I began writing poetry in college, published my first pieces in Lynx and statements (Marvin Bell, Ed.), read in numerous Greenwich Village venues in the 60s. I co-edited Seventh Street Anthology (1961) and Judson Review (2nd era). Was Poet-in-Residence at U. of San Marcos, Perú. I have published eight books of poetry and over 400 poems in many venues. I have had five exhibits of my poetry, with photos and art. From March through August 2004 Penn State Libraries exhibited "The Poetic World of Robert Lima--A Retrospective." In 2011 I was celebrated in a festschrift titled A Confluence of Words: Studies in Honor of Robert Lima.

THE RITES OF STONE (Lulu Press, 2010), The Pointing Bone (Xlibris, 2008), Tracking the Minotaur (First Books-Authors House, 2003), Sardinia/Sardegna (Bordighera Press, 2000), Mayaland (Editorial Betania, 1992), Corporal Works (Realities Library, 1985), The Olde Ground (Society of Inter-Celtic Arts & Culture, 1985), Fathoms (Carnation Press, 1981), Poems of Exile & Alienation (Anvil Publishing, Inc, 1976)

Dark Lullaby. Sandburg- Livesay Award Anthology (UnMon America--Unfinished Monument Press, 2004), Imported Breads: Literature of Cultural Exchange (Mammoth Books, 2003), 2001: A Science Fiction Poetry Anthology (Anamnesis Press, 2001), Uncommonplaces (Mayapple Press, 2000), In the West of Ireland: A Literary Celebration of Contemporary Poetry (Enright House of Ireland, 1992), Anthology of Magazine Verse & Yearbook of American Poetry (Monitor Book Company, 1985), Chelsea Retrospective 1958-1983 (Chelsea, 1984), Anthology of Magazine Verse & Yearbook of American Poetry (Monitor Book Company, 1981), Latin American Writing: The 60s and 70s (The Literary Review, 1980), Latin American Women Writers: Yesterday and Today (Latin American Literary Review, 1977), Seventh Street Anthology: Poems of Les Deux Megots (Hesperidian, 1961)

Baltimore Sun, Boundary II, Caribbean Writer, Chelsea, Chicago Review, Cimarron Review, CrossCurrents, Dreamworks, Images, James Joyce Quarterly, Kosmos, Ometeca, Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Pivot, Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, Sandlapper, Shooting Star Review, Stardancer, Studia Mystica, Studies in Contemporary Satire, Texas Quarterly, The Literary Review