A.M. Klein: Complete Poems : Part I: Original Poems 1926-1934; Part II: Original Poems 1937-1955 and Poetry Translations (Collected Works of A.M. Klein)

It is for his poetry that A.M. Klein is best known and most warmly remembered. This collection includes all Klein's poetry, both original works and translations from Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, and Latin. Many of them, coming from all periods of his careers, have never been published. The poems are arranged chronologically according to date of composition. This makes possible, for the first time, an appreciation of Klein's poetic development. The editor's introduction places this development in the perspective of Klein's life and time, and in particular explores Klein's lifelong struggle to reconcile his dual vocations as both a Jewish and a modernist writer. The textual apparatus identifies all authoritative versions for each poem and lists all emendations and all substative variants in both published and mauscript versions. The explanatory notes gloss obscure terms and references. They also provide a rich context for appreciation and interpretation by drawing connections with Klein's life, his wide reading, and his work as a whole. Wherever possible, Klein's own numerous, but scattered, comments on his poems have been cited. It is for his poetry that A.M. Klein is best known and most warmly remembered. This collection includes all Klein's poetry, both original works and translations from Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, and Latin. Many of them, coming from all periods of his careers, have never been published. The poems are arranged chronologically according to date of composition. This makes possible, for the first time, an appreciation of Klein's poetic development. The editor's introduction places this development in the perspective of Klein's life and time, and in particular explores Klein's lifelong struggle to reconcile his dual vocations as both a Jewish and a modernist writer. The textual apparatus identifies all authoritative versions for each poem and lists all emendations and all substative variants in both published and mauscript versions. The explanatory notes gloss obscure terms and references. They also provide a rich context for appreciation and interpretation by drawing connections with Klein's life, his wide reading, and his work as a whole. Wherever possible, Klein's own numerous, but scattered, comments on his poems have been cited Contents 5 Introduction 11 Textual Chronology 31 Editorial Procedures 39 Acknowledgments 47 Biographical Chronology 49 ORIGINAL POEMS, 1926-1934 54 1926 54 c. 1927/1927 84 1927 94 c. 1928/1928 114 1928 130 c. 1926/c. 1928 136 c. 1929/1929 179 1929 191 c. 1930/1930 199 c. 1928/1931 206 c. 1931/1931 242 c. 1932/1932 281 c. 1933/1933 300 c. 1932/1934 331 c. 1934/1934 362 1934 366 Abbreviations 372 Textual Notes: Original Poems, 1926-1934 376 Explanatory Notes: Original Poems, 1926-1934 416 Index of Titles 466 Index of First Lines 484