The Rocking Chair: Portrait of the Poet as Province

Montreal poet A.M. Klein’s (1909-1972) last book of poetry, The Rocking Chair and Other Poems, published in 1948, focuses on the Province of Quebec and Klein’s attempt to examine the similarities between Jewish and French Quebecers. The author notes that Klein’s volume of poems about Quebec has been much praised for its sympathetic portrayal of the Francophones in province. While this praise is justified, the author believes that the essence of the sympathy in this portrayal lies in affinities between Klein’s own culture and the traditions and values of the Québécois. She notes that the Quebec depicted in The Rocking Chair provides a medium through which Klein communicates the themes which dominate his poetic oeuvre: religion and tradition, the joys of childhood and youth, the life of the community as it both nourishes and alienates the poet. And yet, the author concludes, through the expression of these concerns which are central to the poet himself, Klein shows a keen awareness of many aspects of the Québécois people as their society moved through a period of rapid, and difficult, transition.

Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes

Vol. 19

no. 2

58-66

Summer 1984

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