Saki - Classic or Dud?

Saki had the uncanny knack of presenting his misanthropy with a halo of irrepressible charm. The misanthropy and disgust is there in most of the tales, but at the story's end the charm is all you can recall. This is strangely typical of most humorists. The sunny disposition of a Wodehouse is the exception and not the rule.

As for his anti-semitism, it was a general defect of his time and place, and no doubt it chimed well with his overall distaste for humanity. It's not really foregiveable, but its relevance to his art is practically non-existant.

Slalom round a Munro (4)

In the early eighties, in a Cheshire secondary school, we had an English teacher called Tyrone, who I remember as inspiring. He encouraged people to read Saki. Tyrone didn't teach there for long (I've a vague memory that he just "disappeared" - I suspect related to his sexuality) but he's one of those teachers of whom I think "He was good".

A few years later, I had an English teacher (well, he was Irish) who loved Heaney and Hughes. As the token Northerner in a Hampshire school by this point, I was often made to read their poems out loud despite my aversion to public speaking.

I'd happily buy both of them a pint, to say thanks. There's a small chance both are alive.

so Cozen's poem upthread, attributed to Rachel Rabinovitch, is actually by Cozen, no?

Saki should be taken daily like vitamins.

I read a biography of Saki a few years ago, he wasn't a raving proto-Nazi anti-semite as posited upthread, more just an old school Tory. His biography did read almost like a caricature of a certain type of English writer - love-starved Victorian childhood, mother died young and brought up by maiden aunts (surprise surprise), deeply closeted yet also a reactionary, seemed to have a death wish and enlisted in WW1 even though he was too old to do so, and went out of his way to put himself in dangerous situations at the front. T.E Lawrence and a half a dozen other closed writers from the period come to mind...

closed = closeted, thanks autocorrect

Reading NYRB’s selected with Gorey illustrations which I’ve had for a few years now and not gotten to, all quite droll and impeccable style of course but Sredni Vashtar is a story, damn.

There's a video (or maybe just audio) somewhere of it being read out loud by Tom Baker, brilliantly of course. I've been looking for the link to post it, but it seems to have been taken down.

That whole Chronicles of Clovis is masterful misanthropy (some of which borders on misogyny tbf) - a Selected seems the way to go. And with Gorey illustrations! Perfect soulmates

'borders on' is very generous.

Sredni Vashtar is a story, damn.

otm