Poet Profile

Chad Lee Robinson

Chad Lee Robinson first learned about haiku in 2002. Since then his haiku and related poetry have been published in over forty journals and in ten countries. He was the Plains & Mountains Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America (2006-2011). More information may be found on his blog.

Awards and Other Honors: Some of Chad’s awards and honors include: Winner, True Vine Press Summer Chapbook Contest (2009); Winner, Snapshot Press eChapbook Awards (2011); Winners and Runners-up, Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012); The Heron’s Nest Editor’s Choice Award (September 2007 and March 2011); Runner-up, The Heron’s Nest Editor’s Choice Award (2006, 2009, 2010); Special Mention, The Heron’s Nest Readers’ Choice Awards (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011); Poem of the Year and Poet of the Year, The Heron’s Nest Readers’ Choice Awards (2008); First Runner-up, Poem of the Year, The Heron’s Nest Readers’ Choice Awards (2012); Runner-up, Contemporary category, HaikuNow! International Haiku Contest (2010); Commended, Innovative category, HaikuNow! International Haiku Contest (2011); Pushcart Prize nomination from Modern Haiku (2011); Modern Haiku Award for Best Senryu (2006); Recipient, The Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems 2011 (The Haiku Foundation); Second Runner-up, Poet of the Year, The Heron’s Nest Readers’ Choice Awards (2007 and 2011); Third Runner-up, Poet of the Year, The Heron’s Nest Readers’ Choice Awards (2012); Winner, 2014 Turtle Light Press Haiku Chapbook Competition for The Deep End of the Sky; Second Place, Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award (2016) for The Deep End of the Sky. Some of Chad’s work has also been featured in a number of anthologies, including: A New Resonance: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku Volume 4 (Red Moon Press, 2005); Baseball Haiku: The Best Haiku Ever Written About the Game (W.W. Norton, 2007); Montage: The Book (The Haiku Foundation, 2010); Haiku 21 (Modern Haiku Press, 2011); Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton, 2013); and several editions of the Red Moon Anthology best-of-year series.

Books Published: Pop Bottles (True Vine Press, 2009); Rope Marks (Snapshot Press, 2012); The Deep End of the Sky (Turtle Light Press, 2015).

migrating geese—
the things we thought we needed
darken the garage

8 seconds . . .
the bull rider opens
a hand to the sky

prairie stream—
what I know about mountains
in these small stones

full moon—
all our sounds
are vowels

buffalo bones
a wind less than a whisper
in the summer grass

one of the wolves
shows its face
firelight

Credits: "migrating geese" – The Heron’s Nest XIII:1 (2011); Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton, 2013); "prairie stream" – The Heron’s Nest VII:3 (2005); "buffalo bones" – The Heron’s Nest IX:3 (2007); Rope Marks (Snapshot Press, 2012); "8 seconds" – Mayfly 43 (2007); dust of summers: The Red Moon Anthology of English-language Haiku 2007 (Red Moon Press, 2008); Rope Marks (Snapshot Press, 2012); Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton, 2013); "full moon" – The Heron’s Nest VIII:4 (2006); Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton, 2013); "one of the wolves" – South by Southeast XIX:3 (2012); Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton, 2013).