Izak and Ishmael: A.M. Klein's Zionist Poetry and the Palestinian Conflict

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Izak and Ishmael: A.M. Klein's Zionist Poetry and the Palestinian Conflict
Abstract
Zionism was part of Montreal poet A.M. Klein's heritage, and as early as 1928-30 Klein was writing about Jewish oppression, survival, and transcendence of historical fate. The author argues that, unfortunately, Klein's preoccupation with Jewish suffering and the need for a sanctuary-homeland predisposed him to a narrowly Zionist view of the Palestinian conflict. For the Zionists, the Palestinians were either the Other -- a people with no legitimate claim to the land -- or an absence. The author claims that Klein's Zionist poetry suggests the tension required between opposition and longed-for fellowship in Palestine would be resolved once Zion was secured for the Jews. Although this rationalization seems naive or self-serving now, from 1927-51, as demonstrated in Klein's Zionist poetry and journalism, it was A.M. Klein's only formula for hope.
Publication
Studies in Canadian Literature
Volume
Vol. 16
Issue
no. 2
Pages
54-78
Date
1991
Language
en
URL
Citation
Lemm, Richard. “Izak and Ishmael: A.M. Klein’s Zionist Poetry and the Palestinian Conflict.” Studies in Canadian Literature Vol. 16, no. 2 (1991): 54–78. http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/article/viewArticle/8141.
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