Robin Skelton
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Easington, Yorkshire
Robin Skelton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 October 1925 Easington, Yorkshire |
| Died | 22 August 1997 (aged 71) |
| Pen name | Georges Zuk |
| Occupation | Academic, writer, poet, and anthologist |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | |
Robin Skelton (12 October 1925 – 22 August 1997) was a British-Canadian academic, writer, poet, and anthologist.
Born in Easington, Yorkshire, Skelton was educated at Pocklington School before enrolling at Christ's College, Cambridge, in late 1943. Called up to serve in the Royal Air Force in India, after being demobbed he chose not to return to Cambridge and instead studied English at the University of Leeds, where he graduated with a first-class BA in 1950 and MA in 1951.[1][2] He subsequently taught at Manchester University, where he was a founder member of The Peterloo Group. In 1963, he emigrated to Canada, and began teaching at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.[2]
Skelton was an authority on Irish literature. He is well known for his work as a literary editor; he was a founder and editor, with John Peter, of The Malahat Review, and a translator. Skelton was a friend of the poet W. S. Graham, and helped archive some of Graham's work.[3] Known as a practising Wiccan, Skelton also published a number of books on the subject of the occult and other neopagan religions.[3]
Georges Zuk, a purported French surrealist poet, was a heteronym created by Skelton.
Writers he influenced include Jordan Stratford.[4]
