The Deep End of the Sky

Chad Lee Robinson’s The Deep End of the Sky, winner of the Turtle Light Press 2014 Haiku Chapbook Competition, takes us deep into the heartland of America—and of ourselves.

"These small poems will take you on a journey through the vast expanses of the American prairie, where you will see, hear and feel the farm landscape and its connection to the cosmos."
Penny Harter, Judge, 2014 TLP Haiku Chapbook Contest

"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 of 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 47 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 book, The Deep End of the Sky, lets you breathe and see the prairie as a native. He captures that sense of unhurried time on the range—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 merely drive across it on a highway."
Randy Brooks, Professor of English, Millikin University