Poet, political activist, playwright, teacher, and essayist Robin Mathews was born in Smithers, British Columbia, in 1931. Mathews completed an Honours BA in English at the University of British Columbia and an MA at Ohio State University. He taught in the English Department of the University of Alberta beginning in 1961. Mathews moved with wife Esther and their three children to England to teach at the University of Leeds before moving to Paris where he lectured at the Institut Britannique. Witnessing the May 1968 student protests and general strike in Paris, Mathews collected posters and handbills issued by different groups involved in the conflict. Returning to Canada, Mathews joined the English Department of Carleton University in Ottawa in 1968. He taught at Simon Fraser University from the mid 1980s. Mathews was also a founder of the Great Canadian Theatre Company, the Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures, and the National Party of Canada. He has published several poetry collections, plays, works of literary criticism, and studies of Canadian intellectual life.