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Morris J. Granite
- Accession Number
- 2006-4-1
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2006-4-1
- Material Format
- text
- Physical Description
- 4 texts
- Date
- 1935-2000
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of 4 books of poetry written by Morris J. Granite / Morris Granatstein including Street Corners (1935), My City Lodz (1995), Welcome to the Year 2000 (1999), and Toronto, My City (2000).
- Administrative History
- Morris J. Granite was born in 1911 in Lodz, Poland. His parents had a small business dyeing textiles, which they operated out of their apartment on Constantinouska Street, Lodz. His father's family originally came from Glowaszow in Radom, Poland.
- In 1926, the family immigrated to Toronto. During the Great Depression, he worked in Toronto, New York City and Philadelphia as a waiter, power press operator, construction worker and teacher at Hebrew and Yiddish schools. Morris served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. He later worked as a teacher and draftsman in his early years and then as a builder in his middle to later years. The buildings and homes that he worked on still stand in Cuba, Detroit and Toronto.
- He served as president of the Jewish Public Library, editor of the Canadian Jewish Outlook, and as a member of the League of Canadian Poets. He was also a major supporter of artistic and progressive causes.
- Throughout his life, he possessed a true passion for the written word. He published many articles and poems in literary magazines. He also produced four books of poetry: Street Corners (1935), My City Lodz (1995), Welcome to the Year 2000 (1999), and Toronto, My City (2000). At first, he published under the name Granite and later relied on Granatstein as his surname for his last three books.
- He had one daugher, Ettie and two grandchildren. His long-time companion was Barbara Moore.
- Source
- Archival Accessions