Robert DiYanni received a B.A. from Rutgers University in 1968 and a Ph.D. from the City University of New York in 1976. He has taught at Queens College of the City University of New York, New York University, Harvard University, and Pace University. He has written articles and reviews on various aspects of literature, composition, and pedagogy. He has written numerous books including The McGraw-Hill Book of Poetry, Women's Voices, Like Season'd Timber: New Essays on George Herbert, and Modern American Poets: Their Voices and Visions.