Robin D. Gill (1951-). Well-known in Japan for seven popular books deconstructing stereotypes about national character, environmental and linguistic determinism in the 1980s. His publishers there include the prestigious literary press Hakusuisha, high quality mass-market Chikuma Bunko and avant-garde Kousaku-sha, the last of which he also worked for as the book scout and translation checker for twenty years. Back in the USA, he has chosen to become an author-publisher (paraverse press) in order to provide creative readers with full-length experimental books, including plentiful Japanese (in the original) and a variety of design novelties at a decent price. His best-known book published in English is Rise, Ye Sea Slugs! (2003), with almost 1000 haiku about sea cucumbers, acclaimed as the best translated haiku since Blyth. Recent books include The Cherry Blossom Epiphany, with 3000 haiku by hundreds of Edo era poets about blossom-viewing, and The Fifth Season, with 2000 haiku of the New Year, the first of a ten volume series, In Praise of Old Haiku. His newest book boasts 1,300 dirty senryu. All of his books are essays with a measure of natural history and, after the style of Montaigne, cosmopolitan yet unabashedly personal. His website is paraverse.org and he can be contacted at uncoolwabin at hotmail dot youknowhat.
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