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Matt Robinson

BIOGRAPHY
Matt Robinson lives in Halifax, NS with his family.

His newest collection of poems, Tangled & Cleft, was published by Gaspereau Press in Fall 2021.

His previous publications include Against (Gaspereau Press, 2018); The Telephone Game (Baseline Press, 2017); Some Nights It’s Entertainment; Some Other Nights Just Work (Gaspereau Press, 2016); a fist made and then un-made (Gaspereau Press, 2013), which was short-listed for the bpNichol Chapbook Award; Against the Hard Angle (ECW Press, 2010); no cage contains a stare that well (ECW Press, 2005); how we play at it: a list (ECW Press, 2002); A Ruckus of Awkward Stacking (Insomniac Press, 2000), which was short-listed for both the Gerald Lampert Award and the ReLit Award for Poetry; and additional chapbooks from Frog Hollow Press (tracery & interplay, 2004) and Greenboathouse Press (against the hard angle, 2009). Robinson has won the Grain Prose Poetry Prize, the Petra Kenney Award, and The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize, among others.

His poems have appeared in a number of anthologies, including The New Canon, Breathing Fire 2, Coastlines: The Poetry of Atlantic Canada, Exact Fare Only 2, Mess: The Hospital Anthology, and Landmarks: An Anthology of New Atlantic Canadian Poetry of the Land; been adapted into cinepoems and short films that have screened at festivals including HIFF and the Atlantic Film Festival; and featured in programs such as Halifax Regional Municipality’s Art in Public Places and Poetry in Motion initiatives.

He works at Saint Mary’s University.

PUBLICATIONS

Tangled & Cleft, Gaspereau Press, 2021.

Against, Gaspereau Press, 2018.

The Telephone Game, Baseline Press, 2017.

Some Nights It’s Entertainment; Some Other Nights Just Work, Gaspereau Press, 2016.

a fist made and then un-made, Gaspereau Press, 2013.

Against the Hard Angle, ECW Press, 2010.

Against the Hard Angle, Greenboathouse Press, 2009.

no cage contains a stare that well, ECW Press, 2005.

tracery & interplay, Frog Hollow Press, 2004.

how we play at it: a list, ECW Press, 2002.

A Ruckus of Awkward Stacking, Insomniac Press, 2000.

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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, writing for young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

Occasionally, WFNS uses the phrase “emerging and established writers/authors” to mean ‘writers and authors of all experience levels.’

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with info, strategies, and skills that suit their experience. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If uncertain about your experience level with respect to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca