Robert Schinzel grew up as a nomad, moving frequently with his family. Changes in locale gave Bob an unusual perspective of the world around him, and diverse cultures gave him different viewpoints and values. After completing his MS in agriculture and geography, followed by a few years as a soil scientist and wildland firefighter with the Forest Service, he began a 33-year career in law enforcement, becoming sergeant in a metropolitan police department and a federal agent and administrator with several U.S. law enforcement agencies, including three years with the Panama Canal Commission.

He began writing poetry after retirement, especially poems about nature and the close parallels to human behavior. Bob is a member of the Denton Poets’ Assembly, a chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas. His poems have won numerous contests and appear in various publications.

His first book, Into the Fire—A Cop’s View in Verse, chronicles his thoughts on the state of law enforcement and firefighting in American society. In 2019 he won the Fort Worth Poetry Society’s William D. Barney Chapbook Contest for his book – Westbound 380.