Thanks Andy! I second that notion!

As a person who lives in Canada's north, I can tell you that Robert's poems are classic northern material. I remember hearing a Metis storyteller in Yellowknife tell of his experiences working as a bush guide for the RCMP. He told of an incident which occured while leading a couple of RCMP officers to the cabin of a trapper. What they found almost exactly followed the storyline of Service's "Ballad of Blasphemous Bill", complete with attempts to thaw a frozen corpse.

Robert's light-heartedness in some of his ballads echos the sentiments of many Northerners. We all tell these outlandish tales--tongue in cheek, of course--to amaze the tourists.

What makes Robert such a great poet in my estimation is that he can write ballads like Sam McGee, and then write tear-jerkers like "Les Mutiles" from his war experiences.

Obviously, I am a fan.