 1952, Mrs. D. Lisser (Westmount, P.Q.) [MS 740]: encloses advertising package and blurb for lecture on the ‘thirty-six plots’ in the Bible (see 26 September and 7 October 1952) 25 Sept. 1952, Rabbi Eli Bohnen (Providence, R.I.) [MS 737]: arrangements for address on 19 November (see 14 Oct. 1952) 26 Sept. 1952, Mrs. Joseph Aron (Montreal) [MS 741]: encloses biographical note and press release from the Jewish Welfare Lecture Bureau (see 20 Sept. and 7 Oct. 1952) 26 Sept. 1952, Rabbi Aaron M. Kammerling [MS 742–3]: for the address to the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation (Toronto) suggests three topics: ‘1. Three Twentieth Century Jews who shaped our world; 2. The Novelist’s Novel (don’t tell anybody but it is the Bible); 3. A reading from my own poetry with commentary’

Correspondence concerning lecture engagements

491

7 Oct. 1952, Mrs. D. Lisser (Montreal) [MS 749]: photos enclosed (see 20 and 26 Sept., 7 Oct. 1952) 7 Oct. 1952, Dr. Solomon Grayzel (Philadelphia) [MS 752]: suggests informal discussion rather than a lecture following luncheon speech on The Second Scroll (see 14 Oct. 1952) * 14 Oct. 1952, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 755]: cancellation of lecture dates owing to a slipped disc 14 Oct. 1952, Dr. Joseph S. Noble, Jewish Education Foundation (Rochester) [MS 756]: cancellation of address to Annual Donor Luncheon, 17 December, owing to a slipped disc (see 24 Sept. 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Max B. Nemoy (Toronto) [MS 757]: unwilling to set a new date in April for his cancelled address (see 23 June and 3 July 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Mrs. Sarah W. Rogers (Baltimore) [MS 758]: cancellation of address to Annual Donor Luncheon, 5 November, owing to a slipped disc (see 29 Aug. 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Rabbi Eli Bohnen (Providence, R.I.) [MS 759]: cancellation of address to Annual Donor Luncheon, 19 November, owing to a slipped disc (see 25 Sept. 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Dr. Solomon Grayzel (Philadelphia) [MS 760]: cancellation of address owing to a slipped disc (see 7 Oct. 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Mrs. Ruth Selden (Cleveland) [MS 761]: cancellation of address to Annual Donor Luncheon, 10 December, owing to a slipped disc (see 12 Aug. 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Mrs. Jacob Sklaroff (Philadelphia) [MS 762]: cancellation of address to Annual Donor Luncheon, 3 November, owing to a slipped disc (see 21 July 1952) 14 Oct. 1952, Rabbi Aaron M. Kamerling (Toronto) [MS 763]: cancellation of address to Hillel’s Annual Donor Luncheon, 26 October, owing to a slipped disc (26 June 1952) 5 Oct. 1954, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 796]: copies of contracts: Washington and Buffalo 14 Oct. 1954, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 800]: receipt of contract for address in Cleveland, 8 December 9 Nov. 1954, Mrs. Henry L. Rogers [MS 805]: choice of topics for address on 6 December: ‘1. Three Twentieth Century Jews who shaped our world; 2. The Yiddish Proverb, its humour and wisdom; 3. A Poetry Recital – my own works, with commentary; 4. The Bible: a book review, with reading’; advertising material enclosed 17 Nov. 1954, Mrs. Helen Stein (Cleveland) [MS 806]: choice of topics for address on 8 December: ‘1. Three Twentieth Century Jews who shaped our

492

Appendix B

world; 2. The Yiddish Proverb, its humour and wisdom; 3. A Poetry Recital – my own works, with commentary; 4. The Bible: a book review, with reading’; advertising material enclosed * 19 Nov. 1954, Samuel D. Freeman, Jewish Center Lecture Bureau [MS 807]: postponement of European trip to accommodate addresses; cancellation or postponement of speech in Washington until after 1 February * 24 Jan. 1956, Father Stanley Murphy, J.S, Assumption College (Windsor) [MS 841; handwritten on plain paper and marked as ‘copy’ in top left margin]: arrangements for visit on February 6 – talk on Hopkins and poetry reading * 28 June 1956, Father Stanley Murphy, S.J., Assumption College (Windsor) [MS 894]: unsure of availability for a lecture. [This was Klein’s last public lecture, given in October 1956.]

Appendix C Additional letters not included in this collection (in chronological order)

Sophie Borodensky (Shulamis Yelin) (4 Apr. 1932). Shulamis Yelin. Typed on letterhead [Federation of Young Judaea of Canada / Hebrew University Scholarship Campaign / …] by ‘EW.’ As Shulamis Yelin (1913–2002), Borodensky became a prominent educator, writer. As educational director for Canadian Young Judaea, Klein responds to her request for pamphlets on Palestine. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (3 Nov. 1933). CJCA. Typed on letterhead [Abraham M. Klein b.a., ll.l. / Advocate, Barrister & Solicitor / …] by ‘BG.’ Hananiah Meyer Caiserman (1884–1950) was general secretary of the Canadian Jewish Congress from its founding in 1919 until his death. Klein is submitting a bill for translating an article, ‘Anti-Semitism in Quebec.’ H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (5 May 1937). CJCA. Typed on letterhead [Zionist Organization of Canada / …] by ‘PM.’ Writing as director of publicity and propaganda for the Zionist Organization of Canada, Klein attaches a letter from Mrs. McQuillian of Courtney, B.C. requesting information about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (25 May 1938). CJCA. Typed, lh3. Marginal note in another hand (Caiserman’s?): ‘Purely public / Relations I think!’ Klein writes to inform Caiserman that Chief of Police Tissot has been dismissed. N.D. Bennett (8 May 1939). Klein, LAC [MS 71]. Typed by ‘PA’; carbon copy, unsigned. Response to request for text of a poem read on CBC’s ‘Poetry Hour’ (Tuesday, 2 May).

494

Appendix C

Oscar Cohen, Canadian Jewish Congress (11 Oct. 1939). CJCA. Typed by ‘EC,’ LH4; handwritten postscript. Response to a letter from S.J. Zacks, a member of the Congress’s Refugee Relief Committee, to Bronfman; request for a copy of the committee’s budget for ‘refugee requirements.’ L.P. Desilites, Assistant Attorney General, Quebec (21 Aug. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 93]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. Inquiry regarding assignments to prosecute infractions of Fair Wage Board ordinances. Benjamin G. Sack, CANADIAN JEWISH EAGLE (21 Nov. 1940). CJCA. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6; enclosure typed. Encloses a ‘biographical sketch’ itemizing his education, service, and publications. Chaim Greenberg, JEWISH FRONTIER (4 Dec. 1940). Klein, LAC [MS 118]. Typed by ‘AF’; carbon copy, unsigned. Submits three poems (including ‘A Prayer of Abraham, against Madness’ [CP 2.526–7] published in Jewish Frontier 9, 4 (Mar. 1942), p. 8). Samuel Abramson (31 Jan. 1941). Samuel Abramson. Typed by ‘AF,’ LH6; 1 sheet. Requests ‘a transcript’ of his poem ‘Legend of Lebanon’ published in the Passover issue of Jewish Standard (14 Apr. 1953) [pp. 172, 200–2; CP 1.253]. Bertram W. Korn, HEBREW UNION COLLEGE MONTHLY (5 Aug. 1941). Klein, LAC [MS 147]. Typed by ‘FP’; carbon copy, unsigned. Encloses poems (unspecified) in response to Korn’s invitation to submit to the magazine. H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (3 Feb. 1942). CJCA. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Declines service on ‘the Youth Problems Committee of Congress.’ Saul Hayes (8 Dec. 1942). CJCA. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Handwritten note: ‘passport and original letter sent to Jras.’ Forwards an inquiry from Dr. Jos. Lustig Haaz, a refugee claimant, to Saul Hayes, director of the United Jewish Relief Agencies of Canada (UJRA). Members of Poale Zion (21 July 1944). Klein, LAC [MS 266]. Typed on letterhead [7  Y       7/       /          0 / united jewish socialist labor party paole zion–zeire zion of america / 5116 park avenue, montreal] by ‘DM’ [D. Mann]. Signed by D.M.[ann] on be-

Additional letters not included in this collection

495

half of A.M. Klein. Handwritten postscript: ‘Just to see when it arrives / D. Mann.’ A form letter inviting Paole Zion members to a meeting on 24 July 1944 to organize coordination with the CCF campaign. Chicago Jewish Forum (13 Sept. 1944). HRC. Typed by ‘FP’; unsigned carbon copy. The editors of Chicago Jewish Forum subscribe to Canadian Jewish Chronicle, and Klein reciprocates. Samuel Levine, Canadian Jewish Congress (22 Sept. 1944). CJCA. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. In response to Levine’s inquiry as librarian for the Congress, Klein writes with publication information for ‘The Hitleriad.’ H.M. Caiserman, Canadian Jewish Congress (2 Apr. 1945). CJCA. Handwritten, LH7. Acknowledges a letter of congratulations on ‘my last book of poems’ [Poems (1944)]. In a postscript, Klein solicits a review. The Editor, POETRY: A MAGAZINE OF VERSE (16 Oct. 1946). Poetry, UChicago. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Notation by Poetry editors: ‘Ö’ beside return address; ‘K’ in upper right corner. Inquires about poems sent on 22 July 1946. Weinper, Ben (25 Mar. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 321–2]. Typed on plain paper; sheet 2 numbered. Carbon copy, unsigned. Reviews details of Yetta Klein’s estate (newly discovered bank accounts). Doubleday and Company (26 June 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 327]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned carbon copy. Written under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher’ [DM]. Submits ‘Come the Revolution’ for consideration. Weinper, Ben (11 Aug. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 331–2]. Typed on plain paper; sheet 2 numbered. Carbon copy, unsigned. Describes the family’s cottage vacation, final details of mother’s estate, and arrangements to dedicate tombstone. Hershorn, Rabbi S. (8 Sept. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 335]. Typed by ‘FP’; carbon copy, unsigned. A note of thanks for officiating at the dedication of Yetta Klein’s tombstone. Simon & Schuster (8 Sept. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 336]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned carbon copy. Written under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher’ [DM]. Submits ‘Come the Revolution’ for consideration.

496

Appendix C

Dial Press (9 Sept. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 337]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned carbon copy. Written under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher’ [DM]. Submits ‘Come the Revolution’ for consideration. A. Courcelles (3 Oct. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 338]. Typed on plain paper by ‘FP’; unsigned carbon copy. A note of appreciation for the hospitality shown to Colman and Sandor at Villa Rosa during summer vacation in Ste-Agathe. Lenore Wallace, The Ryerson Press (11 Dec. 1947). Pierce, QueensU. Typed by ‘FP,’ LH7. Inquires about the manuscript of The Rocking Chair and Other Poems, sent to Ryerson Press ‘some time in October.’ Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (30 Dec. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 366]. Typed by ‘FP’; carbon copy, unsigned. Conveys a request from Bronfman that Tresidder send ‘the last three chapters of your book’ [The Story of Distillation] for review. [See letters of 5 Aug. and 17 Oct.] J.B. Lippincott & Company (8 Jan. 1947). Klein, LAC [MS 370]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned carbon copy. Written under the pseudonym ‘Dan Mosher’ [DM]. Submits ‘Come the Revolution’ for consideration. Argus J. Tresidder, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons (26 Jan. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 371]. Typed by ‘DG’; carbon copy, unsigned. Acknowledges receipt of the last three chapters of The Story of Distillation. Khushwant Singh, Office of the High Commissioner for India (5 Apr. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 383]. Typed by ‘FP’; unsigned carbon copy. Acknowledges note and invitation to visit when next in Ottawa. Kenneth Littauer, COLLIER’S (11 Sept. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 404]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned carbon copy. Submits short story ‘And it shall come to pass’ to Collier’s. [Klein received a letter of rejection from Associate Fiction Editor Larabie Cunningham on 21 Mar. 1948 (Klein fonds, MS 320)]. David Rome, Canadian Jewish Congress (16 Oct. 1948). CJCA. Handwritten, LH7; 1 sheet. Acknowledges ‘the much appreciated reader’s service’ provided by Rome. McKee and Batchelder (22 Oct. 1948). Klein, LAC [MS 409]. Typed by ‘BK’

Additional letters not included in this collection

497

(Bessie Klein); carbon copy, unsigned. Inquires about their success placing ‘That Walks Like a Man.’ (See letter of 13 July 1948.) Copy Art Photographers (26 June 1950). Klein, LAC [MS 492]. Typed by ‘MB’; carbon copy, unsigned. Payment ($3.60) enclosed. John J. Slocum (10 July 1950). Slocum, YaleU. Typed by ‘QK,’ LH9. Acknowledges Slocum’s letter of 1 July [thanking Klein for copy of his essay ‘The Black Panther’ and critiquing it as potentially ‘peeling the onion too far’]; anticipates Slocum’s visit to Montreal that month. M. and J. Share (31 July 1950). Klein, LAC [MS 501]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned. Signature of M. Share (31 July 1950) acknowledging receipt. Terminates lease for 4857 Hutchison St. [In August, the family moved to 236 Querbes Street in Outremont.] Internal Revenue Service, usa (6 Dec. 1951). Klein, LAC [MS 583]. Typed by ‘RW’; carbon copy, unsigned. A letter related to Klein’s law practice: request for a copy of a recent taxation notice to professional gamblers. Ben Weinper (12 Mar. 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 633–4]. Typed on plain paper; sheet 2 numbered. Carbon copy, unsigned, marked as ‘COPY.’ Distribution of the moneys from another of Yetta Klein’s hidden bank accounts to Klein’s siblings. Samuel Levine, Canadian Jewish Congress (20 June 1952). Klein, LAC [MS 671]. Typed by ‘RW’; carbon, marked in left margin as ‘COPY’; unsigned. Responds to Levine’s request for a list of books ‘sponsored or financed or subventioned by Congress’ and ‘campaign slogans for the campaigns of 1940, 1941, 1942, etc.’ Harry Aronovitch (9 Mar. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 858]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein); unsigned carbon copy. Replies to Aronovitch’s letter of 7 March: Klein encloses a legal file and returns a cheque for $25.50, assuring his former partner, ‘When I wrote you that you are on your own now, I meant it.’ Jean Avard, Insurance Brokers (29 May 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 891]. Handwritten, LH11. Cancels professional insurance following his resignation from the bar and his legal practice.

498

Appendix C

Miss W. Macky (21 Aug. 1956). Klein, LAC [MS 916]. Typed by ‘BK’ (Bessie Klein), LH11. Thanks her for copies of her play on Jewish history, ‘Song of Zion.’ Mrs. White, Joseph E. Seagram and Son Distillers (6 Oct. 1958). Klein, LAC [MS 1092]. Handwritten, LH11. Encloses the manuscript of ‘Partners in Democracy: Canada and the United States,’ a Seagram’s publication. Rabbi Ira Eisenstein (23 Aug. 1957). Klein, LAC [MS 999]. Handwritten draft LH11; unsigned. Refers Rabbi Eisenstein to Alfred A. Knopf for permission for a ‘dramatic representation’ of The Second Scroll.

Index

Abrahams, Robert D., 358, 364 Abramson, Samuel, x, xi, xxv, 11–13, 21, 24, 25, 36–7, 135–6, 253–4, 277, 284, 286, 288, 303, 320, 328, 333–4, 335, 336, 340–1, 343, 344, 352, 356, 407, 475, 484, 494 Adler, Cyrus (JPS), 330 Aikman, Audrey (First Statement), 400, 418 American Caravan, xxiiin20, 5, 40, 58, 74, 350, 396 American Jewish Committee, 130, 401, 405 Anderson, Patrick, xxxii, 82, 91, 140, 200, 355, 380, 385, 418 Aronovitch, Harry, ix, x, 265, 266, 267, 282, 322, 480, 497 Auden, W.H., 117, 399, 430 Avard Inc., Jean, 497 Avison, Margaret, 82, 380 Bar Association, Montreal, ix, 266, 322, 480 Bar Association, Quebec, ix, 267, 322 Becker, Lavy, 259, 321, 478 Behrman’s Jewish Book Room, xxxii,

29, 30, 33, 75, 107, 195, 198, 336, 343, 347, 375, Benét, Stephen Vincent, 115, 399 Benét, William Rose, 82, 379 Bennett, Archibald B., 33, 349 Bernhard, Lucien (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), 214–15, 455, 456, 457–8 Betsky, Sarah Zweig (Sarah Zweig), 129, 404 Bialik, Chaim Nachman, xxin1, 36, 41, 47, 75, 131, 185, 294, 352, 354, 358, 363, 374, 405, 438, 439 Birney, Earle, 54, 59, 82, 132–3, 144–5, 160, 197, 231, 303, 306, 308, 312, 318, 367, 380, 406, 410, 413–14, 417–18, 447: ‘Anglo-Saxon Street,’ 82; David and Other Poems, 59, 82, 367, 380; ‘The Strait of Anian,’ 413 Blake, William, 5, 116, 202, 399, 451 Bloch, Pedro: The Hands of Eurydice, xxxiii, 236–9, 239–40, 242–5, 246–7, 248–9, 470–1 Bonner, James, 274, 483 Book of the Month Club, 108, 395 Booth Theatre, New York, 473, 475 Borodensky, Sophie (Shulamis Yelin), 493

500

Index

Braithwaite, William S.: Braithwaite’s Anthology, 5, 330 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 208, 454 Broido, Ephraim, 131, 303, 405–6 Bronfman, Samuel, ix, xi–xiv, xiinn10 and 12, xxxii, 16–17, 19, 37–8, 94–6, 101, 146, 156–7, 271–2, 273–8, 288, 296–8, 307, 323–4, 326–8, 337, 338, 352–3, 387–8, 391, 406, 416, 481–4 Brown, E.K., xv, xviii, xx, 26–7, 28, 77, 79, 85, 105–6, 113–4, 286, 287, 299, 300, 343, 344–5, 345–6, 382, 393–4, 397–8, 444: On Canadian Poetry, 85, 106, 382, 394; Poetry (Chicago) – Canadian issue, 26–7, 28, 77, 344–5, 345–6, 394 Brown, Harrison, 482, 483 Browne, Sir Thomas, xxin4, 168, 173, 424, 429 Budgen, Frank, 163, 164, 340, 420–1, 421–2, 426, 428, 450, 458 Bunyan, John, 172–3, 427–8 Burger, Knox (Collier’s), 207, 314, 447, 453 Byron, George Gordon Lord, xiii, 14, 102, 392 Cain, James M., 166, 422–3 Caiserman, H.M., 15, 18, 38–9, 101, 124, 285, 288, 298, 302, 336, 339, 352, 353, 391, 401, 493, 494, 495 Calder, Robert Louis, 104, 393 Campbell, William Wilfred, 80, 376 Caplan, Rupert (CBC), 229, 468 Canadian Authors Association (CAA), 84, 439, 382, 398, 406 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), 229, 245, 251, 329, 364, 397, 408, 468, 472–3, 493

Canadian Forum, xxxi, 5, 12, 13, 23, 27, 40, 54, 58, 74, 85, 88, 89, 102, 112, 119, 127, 145, 155, 299, 343, 344, 345, 367, 380, 382, 385, 391, 400, 416, 417 Canadian Jewish Chronicle (CJC), vii, ix, xi–xii, xxin6, xxxii, xxxiii, 15, 16, 22–3, 37, 38, 84, 250, 336, 337, 338, 341–2, 343, 344, 345, 346, 348, 349, 352, 363, 400, 403, 465, 495 Canadian Jewish Congress, ix, x, xixiii, xv, xxi–iin7, xxiinn13 and 14, xxvii, xxix, xxxii, xxxiii, 15, 16–19, 21, 24–5, 32–3, 36–7, 38–9, 101, 124, 159–60, 174, 198, 285, 288, 298, 302, 307, 334, 336–9, 352–3, 391, 401–2, 415–16, 417, 430, 485–7, 489, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497 Canadian Jewish Eagle (Kanader Adler), 15, 24, 263, 336, 343, 348, 349, 473, 494 Canadian Jewish Yearbook, 32–3, 348–9 Canadian Mercury, 5, 337 Canadian Poetry Magazine, 132–3, 144–5, 343, 345–6, 357, 406 Canadian Young Judaea (CYJ), xi, xxxi, 4, 10, 284, 331, 333, 336, 493. See also Zionism Canadian Zionist, xi, xxxii, 415. See also Zionism Carlofsky, Rose, 3–4, 283, 329 Carman, Bliss, 80, 349, 376 Carpin, Miriam (Kennedy), 120, 400 CBC. See Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CCF. See Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Céline, Louis-Ferdinand, 259, 478 Cerf, Bennett, xviii, xxiiin20, 114–17, 388, 398–9, 402

Index Chait, Samuel, ix–x, xxxii, 266–7, 282, 322, 480 Charney, Samuel (Shmuel Niger), xvi, xxiin15, xxv, xxix, 25–6, 27–8, 34–6, 286, 288, 344, 345, 349, 350–2, 359 Chase, Stuart, 481 Chicago Jewish Forum, 119, 230, 465, 495 Churchill, Winston, 108, 111, 395, 396 Circle, xxvi, 124–5, 302, 402 Clurman, Harold, 263–4, 322, 479–80 Cohen, Bernard, 12–13 Cohen, Elliott, 130, 405 Cohen, Mortimer J., 358 Cohen, Oscar, xii, 16–19, 285, 337–9, 494 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 70, 81, 373, 378 Collier’s Magazine, 195, 207, 212–3, 314, 446, 453, 496 Collin, W.E., xviii, xx, 9–10, 40, 54, 75, 79, 85, 196–7, 284, 312, 332, 354, 364, 382, 393, 447; White Savannahs, 9, 40, 54, 75, 294, 332, 354, 364, 382, 447 Colum, Mary, 148, 340, 412 Colum, Padraic, 20, 340, 439–40 Commentary, 130–1, 356, 401, 404–5 Conrad, Joseph, 221–2, 463 Contemporary Jewish Record, xi, 44–5, 55, 119, 289, 301, 356, 364, 436 Contemporary Verse, 305, 306, 310, 315, 408, 410, 456. See also Crawley, Alan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), ix, x, xi, xiii, xxxii, xxxiii, 331, 389–90, 393, 402, 443–4, 444, 494–5 Courcelles, A., 496

501

Cournos, John, 76–7, 98, 374–5, 389 Crawley, Alan (Contemporary Verse), 140, 144, 147–8, 178, 212–13, 305, 306, 310, 315, 408, 410, 411, 433–4, 456 Creighton, Alan (Canadian Forum), 85, 89, 90–1, 382, 385 Daiches, David, 180, 436 Daily Compass, 196, 229, 414, 447, 463, 468 Dainow, Joe, vii, xiv, 72–3, 294, 373– 4 Damon, S. Foster, 20, 340 Daniel, Arnaut, 137, 407 Dante (Dante Alighieri), 35, 91, 137, 173, 304, 351, 407, 429 David Co., Jonathan, 108, 113, 395, 398, 401 Davies, Joseph Edward: Mission to Moscow, 100, 390–1 Day, Margaret (Preview), 355 Devoir, Le, 123, 391 DeVries, Peter (Poetry), 56, 59, 291, 292, 365, 367, 369, 380, 403, 404 Dial Press, 305, 408, 496 Dickstein, Moishe, 100, 133–4, 390. See also Zionism Dillon, George (Poetry), 28, 39–40, 54, 55–6, 150–1, 288, 291, 306, 344, 353, 365, 412–13 Donne, John, 53, 173, 349, 429 Doubleday & Co., 305, 408, 495 Dudek, Louis, 400 Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 138–9, 305, 307, 408, 413, 422 Duker, Abraham G., 44–5, 289, 356–7, 364 Dushkin, Alexander M., 72, 374 Duvar, John Hunter, 81, 378

502

Index

Edel, Leon, xi, xv, xvi, xx, xxv, xxxi, 19–20, 76, 98, 142, 148–9, 152–3, 164, 181–2, 183–4, 186, 191–2, 196, 199–200, 202, 205–6, 213, 216–20, 222–3, 227–8, 231–2, 234–5, 250, 254–5, 257, 285–6, 286, 305–6, 306, 307, 308, 311, 312, 313, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320, 321, 339–40, 345, 409, 412, 414, 419, 421–2, 423, 433, 437– 8, 439, 440, 444, 445, 447, 449, 451, 452–3, 457, 458–62, 463, 465–7, 468, 468–9, 470, 473–4, 475–6, 477: Complete Plays of Henry James, The, 192, 196, 437, 439, 444; ‘Future of the Novel: James and Joyce, The,’ 200, 449; Ghostly Tales of Henry James, The, 186, 437, 440; ‘James Joyce and His New Work,’ 20, 340, 412; James Joyce: The Last Journey, 142, 254–5, 409, 412, 475–6, 477 Efros, Israel, 185, 438 Eisenstein, Rabbi Ira (Reconstructionist), 30, 54, 287, 347, 498 Elections B federal riding of Cartier: in 1945, xxxii, 104–5, 105, 106, 124, 389–91, 392–3, 401–2; in 1949, xxxiii, 191, 193, 422, 443–4, 445 Eliot, T.S., 76, 82, 98, 128, 302, 379, 380, 404, 413 Ellis, Arthur, 402 Envoy, 216–17, 458–9 Ettelson, H.W. (JPS), 330, 332, 358 Fadiman, Clifton, xviii, xxiiinn20 and 21, 108, 110, 114–17, 388–9, 395, 398–9, 402 Figler, Bernard, 15, 336 Files, Harold, 200, 418, 449 Finch, Robert, 353, 409 First Statement, xxxii, 112, 120, 140–1,

355, 381, 387, 397, 401, 402, 403, 407, 409, 410, 418, 447, 457 Fitch, Louis, 12, 334 Flemington, Frank (Ryerson Press), xxin7, 158–60, 169–70, 174, 240, 307, 309, 314, 319, 413–14, 416–17, 430, 471 Flint, F. Cudworth, 110, 396, 397–8 Frank, Joseph, ix, 7–8, 10–11, 13–14, 284, 284–5, 331, 333, 334–5 Freeman, Samuel D. See Jewish Center Lecture Bureau Friedman, Philip, 223, 316, 463–4 Frye, Northrop, 85, 382 Furnas, Clifford Cook, 274, 483 Gants du ciel, 127, 147, 161, 391, 403, 411, 418 Garber, Michael, 32–3, 348 Garmaise, Max, ix, xxxi, xxxii, 11, 12, 14, 281, 333, 334, 480 Gertz, Mitchell, 230, 468 Gesu Theatre, Montreal, 252, 475 Gilbert, Stuart, 166, 176, 178–9, 194, 340, 423, 432–3, 434, 435, 446, 451 Goldsmith, Oliver, 80, 377 Gladstone (Glatstein), Jacob, 125–6, 129, 138, 302, 303, 305, 402–3, 404 Gogarty, Oliver St. John, 168, 216–17, 425, 442, 458–9 Goldsmith, Oliver, 80, 377 Goldstick, Isador, 130–1, 303, 351, 404–5 Gotham Book Mart, xx, 174, 256, 409, 421, 440, 475, 476 Gouzenko, Igor Sergeivich, xxxii, 139, 392, 408 Governor General’s Awards, vii, xx, xxxiii, 106, 113, 195, 198, 344, 353,

Index 357, 367, 380, 394, 398, 406, 408, 409, 444, 457 Grayzel, Solomon (JPS), 67–71, 83, 86–8, 92–3, 117, 295, 296, 301, 354, 358, 360, 361, 364, 367, 370–3, 383– 4, 386, 394, 399, 491 Greenberg, Chaim, 494 Greenberg, Eliazer, 183, 438 Grodinsky, Julius (JPS), 330, 331 Grosset & Dunlop, Inc., 151, 305, 306–7, 408, 413, 422 Guggenheim Foundation, vii, xv, xvii-iii, 40, 41, 46, 74–9, 83, 85, 105, 166–9, 184, 294–5, 308–9, 340, 354, 357, 357–8, 374–5, 381, 381–2, 382, 393, 405, 414, 423–5, 439 Gustafson, Ralph, 33–4, 42–3, 54, 64, 65, 66, 91–2, 96, 287, 289, 293, 298, 349–50, 355, 367, 369, 369–70, 370, 385–6, 388, 409, 482: Anthology of Canadian Poetry (Penguin), 33–4, 43, 349–50, 367, 482; Contemporary Canadian Writing, 42–3, 349, 355; Little Anthology of Canadian Poets, A, 66, 91–2, 96, 370, 385–6, 388; Lyrics Unromantic, 54, 367 Habonim, 12, 14, 334, 336, 390. See Zionism Hadassah (WIZO), 153, 253, 415, 489, 490. See Zionism Hale, Katherine (Mrs John Garvin), 82, 379 Halevi, Yehuda, 14, 35, 41, 42, 335, 351, 354. See also Klein, A.M.: Poems – ‘Yehuda Halevi His Pilgrimage’ Halpern, Moishe Leib, 36, 351 Hambleton, Ronald, 82, 381 Hartt, Maurice, xiii, xxxiii, 99, 191, 312, 389–90, 443–4

503

Hayes, Saul, xxiin13, xxvii, 16, 337, 339, 485–7, 494 Heaps, Albert Abraham, 99–100, 390 Heavysege, Charles, 80, 81, 375, 377 Hebrew Union College Monthly, 53, 362, 494 Hepburn, Mitchel F., 19, 339 Here & Now, 173, 186, 187, 188, 428, 430, 440, 441, 457 Heredia, José Maria de, 81, 377 Hershorn, Rabbi S., 495 Heschel, Abraham J., 251, 474 Hitler, Adolf, 23, 28, 42, 51, 62, 63, 68, 71, 72, 90, 102, 108, 110, 221, 355, 356, 386, 391, 394, 396, 397, 404, 405, 467. See Klein, A.M.: Books – The Hitleriad Hope Simpson, John, 17, 338 Hopkins, Gerard Manley, 265, 480, 492 Hound and Horn, 20, 340 Humphries, George Rolfe, 86, 382, 430 Hurwitz, Harold (Menorah Journal), 31, 54, 287, 347, 358 Husik, Isaac (JPS), 8, 331–2 Immanuel of Rome, 35, 351 Israel, state of, vii, x, xv, xvi, xix, xxin1, xxvii, xxxiii, 131, 194, 199, 218, 220–1, 224–5, 232, 235, 250, 262, 263, 342–3, 354, 390, 405, 415, 444, 445, 447, 459, 460–2, 465, 466, 470, 473–4, 478, 479, 485–7, 490. See Zionism Jacobs, Maurice (JPS), 88–9, 107, 119, 295, 299, 301, 384, 394, 400 James, Henry, xi, 186, 192, 196, 199–

504

Index

200, 213, 255, 339, 437, 439, 444, 447, 449, 457, 474 Jarrell, Randall, 130, 404–5 Jessup, John K. (Life), 112, 397, 399 Jewish Center Lecture Bureau (JCLB), xv, 197–8, 199, 253, 257, 260, 313, 320, 321, 447–8, 448–9, 475, 477, 478, 488–92 Jewish Encyclopedia, The, 109, 395 Jewish Frontier, 75, 88, 122, 235, 401, 470, 494. See Zionism Jewish Information Bureau, 32–3, 348–9 Jewish Public Library, 258, 415, 477 Jewish Publication Society (JPS). See Adler, Cyrus; Ettelson, H.W.; Grayzell, Solomon; Grodinsky, Julius; Huzik, Isaac; Jacobs, Maurice; Levinthal, Louis; Loeb, Oscar; Solis-Cohen, Solomon Jewish Standard, 5, 24, 330, 494 John, Evan (Simpson, Evan John): The Network, 165–6, 408, 42 Jolas, Eugene, 182, 254, 340, 437, 475 Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), 449, 464, 473–4, 486 Journal le Canada Français, 127–8, 404 Joyce, James, xi, xv, xvi, xvi–ii, xvii–iii, xx, xxin4, xxxii–iii, 35, 58, 77–8, 142, 148, 149, 150, 154–5, 160, 161, 162–4, 166–9, 170–4, 174–7, 178–9, 181–2, 184, 185, 187–8, 189–91, 193–4, 195, 200, 202, 203, 205–6, 208, 216–17, 218, 223, 227, 231–2, 251, 253, 254–5, 256, 257, 339–40, 351, 352, 357, 366, 409, 412, 414, 415, 417–18, 418–22, 423–35, 437–43, 444–6, 449, 450–3, 454–5, 458–60, 465, 469, 474, 475–7, 478–9:

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, A, 439, 442, 454–5; Exagimination, 20, 340, 366, 420, 423, 439; Exiles, 366, 421, 434–5; Finnegans Wake, xvi, xvii-iii, xxvi, 20, 35, 58, 77–8, 188–9, 190, 255, 340, 351, 366, 419, 437, 438, 439, 441, 442, 445, 477; Stephen Hero, 208, 366, 442, 454–5; Ulysses, xv, xvii, xxxiii, 35, 148, 150, 154–5, 160, 162–4, 166–9, 170–4, 174–7, 178–9, 181–2, 184, 185, 187, 189–91, 193–4, 195, 200, 202, 203, 205–6, 208, 251, 253, 339, 357, 414, 415, 417–18, 418–22, 423–35, 437–43, 444–6, 449, 450–3, 469, 479 Joyce (Barnacle), Nora, 189, 441 Joyce, Patrick W., 432, 433, 434 Joyce Society, xx, xxxiii, 164, 184, 202, 203, 205–6, 208, 412, 418, 421, 439, 440, 445, 449, 451, 452, 453, 454, 475, 476 Joyce, Stanislaus, 188–9, 255, 346, 418–19, 435, 441–2, 476 JPS. See Jewish Publication Society Judaean, The, xi, xxxi, 403, 451. See also Zionism Kain, Richard M., 167, 172, 423, 427, 454 Kanader Adler. See Canadian Jewish Eagle Kaplan, Rabbi Mordecai M., 30, 347 Kavanaugh, Peter, 202, 451 Keats, John, 4, 13, 48, 49, 91, 335, 359, 375, 385 Keimberg. See Kreymborg, Alfred Kelleher, John V., 170, 173, 178, 185, 190, 419, 425, 430, 432, 433, 439, 441 Kennedy, Leo, xi, xviii, xxin6, xxii– iiin18, xxv, xxxi, 15–16, 22–3, 23–4,

Index 28, 31–2, 85, 120, 192, 285, 286, 287, 301, 332, 337, 339, 341–3, 345–6, 347–8, 353, 382, 400, 444, 447 Kenyon Review, 136–7, 303–5, 407 Kip (see Kreymborg, Alfred) Kipling, Rudyard, 82, 137, 379 Klein, Abraham Moses: Books: Hath Not a Jew, xvi–xvii, xxxii, 14, 23, 26, 27, 29, 30, 41, 49, 59, 66, 74, 76, 98, 101, 102, 107, 123, 137, 195, 198, 336, 340, 343, 344, 345, 347, 350, 351, 356– 7, 359, 364, 367, 370, 375, 443–4; Hitleriad, The, xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxiiin21, xxxiii, 71, 72–3, 83–4, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93–4, 96, 97–99, 102–3, 103–4, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–17, 118, 120, 123, 127–8, 131, 137, 195, 198, 355, 365, 373, 381, 384, 386–8, 388–9, 391–2, 394–9, 403, 495; Poems, xvii, xviii, xxiin16, xxxii, 42, 47–55, 57, 59–60, 66–71, 83, 86–9, 92–3, 110, 117–18, 119, 122–3, 124, 130, 131, 137, 195, 198, 354–5, 358–64, 367–8, 370–3, 383–4, 386, 394, 399–400, 400, 402, 404, 405, 495; Rocking Chair, The, viii, xix, xx, xxxii, xxxiii, 147, 148, 161, 169– 70, 174, 185, 195, 198, 212, 240, 273, 310, 410, 411, 413–14, 417, 444, 471, 482, 496; Second Scroll, The, viii–ix, xvi, xix–xx, xxiin14, xxvii, xxxiii, 198, 200–1, 206, 212, 214–16, 217–23, 224–31, 231–3, 235–6, 239, 241, 245, 247, 249–50, 251, 370, 448, 450–1, 460–3, 464– 70, 471–2, 472–3, 473, 474, 488, 489, 491, 498; Seven Poems (Poems of French Canada, Huits poèmes

505

canadiens), xiii, xxin7, 132, 134, 303, 406, 412–13, 416–17 Manuscript volumes: ‘Greeting on This Day,’ 6, 7, 330; Gestures Hebraic, 9, 332, 362, 447; Poems, 41, xvii, 5–6, 7, 447 Essays: ‘Black Panther, The,’ 182, 190–1, 192, 419, 423, 424–5, 438, 442–3, 444, 475, 497; ‘Notebook of a Journey,’ xxxiii, 460; ‘On Translating the Yiddish FolkSong,’ 479–80; ‘Oxen of the Sun,’ 168, 170, 172–3, 177, 182, 184, 186, 187, 190, 202, 340, 420– 1, 421–2, 425–6, 426–7, 427–8, 428–30, 437–8, 439, 440, 441, 444, 445, 450, 458–9; ‘Shout in the Street, A,’ 189–90, 424, 438, 451, 457, 475; ‘White Paper, The,’ xii, xxin6; ‘Yiddish Proverb, The,’ 456, 489, 492 Fiction (unpublished): ‘And It Shall Come to Pass,’ 496; ‘Comes the Revolution’ (‘Walks Like a Man’), xxxii, 165–6, 408, 422, 497 Plays: Conscience (The Hands of Eurydice), xxxiii, 236–40, 242–5, 246–7, 248–9, 470–1, 473, 475; Icepick, The, 251, 475; O Canada, 251; Worse Visitors We Shouldn’t Have, 264, 479–80 Poems (italics indicate subsections of long poems or poetry sequences): ‘Air-Map,’ 406, 417; ‘And in That Drowning Instant,’ 394, 468; ‘Annual Banquet,’ 159, 417; ‘Autobiographical,’ 61–2, 107, 127, 225, 368–9, 382, 385, 394, 464–5; ‘Ave Atque Vale,’ 5, 330; ‘Ballad of the Evil Eye,’ 365; ‘Ballad of

506

Index the Nuremberg Tower Clock,’ 54, 364; ‘Ballad of the Nursery Rhymes,’ 40, 353, 391; ‘Ballad of the Thwarted Axe,’ 40, 54, 353, 364, 391; ‘Barricade Smith: His Speeches,’ 11, 13, 333, 335, 337, 391; Benediction, A, 53, 362, 372; ‘Benediction for the New Moon, A,’ 372; ‘Bestiary,’ 63, 369–70; ‘Blueprint for a Monument of War,’ 391; ‘Bread,’ 107, 394, 482; ‘Break-Up, The,’ 406; ‘Business,’ 339–40; ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,’ xiii, 14, 16, 46, 337, 342, 357; ‘Christian Poet and Hebrew Maid,’ 400; ‘Come Two, like Shadows,’ 55, 365; ‘Cripples, The,’ 406, 417; ‘Desideratum,’ 59, 73, 366, 386; ‘Design for a Mediaeval Tapestry,’ 33, 349; ‘Discovery of Spring,’ 329; ‘Dissolution,’ 329; ‘Doubt,’ 329; ‘Dress Manufacturer: Fisherman,’ 144, 410; ‘Elegy,’ 225–6, 229, 465; Exultation, 329; First Sight, 329; For the Bride, a Song, to Be Sung by Virgins, 52, 362, 372; For the Bridegroom Coming Out of His Chamber, 52, 362, 372; ‘For the Chief Physician,’ 346; ‘For the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu,’ 406, 417; ‘Festschrift au Coeur,’ 329; ‘Frigidaire,’ 406; ‘Grace before Poison,’ 226, 361, 365–6, 370–1, 373, 385, 465; ‘Grain Elevator,’ 406, 417; ‘Haggadah,’ 370, 386, 408; ‘Heirloom,’ 63, 370, 386, 388; ‘Here They Are – All Those Sunny April Days!,’ 6, 331; ‘Home,’ 329; ‘In Memoriam: Arthur Ellis,’

402; ‘In Re Solomon Warshawer,’ xxi n1, xxii-iiin18, 42, 46, 63, 75, 92, 97–8, 346, 355, 356, 363, 369, 386; ‘Indian Reservation: Caughnawaga,’ 404; ‘Kalman Rhapsodizes,’ 362; ‘Krieghoff: Calligrammes,’ 158, 159; ‘Lamed Vav: A Psalm to Utter in Memory of Great Goodness,’ 52, 361, 371; ‘Last Will and Testament,’ 329, 339; ‘Les Filles Majeures,’ 158, 417; ‘Lone Bather,’ 158, 416, 417; ‘Love,’ 73, 91, 366, 386; Love Call, 329; ‘M. Bertrand,’ 406; ‘Maschil of Abraham: A Prayer When He Was in the Cave,’ 347, 360, 371, 383; ‘Meditation upon Survival,’ 304; ‘Monsieur Gaston,’ 144, 410; ‘Montreal,’ 159, 417; ‘Murals for a House of God,’ 42, 54, 355, 364; ‘Of Castles in Spain,’ 391; ‘Of Remembrance,’ 335; ‘O God! O Montreal!,’ 144; ‘Parade of St. Jean Baptiste,’ xxin7, 159, 413, 416, 417; ‘Penultimate Chapter,’ 55, 365; ‘Plumaged Proxy,’ 5, 330; ‘Portrait of the Poet as Landscape’ (‘Portrait of the Poet as Nobody’), 125, 126, 137, 158, 402, 403, 407, 416; ‘Prayer of Abraham, against Madness, A,’ 372, 403, 494; ‘Prayer of Abraham That He Be Forgiven for Blasphemy, A,’ 347; ‘Provinces, The,’ 159, 416, 417; ‘Psalm for Five Holy Pilgrims, Yea, Six on the King’s Highway, A,’ 347, 361, 372, 384; ‘Psalm of a Mighty Hunter before the Lord, A,’ 52, 371, 373, 394; ‘Psalm of Abra-

Index ham, Concerning That Which He Beheld upon the Heavenly Scarp, A,’ 40, 51, 61, 73, 74, 353, 357, 361, 366, 368, 370, 383, 385–6, 403; ‘Psalm of Abraham Concerning the Arrogance of the Son of Man, A,’ 347; ‘Psalm of Abraham of That Which Was Visited upon Him, A,’ 53, 347, 367; ‘Psalm of Abraham, Praying a Green Old Age, A,’ 159, 347; ‘Psalm of Abraham, to be Written Down and Left on the Tomb of Rashi, A,’ 372; ‘Psalm of Abraham, Touching His Green Pastures, A,’ 51, 345, 355, 360, 393, 403; ‘Psalm of Abraham, When He Hearkened to a Voice, and There Was None, A,’ 403; ‘Psalm of Abraham, When He Was Sore Pressed, A,’ 346, 384; ‘Psalm of Abraham, Which He Made Because of Fear in the Night, A,’ 347, 372, 384; ‘Psalm of Justice, and Its Scales, A,’ 347, 367, 383, 384; ‘Psalm of Resignation,’ 53, 347, 363, 372, 373; ‘Psalm of the Fruitful Field,’ 52, 371, 383, 394; ‘Psalm of Time and the Firmament, A,’ 53, 362, 373; ‘Psalm or Prayer B Praying His Portion with Beasts, A,’ 53, 362, 372, 403; ‘Psalm to Be Preserved Against Two Wicked Words, A,’ 52, 361, 371; ‘Psalm to teach Humility, A,’ 53, 347, 363, 372; ‘Psalm Touching Genealogy, A,’ 107, 384, 394, 403; ‘Psalm, with Trumpets for the Months, A,’ 52, 367; Quarrel, 329; ‘Quebec Liquor Commis-

507

sion Store,’ 406; ‘Rather Than Have My Brethren Bend the Knee (A Psalm for the Sons of Korah),’ 373; ‘Reb Levi Yitschok Talks to God,’ 330; ‘Rocking Chair, The,’ 482; ‘Scribe,’ 5, 330; ‘Sennet from Gheel,’ 40, 58, 74, 91. 353, 366, 375, 386; ‘Sequence of Songs, A,’ 3, 329; ‘Sestina on the Dialectic,’ 136–7, 304, 407; ‘Sire Alexandre Grandmaison,’ 158, 416; ‘Song for Wanderers, A,’ 372, 383; ‘Song of Degrees, A,’ 51, 347, 360, 361, 371; Song of Loves (‘Grace Before Poison’), 51–2, 67, 73, 226, 345, 361, 366, 370, 371, 373, 383, 386, 393, 465; ‘Song without Music,’ 366; Speak Me No Deaths. Prevent That Word from Me, 363; ‘Spring Exhibit,’ 58, 73, 386; Still Small Voice, The, 369–70, 370, 386, 388, 408; ‘Sugaring, The,’ 159, 417; ‘Symbols,’ 4, 329; ‘That Legendary Eagle Death,’ 55, 365; Think not, my dear, because I do not call, 6–7, 331, 364; ‘To the Chief Bailiff, a Psalm of the King’s Writ,’ 347; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of Israel, to Bring to Remembrance,’ 346; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, a Parable,’ 335, 362, 366, 386; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Touching a Good Gardener,’ 335, 362, 372, 383; ‘To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, When He Considered How the Pious are Overwhelmed,’ 335, 362; ‘To

508

Index

the Chief Musician, a Psalm of the Bratzlaver, Which He Wrote Down as the Stammerer Spoke,’ 335, 362, 372; ‘To the Chief Musician, Al-Taschith, Michtam of Abraham, When One Sent, and They Watched the House to Kill Him,’ 345, 361, 366, 371, 383, 386, 393–4; ‘To the Chief Musician, Who Played for the Dancers,’ 383; ‘To the Prophets, Minor and Major, a Psalm or Song,’ 347, 371, 384; ‘Variation of a Theme,’ 58, 73, 91, 366, 385; ‘Yehuda Halevi, His Pilgrimage,’ 42, 53, 71, 75, 87, 92, 107, 351, 354, 355, 363, 373, 375, 383, 386 Prizes: Edward Bland Memorial Fellowship (1947), xiii, xxin7, 150–1, 412–13, 416, 417; Governor General’s Award for Poetry (1949), viii, xx, xxxiii, 195, 198, 444; National Jewish Book Award (1951), 251, 474; Lorne Pierce Medal (1957), xx, xxxiii, 271, 481, 482; Yehuda Halevi Prize (1942), 41, 42, 53, 75, 354, 355, 374 Translations: Bialik, Chaim Nachman, xxi, 14, 41, 47, 131, 183, 294, 352, 354, 358, 405, 438–9; Brahinsky, Mani-Leib, 351; Dickstein, Moishe, 390; Glatstein [Goldstone], Jacob, 129, 138, 402, 404, 408; Halevi, Yehuda, 335; Halpern, Moyshe Leib, 351; Rahel (Rachel Bluwstein), 75, 374; Segal, Jacob Isaac, 341, 352; ‘legends of the Talmud,’ 251, 474; Yiddish folk-songs,75, 457, 479

Klein, Bessie, née Kozlov, x, xiv, xxxii, xxxiii, 6–7, 8, 261–2, 283–4, 331, 332, 478–9, 481 Klein, Colman, xv, xxix, 10, 11, 12, 14, 28, 177, 333, 334, 346, 414, 496 Klein, Sandor, xv, xxix, 177, 414, 496 Klein, Sharon, xv, 177, 414 Klein, Yetta, x, xxxi, 62, 495, 497 Klein, Rabbi Max D. (JPS), 331, 332 Knopf, Alfred A., 241, 319, 448, 471–2 Knopf, Alfred A., Inc., ix, xxix, xx, xxin3, xxv, xxxiii, 49, 198, 200–1, 204–5, 206, 209–11, 212, 214–15, 215–16, 225–7, 229–31, 232–3, 241, 245, 250–1, 313, 314, 315, 317, 318, 319, 320, 423, 449–50, 452, 453, 455–6, 456, 457–8, 464–5, 467–8, 469, 471–2, 472–3, 474–5, 498. See Koshland, William A.; Knopf, Alfred A.; Preston, Raymond A.; Weinstock, Herbert Knox, Israel, 76 Korn, Bertram W., 494 Koshland, William A. (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), 245, 318, 319, 468, 472–3 Kozlov, Bessie. See Klein, Bessie Kreymborg, Alfred, xxiiin20, 110, 114, 116, 396, 398, 402 Labour Zionist Alliance, 334, 336, 390, 401. See Zionism Landor, Walter Savage, 91, 385 Laughton, Charles, 245, 472 Laub, Morris, xxv, 223–5, 235–6, 316, 318, 462, 464, 470 Laughlin, James, IV (New Directions), xvi, xviii–iv, xx, xxiin17, xxiiinn19 and 20, 57–8, 60–1, 66, 73–4, 83–4, 90, 93–4, 97, 101–4,

Index 108–9, 110–11, 112–13, 113, 114–17, 122–3, 150, 163, 187–8, 208, 213–14, 259, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 298, 299, 300, 300–1, 301–2, 311, 315, 351, 365–6, 368, 369, 370, 373, 374, 381, 385, 386, 386–7, 388–9, 391–2, 394–5, 395–6, 396–7, 398–9, 401, 434, 438, 440–1, 444, 455, 457 Layton, Irving, xxxii, 214, 233–4, 318, 397, 397–8, 400, 409, 418, 457, 469–70 Leacock, Stephen, Canada: The Foundation of Its Future, xiii-xiv, xxiinn11 and 12, 94–6, 271–2, 387–8, 481–2 Leib, Mani, 36, 351 Lenin, 195, 207, 446–7 Leonard, Jonathan Norton (Time), 269, 481 Lesser, Allen (Contemporary Jewish Record), 44–5, 55, 356–7, 364 Levi, Rabbi S. Gershon, 153–4, 352, 414 Levi, Shonie, xv, 153–4, 308, 414–15 Levin, Harry, 150, 167, 185, 217, 256, 412, 423, 439, 441, 460, 464, 477 Levine, Samuel, 495, 497 Lewis, David, x, xi, xxxi, 8, 10, 99–100, 104–5, 284, 299, 331, 333, 389–91, 392–3 Lewis, Sophie, née Carson, 331 Lewisohn, Ludwig, xxii–xiiin18, 9, 41, 45, 49, 54, 76, 98, 119, 226, 229, 332, 336, 346, 354, 356, 359, 400, 465, 467. See Zionism Levinthal, Louis E. (JPS), xxiin16, 41–2, 47–55, 57, 59–60, 66–71, 117–18, 288–9, 289–91, 292, 292–3, 293–4, 301, 354–5, 358–65, 367–8, 370–3, 383, 400 Life Magazine, 112, 116, 397, 399

509

Lippincott, J.B. & Co., 184, 305, 307, 408, 413, 439, 496 Livesay, Dorothy, 332, 337, 409 Littauer, Kenneth (Collier’s), 496 Loeb, Oscar (JPS), 330, 332 MacDonald, Thoreau, 240, 471 MacGregor, Robert M. (New Directions), 258–9, 477–8 MacInnes, Tom, 81, 377, 378 MacInnis, Angus, 99, 104–5, 389, 392–3 MacLellan, Keith, 400 MacLeish, Archibald, 188, 441 MacPhail, Agnes Campbell, 100, 390 Maimonides, Moses, 35, 49, 180, 352, 359, 425, 436 Mair, Charles, 80, 375–6 Marcus, Samuel (Plimpton Press), 93, 103, 386, 387, 388, 392 Marlowe, Christopher, xiii, 50, 116, 360, 399 Marvell, Andrew, 392 Mason, Ellsworth Goodwin, xv, xvi, xxv, xxxii, 161–3, 164, 170, 171–4, 174–5, 176–7, 178–9, 185–6, 186–7, 188–91, 192, 256, 308, 309, 309–10, 310, 311, 311–12, 321, 339, 414, 418–21, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426–30, 430–2, 432–3, 434–5, 439– 40, 441, 441–3, 444–5, 450, 476–7 Maynard, F.X., 122, 401 McGilliad, The, xxxi McGill Fortnightly Review, The, 337, 339, 354 McGill University, ix, xiv–xv, xx, xxin4, xxxi, xxxii, 20, 40, 74, 110, 131, 133, 137, 153, 161, 168, 169, 177, 181, 195, 198, 200, 329, 337,

510

Index

339, 353, 369, 387, 393, 396, 400, 401, 407, 415, 418, 425, 444, 449, 469 McKee & Batchelder (McKee, Elizabeth), 165–6, 195, 308, 312, 408, 413, 422–3, 446–7, 453, 496–7 McLachlan, Alexander, 81, 377–8 Mendelssohn, Felix, 180, 436 Menorah Journal, xxxi, 5, 28, 29, 31, 40, 42, 52, 53, 54, 57, 74, 75, 76, 88, 119, 287, 345, 346, 347 Métivier, Mrs (see Royal Society of Canada) Milton, John, xvi, 35, 36, 51, 68, 126, 155, 181, 219, 221, 225, 361, 371, 402, 415, 462 Moe, Henry Allen (Guggenheim Foundation), xv, 40, 46–7, 166–9, 308–9, 354, 357–8, 381, 414, 423–5, 427, 432, 439, 446 Monroe, Harriet (Poetry), 3, 4–5, 283, 329, 330, 353 Montreal Gazette, 110, 222–3, 309, 396, 397, 463, 467 Montreal Star. See Morgan-Powell, Samuel Morgan-Powell, Samuel, 382, 385, 463 Mosher, Dan (pseudonym for A.M. Klein), 139, 151, 166, 305, 307, 408, 413, 422, 446, 495, 496 Mountain, George Jehosophat, 80, 377 Muller, Hermann Joseph, 274, 482–3 Murphy, Father Stanley, J.S. (Assumption College), xiv, 264–5, 268–9, 322, 480, 481, 492 Nation, The, 86, 117, 119, 123, 174, 183, 232, 400, 405, 430, 438, 469, 479

New Directions Press, xvi, xvii, xviii, xx, xxiin17, xxv, xxxii, 57–58, 60–1, 65, 66, 73–4, 78, 83–4, 90, 91, 92, 93–4, 96, 97–9, 101–3, 103–4, 106, 107, 108–9, 109, 110–11, 111, 112, 112–13, 114–17, 122–3, 163, 187–8, 195, 198, 213–14, 258–9, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 298, 299, 300, 301, 311, 315, 321, 351, 365–6, 368, 369, 370, 373, 374, 381, 385, 385–6, 386, 386–7, 388, 388–9, 391–2, 393, 394– 5, 395–6, 396, 398, 398–9, 401, 438, 440–1, 455, 457, 477–8 New Frontier, 337 New Palestine, 226, 229, 230, 400, 465 New Provinces, xx, 74, 349, 354 New York Times, 20, 108, 125, 475; New York Times Book Review, 396, 397, 470 Niger, Shmuel. See Charney, Samuel Nims, John Frederick, 56, 365 Norman, Itzhak, 232, 469 Northern Review, 140–1, 145, 161, 355, 409, 418 O’Grady, Standish, 377 O’Hegarty, P.S., 153, 414 Opinion, 14, 16, 29–30, 41, 42, 52, 53, 54, 74, 75, 88, 119, 287, 330, 335, 337, 345, 346–7, 355, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 382, 438–9, 468, 484 Ottawa Journal. See Ross, P.D. Page, P.K. (Patricia Kathleen), xxxii, 83, 91, 385, 409, 418 Palgrave, Frances Turner, xvii, 80, 375 Pearlman, Moshe, 235, 470 Peters, Margedant (Poetry), 64–5, 293, 367, 369

Index Pickthall, Marjorie, 378–9 Pierce, Lorne (Ryerson Press), 146–7, 149, 152, 212, 240, 273, 306, 307, 314, 324, 410, 411, 412, 413–14, 418, 456, 481, 482 Plimpton Press (see Marcus, Samuel) P.M., 153, 414, 447 P.M.L.A., 182, 438 Poale Zion, 104, 329, 494–5. See Zionism Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. See DeVries, Peter; Munroe, Harriett; Peters, Margedant; Strobel, Marion Poetry Commonwealth, 197, 447 Pope, Alexander, 51, 80, 102, 116, 360, 377, 391 Pratt, E.J., 46, 79, 82, 86, 101, 112, 333, 334, 346, 353, 357–8, 379, 382, 391, 393, 397, 406, Preston, Raymond A. (Alfred A. Knopf), 205, 206, 450, 452, 453 Preview, xxxii, 43, 58, 78, 91, 120, 355, 367, 374, 380, 386, 400, 409, 418, 447 Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac), 180, 436 Ravitch, Melech, 223, 247–8, 258, 263, 319, 321, 473, 478, 479 Reader’s Digest, 110, 111–2, 112, 116, 300, 396, 397 Reconstructionist, 14, 30, 51, 54, 88, 119, 287, 335, 347, 360, 361 Reichl, Ernst (Profile Press), 97, 388 Revue Dominicaine, 127, 403, 404 Richards, Bernard G., 32–3, 287, 348–9. See also Jewish Information Bureau; Zionism Riel, Louis, xxiin12, 95, 387–8 Roback, A.A., 27, 33, 345, 349

511

Rome, David, 155–6, 307, 415–16, 496 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, xxiiin21, 108, 111, 395, 396 Rose, Fred, 104, 165, 389–90, 392, 402, 422 Ross, P.D. (Ottawa Journal), 382, Ross, W.W.E., 82, 379–80 Rouyn, Quebec, ix, x, xxxii, 11, 12, 281, 333, 336 Royal Society of Canada, xx, xxxii, 271, 273, 323, 481, 482 Ruddick, Bruce, 355 Ryerson Press, xx, xxin7, xxv, xxxii, 146–7, 148, 149, 152, 158–60, 161, 169–70, 174, 195, 198, 212, 240, 273, 306, 307, 309, 314, 319, 324, 410, 411, 412, 413–14, 416–17, 430, 456, 471, 482, 496. See also Flemington, Frank; Pierce, Lorne; Wallace, Lenore Sack, Benjamin G., 494 Salsberg, Joe, 392 Samuel, Maurice, 53, 54, 75, 235, 241, 363, 438, 448, 449, 470, 471–2 Sandwell, B.K. (Saturday Night), 54, 343, 364, 467 Sangster, Charles, 80, 81, 376, 378, 381 Saturday Night. See Sandwell, B.K. Saturday Review of Literature (SLR), 379, 394, 395, 396, 379, 393, 394, 395, 396 Schmidtz, Ettore (Itore Svevo), 148–9, 412 Schubert Organization, The, 246, 473 Schwartz, Delmore, 117, 180, 305, 365, 388–9, 399, 407, 437 Schwartz, Jacob, 232, 469

512

Index

Schwartz, Leo W., 76, 336, 374–5, 389. See Zionism Schwartz, Maurice, 236–40, 242–5, 246–7, 248–9, 252, 318–19, 319, 320, 470–1, 472, 473, 475 Scott, F.R. (Francis Reginald), xi, xxxi, xxxii, 20, 105, 140, 161, 168–9, 332, 339, 353, 355, 380, 382, 393, 418, 425, 447 Seagram, Joseph E. & Sons (Seagram’s), ix, xi, xiii-xiv, 94–6, 141, 142–3, 145–6, 271–2, 274–6, 277, 305, 306, 323–4, 324–6, 337, 387, 409, 409–10, 410–11, 416, 417, 480– 1, 481–2, 482–3, 496, 498 Segal, Jacob Isaac, 21, 36, 129, 341, 351, 352, 404 Service, Robert W., 82, 379 Seven Arts Feature Syndicate, 29, 287, 346 Shakespeare, William, xiii, 35, 36, 76, 80, 98, 117, 168, 175, 239, 255, 349, 375, 399: Antony and Cleopatra, 333, 368; Hamlet, 432; Henry VI, 425; Julius Ceasar, 333; Merchant of Venice, 78, 340, 443; Othello, 461; Romeo and Juliet, 471 Shapiro, [ ] (Jonathan David Co.), 110–11, 112, 122, 395, 401 Shapiro, Karl, xix, 56, 179–81, 226, 233, 310, 365, 435–7, 465, 467, 469 Shaw, Neufville, 91, 140, 355 Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 370 Sherman, Francis, 378–9 Simon & Schuster, 305, 408, 495 Simpson, Evan John. See John, Evan Simpson, R.G. (Robert), 400, 418 Smith, A.J.M., xi, xvi, xvii, xviii, xx, xxxi, 20, 26, 40–1, 46–7, 61–4, 75, 79, 79–83, 84–86, 89–90, 90–2, 97–8,

101, 106, 127, 140, 147, 160–1, 216, 220–2, 288, 289, 293, 295, 296, 308, 316, 332, 339, 349, 353–4, 355, 357– 8, 361, 363, 366, 367, 368–9, 375–81, 381–4, 384–5, 385–6, 391, 393, 394, 401, 403, 405, 409, 410, 411, 418, 447, 458, 462–3, 463: Book of Canadian Poetry, xvii, 61–4, 75, 79–83, 84–5, 86, 91, 97–8, 353–4, 358, 361, 363, 366, 368–9, 375–81, 381–2, 391, 401, 403, 410; News of the Phoenix, 85, 89–90, 90–1, 127, 353, 380, 381, 382, 384, 385, 391, 394 Solis-Cohen, Solomon (JPS), 330, 332, 354 Spiegel, Sholom, 53, 54, 75, 358, 363. See also Zionism Steinberg, Rabbi Milton, 67, 356, 367, 370 Steloff, Frances (Gotham Book Mart), 185, 256, 421, 440, 475, 476 Strobel, Marion (Poetry), 126, 128, 128–9, 134, 302, 302–3, 303, 403, 404, 406 Stuchen, Philip, 99, 390 Sutherland, John, 140–1, 144, 305, 400, 409, 410, 418, 469 Svevo, Italo. See Schmidtz, Ettore Swados, Harvey, 232, 469 Sylvester, Harry, 234–5, 470 Sylvester, Joshua, 235, 470 Sylvestre, Guy, 298, 100–1, 109, 123, 126–7, 127–8, 215–16, 298, 300, 302, 315, 391, 396, 401, 403, 404, 411, 418, 458 Szent-Gyorgi, Albert von, 483 Tharaud, Jérome and Jean, 127, 404 Thorndike, J.J. (Thorndike, Jensen &

Index Parton), xxiin9, 268, 269, 270, 322, 480, 481 Tindall, William York, 185, 253, 256, 439–40, 475, 477 Transition, 182, 437 Tresidder, Argus J. (Seagram’s), xxiin8, 141, 142–3,145–6, 305, 306, 409, 409–10, 410–11, 496 Trueman, Alfred William, 112, 397 United Jewish Relief Agencies of Canada, 19, 337, 339, 494 University of Toronto Quarterly, 27, 40, 332, 340, 343, 344, 345 Untermeyer, Louis, xxiiin20, 116, 125, 388–9, 398, 399, 402 Vico, Giambattista, 162, 167, 170, 171–2, 182, 185, 190, 202, 203, 214, 419, 423, 424, 426–7, 433, 438, 439, 442, 451, 451–2, 457 Vincent, Claude, 246, 473 Wallace, DeWitt (Reader’s Digest), 111–12, 112, 300, 396, 397 Wallace, Lenore (Ryerson Press), 496 Weaver, Harriet Shaw, 184, 439, 458 Weinper, Ben, x, 495, 497 Weinstock, Herbert (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), viii–ix, xxin3, 200–1, 204–5, 206, 209–11, 214–15, 225–7, 229–31, 232–3, 241, 245, 250–1, 313, 314, 315, 317, 318, 320, 448, 449–50, 452, 453, 455, 456, 457, 457–8, 460, 464–5, 467–8, 469, 473, 474–5 Weisgal, Meyer W., 120–2, 301, 400–1. See also Zionism Weizmann, Chaim, 122, 217, 401, 459. See also Zionism

513

White Savannahs, 9, 40, 54, 75, 332, 354, 364, 382, 447. See also Collin, W.E. Williams, Edmund, 20, 340 Williams, Emlyn, 245, 472 Williams, William Carlos, 340, 365 Wise, Stephen S., 14, 52, 54, 79, 182–3, 277, 311, 336, 362, 382, 393, 438–9, 484 Wiseman, Shloime, 26, 344 Wolofsky, Harry (Zvi Hirsch), 33, 349 Wolfson, Harry Austryn, 53, 54, 364 Woodhead, W.D., 110, 118, 301, 396, 397–8, 400 Wordsworth, William, 3, 48, 359 World Zionist Organization, 459 Wreford, James (James Wreford Watson), 84, 380 Yelin, Shulamis. See Borodensky, Sophie Yehoash (Yehoash Solomon Bloomgarden), 36, 351 Zacks, Samuel J., 494 Zavalkov, 99, 390 Zionism, xxxi, xxxii, 12, 55, 130, 223, 232, 250, 334, 335, 336, 415, 463; Canadian Zionist, xi, xxxii, 415; Labour Zionist Alliance, 334, 336, 390, 401; Poale Zion, 104, 329, 494–5; World Zionist Organization, 459; Zionist Federation, 405; Zionist Organization of America, 42, 336, 354, 355, 415; Zionist Organization of Canada, xi, xxxii, 493; Zionist Revisionist Organization of Canada, 348. See also Canadian Young Judaea; Dickstein, Moishe;

514

Index

Habonim; Hadassah; Israel, State of; Jewish Frontier; Judaean, The; Lewisohn, Ludwig; Richards, Bernard G.; Schwartz, Leo W.; Spiegel,

Sholom; Weisgal, Meyer W.; Weizmann, Chaim Zweig, Sarah. See Betsky, Sarah Zweig