Failure's Opposite: Listening to A.M. Klein

Introduction

A.M. Klein has remained an enduring but elusive presence in the Canadian literary consciousness since his death in 1972. Klein's legacy has been mixed, his literary achievement sometimes overshadowed by his reclusiveness and withdrawal from the literary world.

Failure's Opposite presents a fresh perspective on Klein's reception and legacy, exploring why he has remained a compelling figure for critics and readers. His experimentalism drew upon strong traditions and fluency in several languages – English, French, Yiddish, and Hebrew – allowing him to develop a multilingual, modernist Jewish voice that is a touchstone for understanding Canada's multicultural identity. His struggle with the emotional and historical dimensions of diaspora is of considerable importance throughout his work and is investigated through the lenses of translation, voice, and his relationship to other Jewish writers. Contributors also re-evaluate Klein's connection to Montreal and the original ways in which he captured the atmosphere of his "jargoning city."

Failure's Opposite reflects the many ways A.M. Klein is being remade, refashioned, and reconstructed in the twenty-first century, both as a bridge to the past and a model for contemporary critical and creative work in Canadian literature.

About the editors

• Norman Ravvin, chair of the Concordia Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies (1999-2012), is a fiction and non-fiction writer and editor. His books include A House of Words: Jewish Writing, Identity, and Memory.
• Sherry Simon is the author of numerous books, including Translating Montreal: Episodes in the Life of a Divided City. She teaches in the French Studies Department at Concordia University in Montreal.