Dancers on the Shore - William Melvin Kelley

What is it about some writers that give you that indefinable sense of something so special, so unique, you struggle to actually put it into words?  It’s more a feeling, that sixth sense that readers have, that instinct which tells you you’re in the presence of greatness.  There are many good books out there. There are many good writers out there. But there’s not always writers that give you that 'hairs on the back of the neck' feeling, that tummy wobble when you get some work of theirs that you’ve not previously read. It’s joyous. William Melvin Kelley is one of those writers.

When I read A Different Drummer I was stunned. In part because this work was heralded as “lost” and I couldn’t fathom why. There is a timelessness about Kelley’s work. Not in the sense of the location or the sociocultural references but in his intrinsic intent. I found Kelly’s preface to this volume of short stories gut wrenchingly prophetic. He could’ve penned it in the wake of #BlackLivesMatter . He identified and put into words that dilemma of being an American writer and an American Negro. He acknowledges that people will be looking for solutions and answers within his work. “His readers begin to search fervently”. And then he humbly avers that he is not a sociologist or a politician or a spokesman. He hopes he is a writer. Oh Mr Kelley you are a writer, Sir, you are a great writer and I find myself much changed by the power and strength of your words.

I sometimes find the short story an underrated genre. It often reminds me of tennis! Some of the "big" players won't play in the doubles draws because they want to put all their energies and attention into the singles. And it's as if a lot of writers want to put all their energies and attention into their novels not into the short story. But so many writers of stature embrace the genre. If you start to think about those who have composed short stories it becomes astounding, Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, Franz Kafka, Oscar Wilde, Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro....... I could go on. I suppose that what I'm saying is the great writers can write novels and they can write short stories too. Damn good ones at that.

This collection is joyous and diverse. And what is so lovely is that characters from one turn up in another. Maybe they're not the main character in that story. Maybe they turn up as the main character in another story but such a device offers the reader a cohesion within the stories of the collection That does not detract from each story on its individual merits. There is even a character, Wallace Bedlow,, from A Different Drummer who turns up in the final story of this collection having referenced a character who appears in some of the stories. So you know Kelley cares about his characters, sees them as people, sees them grow from children to adolescents to adults raising families. 

Kelley's writing has a flow to it, a rhythmic syncopation that presents as both improvised yet structured, which sounds like a paradox but when you read the stories it isn't at all. His ability with language reminds me of jazz. And that reminds me of his other novel A Drop of Patience. 

Each story in Dancers on the Shore has a message to offer, a point to be reached and it does so seemingly effortlessly. But viewing the collection as a whole is a little like assembling a literary jigsaw puzzle. Looking at recurring characters and their relationships and making sense of how one story might relate to another. On the whole the stories don't pull the same punch as A Different Drummer – but how could they? The premise of that book was unique. There's a subtlety here, an almost gentler approach without losing substance, they're understated, no sense of preaching or trying to ram ideas down a reader's throat. It's the offering of some points of view, some sociological, some anthropological! You'll have your favourites, I'm sure. 

Mine? Since you ask! Not Exactly Lena Horne -  story about mutual realisation and understanding between two older guys who make it clear that you're never too old to learn. What shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? -a  beautifully constructed story about first impressions and changes of intent. But........ as I'm doing this I'm realising that they're all my favourites! I don't wanna leave any of them out! They all work. 

The New Yorker called Kelley "The lost giant of American literature" I don't believe he's lost any more. I don't believe he'll ever be lost again and if you haven't found him yet I urge you to try. If you love exceptional writing and if you love literature William Melvin Kelley is waiting for you. But what do you do when you've come to the end of  a collection as satisfying as this one? You pick up your copy of A Different Drummer and start to read that again.

My thanks to Ana McLaughlin at riverrun for a copy of this book.