Biography
From Recluse to Reclamation
Meet The Poet
Born in Barbados, Robin Gittens immigrated to Canada in 2003, at the age of twenty, to study Information Technology Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. He later spent more than eighteen years in Product Management and UX Design, partnering with global teams to shape digital experiences with clarity, empathy, and purpose.
In his early forties, after a series of life-changing events, Robin began to feel the distance between his career path and the voice he had long kept hidden. He returned to poetry—an art he had practiced privately since adolescence—as a way to confront lived experiences of stigma, shame, grief, heritage, and survival with albinism.
Since entering the University of Toronto’s Creative Writing program in 2022, Robin has continued to develop a body of work rooted in identity, trauma, Gothic horror, and spiritual reclamation. His background in UX still shapes his creative practice—not as corporate utility, but as a devotion to structure, emotional truth, and candid storytelling.
Though the forest is lovely, dark and deep, he has promises to keep; and many miles to go before he sleeps…
Photo credit: Darren Ramlal
Don't wait a second more: learn how Robin pens poetry to find his voice and reclaim his spirit right now!
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From Product to Poetry
A snapshot of Robin's academic journey spanning more than 20+ years. Learn more about his professional background and how his service offerings might help you build and scale your next digital product experience. Connect now!
Creative Writing
University of Toronto, Continuing Education
Focus: writing essentials, exploration of writing styles, poetry genres, poetic form, and navigating the publishing industry.
In Progress
Google AI Essentials
Coursera
Focus: generative AI workflows, prompt writing, responsible AI, and techniques to boost research, content creation, and decisions
2026
Google Digital Marketing & eCommerce Professional
Coursera
Focus: digital marketing, eCommerce strategy, AARRR, analytics, loyalty, and AI-assisted workflows to grow online business performance.
2026
Foundations in Design Thinking
IDEO
Focus: human-centered design thinking mindsets and methods for empathy, prototyping, experimentation, iteration, and problem solving.
2022
Professional Product Manager
BrainStation
Focus: PM through industry-led instruction and real-world projects covering product strategy, discovery, roadmap planning, and delivery.
2019
Customer Experience Designer (CXD)
Akendi UX Consulting Firm
Focus: CX and UX research principles via practitioner-led training focused on designing better customer, citizen, and user experiences.
2018
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Scrum Alliance
Focus: Scrum product ownership, backlog prioritization, stakeholder management, vision, customer value, and ROI-focused agile delivery.
2019
Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
Information Technology Management | Toronto Metropolitan University
Focus: enterprise systems, business analysis, statistics, business process design, database design, digital marketing and eCommerce.
2007
Associates Degree (Assc)
Computer Science| Barbados Community College
Focus: systems analysis, programming languages, business administration, network infrastructure, economics, business law.
2003
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
— Edgar Allan Poe
Poets
William Shakespeare
Edgar Allan Poe
Charles Baudelaire
William Carlos Williams
Emily Dickinson
Robert Frost
Nelson Ball
Maya Angelou
Samuel Taylor Colridge
Imagination Igniters
The following creators served and continue to serve as as the proverbial fire lighting Robin's endless imagination. Through their tales, his passion for poetic storytelling never wanes.
Ignite your imagination: learn how these contrastive creators inspired Robin's passion for poetic storytelling today!
Authors
Stephen King
Anne Rice
HP Lovecraft
Robert E. Howard
J. R. R. Tolkien
Charles Dickens
Mary Shelly
George Orwell
Clive Barker
H.G Wells
Comic BookWriters
Chris Claremont
J.M. DeMatteis
Frank Miller
Ed Brubaker,
Paul Dini
Scott Snyder
Robert Kirkman
Jeph Loeb
Brian Michael Bendis
Roger Stern
David Michelinie