Writing Poetry can Endanger Your Health - by Dave Jaffe: Part Three

          Abraham Moses Klein - Another Troubled Poet


    Abraham Moses Klein or A.M. Klein, as he's known in literary history, appeared on Quebec's English-speaking literary scene in the 1930's.
   Born in the Ukraine, Klein who was Jewish, grew up in Montreal and wrote poetry, novels and essays.
    Klein was a democratic socialist and ran once as a candidate for the left-leaning Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. He also studied law and practised law for awhile.Then he ended up writing speeches for the liquor magnate Sam Bronfman. "I think Klein found Bronfman a tough man to be around," another Montreal poet once told me.
      In any case in 1952 Klein tried to kill himself. A few years later he fell into silence. And before he died in  1972 he had become a recluse who had very little contact with people. This was a tragic end for a man who had many talents. Klein was yet another gifted poet who suffered.