Robert Alden Rubin was born in 1958, in Roanoke, Virginia, and grew up in Chapel Hill. His education includes a B.A. in Studio Art from Kenyon College, an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins University, and a Ph.D in English Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has worked as editor of Carolina Quarterly and as senior editor at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Professionally, he’s been a journalist, editor, and writing teacher at The George Washington University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Meredith College. Published creative work by him includes two edited anthologies of poetry (Poetry Out Loud [1993] and Love Poetry Out Loud [2006]), a book of literary nonfiction (On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage [2000]), and a smattering of poetry in literary magazines. He won the 2015 Allen Tate Poetry Prize from Sewanee Review. He presently works as a freelance writer/editor, and lives in Fuquay-Varina, NC, where he serves on the vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church.
But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar . . . —Matthew Arnold I’d wait each day for tide to turn as it released the locks imprisoning the oyster-boats moored at the creek’s old docks, and watch the sand bars disappear when morning’s current ran, so knob-kneed piles beneath the pier across our…
