A career of distinction and delight

The "immense" contribution made to Renaissance literature by Dr Victor Skretkowicz, senior lecturer in the department of English, has been recognised with a trio of honours.

Dr Skretkowicz was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the International Sidney Society and awarded an Honorary Readership by the university at an international literary conference in Dundee in October.

The conference, which attracted international experts in early modern romance and Renaissance literature, was itself a tribute to Dr Skretkowicz's work and was organised in his honour by university colleagues to mark his retiral after almost 30 years with the English department.

"It is a measure of the respect in which Victor is held that we had people coming from around the world for this conference," said Professor Peter Kitson. "His contributions to this particular field of literature have been immense and it was only right he should have been honoured in this way."

Dr Skretkowicz, who is an international authority on early modern romance and Renaissance literature and has inspired many students through the years, admitted to feeling "overwhelmed" by the tributes paid to him.

"I feel very honoured to have had a conference organised for me," he said. "It really was amazing and it meant a great deal to me. My pleasure in receiving the Jean Robertson Lifetime Achievement Award is immeasurable and to receive the Honorary Readership from the university really is the icing on the cake."

Born in Canada, Dr Skretkowicz graduated with a BA from McMaster University in 1964, an MA from New Brunswick in 1967 and a PhD from Southampton University in 1974.

He worked at a number of universities in Canada, England and the U.S.A. including posts as research fellow at Reading and Cornell universities before coming to Dundee in 1978.

He is widely published and is the editor of the major critical edition of Sir Philip Sidney's The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (The New Arcadia) for Oxford English Texts.

He was also the Research Director for the electronic Dictionary of the Scots Language and Convenor of the Joint Council for the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue.

Dr Skretkowicz, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease two years ago, also edited the standard edition of Florence Nightingale's Notes on Nursing for the Royal College of Nursing and has contributed to numerous books and academic journals.

His latest book, Erotic Romance which tackles the political implications of classical rhetoric on Shakespeare and other writers, is due out next year.

An innovative teacher, Dr Skretkowicz agrees with the Renaissance intellectual Sir Philip Sidney who argued in The Defence of Poetry that the motivating factor in literature is its ability to teach through delight.

"My approach to teaching has always been to delight my students and inspire them," he said. "It is gratifying to know that my work has been instrumental in setting students off on their own research path and it means a lot to me to have the kind of positive feedback I have had from the international academic community."