Some stories stand alone, while others gain strength when placed side by side. Robert Antrim Calwell’s works, Evelyn, Robot Head, and Bones and Skull: The Book of Meditations, can be read individually, but together they form what might be called a trilogy of shadows. Each book approaches memory, death, and transcendence from a different angle, through crime, technology, and myth, creating a body of work that reflects on some of the deepest human struggles.
The first book, Evelyn, revisits the infamous 1946 murder case of John Dick in Hamilton, Ontario. Through poetry and narrative, it explores the true crime story of Evelyn Dick, whose trial was shaped as much by mishandled evidence and public opinion as by fact. The book highlights how places like Albion Falls and Mountain Brow Boulevard become permanent backdrops for tragedy, showing how crime leaves an imprint on people and landscapes. Here, Calwell raises questions about justice and injustice, memory, and how society writes its own myths around crime.
In contrast, Robot Head takes readers into a different space where trauma and identity meet technology. The story follows Tiara, a young woman who survives a suicide attempt and undergoes an experimental surgery to have her memories, both painful and joyful, transferred into a robotic head. While the concept may sound unusual, the book uses it to ask timeless questions. What makes us human? Can survival exist without struggle? And what happens when our past, no matter how painful, is necessary to hold onto our identity? This book turns the shadow of despair into a meditation on survival and second chances, balancing hope with honesty.
The third work, Bones and Skull: The Book of Meditations, carries readers into mythic and allegorical terrain. Its poems speak of skeletons, coffins, and rebirth, while also weaving tales of the Children of Weaver’s Mountain who struggle against darkness and search for light. The book reflects how myth helps us process grief, fear, and renewal. Blending symbols of death with images of angels, nature, and resilience shows how even in the darkest places, there is always the possibility of healing.
Together, these three works can be seen as a spiritual trilogy. Evelyn looks at crime and justice, showing how memory clings to real events. Robot Head examines technology and trauma, exploring the human search for survival in despair. Bones and Skull uses myth to connect life, death, and rebirth, grounding personal struggles in timeless allegories. Each book may be different in setting and style, but they echo one another in themes of memory, mortality, and transcendence.
Robert Antrim Calwell’s trilogy offers a powerful journey for readers interested in literature that moves beyond entertainment and into reflection. Read separately, the books each stand as unique explorations of crime, technology, and myth. Read together, they become a larger meditation on the human condition, a trilogy of shadows that invites us to confront darkness while searching for light.
Robert Antrim Calwell’s trilogy available on Amazon. Grab your copies now! Here are the links.
Evelyn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJTHJNCG/.
Robot Head: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJH76L3D/.
Bones and Skull: The Book of Meditations: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHQVBD9W/.