The Deep End of the Sky
Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards Winner 2016
2014 TLP Haiku Chapbook Competition Winner
By Chad Lee Robinson
Chad Lee Robinson’s The Deep End of the Sky, takes us deep into the heartland of America—and of ourselves. These small poems take us on a journey through the vast expanses of the American prairie, where we see, hear and feel the farm landscape and its connection to the cosmos.
“The poems are uniquely American in their embrace of the vast landscape they inhabit,” wrote Penny Harter, judge of the 2014 contest. “This chapbook collection has a wonderful continuity throughout, moving through sections and seasons in a seamless flow.”
In fact, Robinson paints this wide open landscape with haiku, a short Japanese form of poetry with a deep connection to nature. The 47 poems in the collection convey a sense of daily life on the North American prairie and evoke Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings of the plains in eastern New Mexico.
Robinson pays attention not only to what’s visible but to what’s not there: the silences, the absences, the space between landmarks. This collection will let you breathe and see the prairie as a native and let you sink roots into the deep end of the sky.
ISBN#978-0-9748147-5-9
Perfect binding. 33 pp, 5.25 x 8 in.
Four interior b&w photos
Early Praise
“Robinson has adapted the haiku form to an American Heartland and often rural setting. He is an alert and wise observer of such things as farm work, hunting and fishing. This is an outstanding collection of haiku by a young man who has mastered the form.” David Allan Evans, Poet Laureate of South Dakota
“Chad Lee Robinson uses words the way Frederic Remington used brush and bronze. He beckons the reader not only to the vast landscapes of North America’s prairies, but also to the intimate center of human experience.” Billie Wilson, Associate Editor, The Heron’s Nest
“A rising star out of the West, Chad Lee Robinson celebrates the Great Plains with a fresh, unique voice. His approach to life is strong and direct, capturing the countryside and its denizens in language that reflects a deep passion for the world he inhabits, immersing the reader in poetry that stimulates the imagination, emotions, and intellect. With powerful images, The Deep End of the Sky sets a high bar for traditional haiku poets, establishing the benchmark for those who wish to convey the essence of place with empathy and heart.” Marian Olson, HSA Merit Book Award-winning author, Desert Hours
“Reading The Deep End of the Sky is to experience a symphony. Robinson’s symphony, however, is not achieved through any tumultuous coming together of violins, brass, and thunder. In four movements, this chapbook’s haiku achieve the effects of symphonic cohesion and completeness by other means—simplicity, elemental language, direct and vivid imagery. In the hands of a master, these qualities convey the small details of life, death, and the unceasing passage of time, with profound and quiet power. Robinson’s poems remind us of what matters. And what matters is that we hear, see, touch and inhale the better part of our being in the company of their art.” Michael McClintock, President, United Haiku and Tanka Society
“Robinson’s haiku capture that sense of unhurried time—the far reach of sky between farms and grain elevator towns. His haiku invite the reader to pause, stay awhile, and consider what it means and feels like to live on the prairie, not just drive across it on a highway.” Randy Brooks, professor of English and haiku expert at Millikin University
sample poems:
at
the
deep
end
of
the
sky
prairie
meadowlark—
all you’ll ever need to know
about sunrise
stars at dusk
the tractor’s radio
crackles
spring rain—
speaking of the dead
in a softer voice
the Big Dipper—
rows of corn connect
farm to farm
farm lights
halo the horizon
autumn dusk
hunter’s retreat
the Christmas tree made from
racks of antlers
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