Decoys

William Robertson writes with a quiet, unpretentious gait. He leads us through the beauty he finds within the simplicity of an honest life. His poems explore how his roles as father and grandfather allow him to share his love of the natural world, and his passions ignite especially when he writes about his love of birds. He asks if it would be possible for us all to be lovers of birds with the ardour of St. Frances of Assisi. “In the creek, birds I’ll probably never name explain their desire.” He writes as if quiet devotion just might release their thoughts.

William Robertson is a poet, university English instructor, freelance writer, reviewer, and broadcaster. He has published four collections of poems, the most recent of which is Just Living (2005), and a biography of a singer, k.d. lang: Carrying the Torch (1993). He has edited two collections of his Indian Teacher Education Program students’ creative writing, the most recent of which is Where I’m From: ITEP Creative Writing 2005-2013. He has also contributed chapters to books on fishing and on the literary history of Saskatchewan.

He was born in Tokyo and has lived in various places in both Japan and Canada, including Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. He graduated from high school in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan and went on to do a BA and an MA at the University of Saskatchewan. He was on the editorial board of the NeWest Review for ten years. He has also reviewed plays, books, and musical events for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, to which he has contributed since 1979, and for fifteen years reviewed plays and concerts for CBC Saskatchewan. He was also a regular panelist on the national CBC’s Talking Books program for all of its eleven-year tenure.