Born in Idaho, Robin Blaser became a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance movement. His work was anthologized by Donald Allen in "The New American Poetry" with his companions Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, and Jack Spicer.

Blaser went to Canada in 1966 to teach at the newly opened Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, where he taught in the English department until his recent retirement. He became a Canadian citizen in 1972. Poet, scholar and teacher, Robin Blaser has been a mentor to many writers, poets and intellectuals worldwide.