Telling the Tale

Gail L. Cox was Librarian, Audio Visual Services, Metro Toronto Reference Library.

Robin Skelton has long been renowned as poet, anthologist, critic of letters and visual arts, essayist, and editor. His writings include The World of W.B. Yeats (1965), The Writings of J.M. Synge (1971), The Hunting Dark (1971), The Poet’s Calling (1975), and The Collected Shorter Poems 1947-1977 (1981). With this volume and The Man Who Sang in his Sleep (1984) Skelton proves himself a fine short-story writer as well.

This collection of 24 short stories provides compelling reading. The reader is lured on inexorably to a surprise, or a turn, or a revelation; is enticed by the compelling narrators chronicling their experiences. Skelton knows his business. The settings are cosmopolitan and are briefly but vividly sketched. Sometimes the atmosphere resonates with a mix of “the other” and “the real,” echoing aspects of Celtic myth, even though the story may be set in Canada, as in “The Bride.” Often the story turns so completely that it totally reverses the reader’s perception (“The Householder”). In other stories, as in “The Switch,” there is evidence of arch humour. Whatever the effect, whether it be humour, heightened apprehension, or curiosity, the stories build to a satisfying end.

What will Robin Skelton excel at next!