Robert C. Ford, known as the Wall Street Poet, is a New York City poet, lyricist, and performance artist whose work brings spoken word into conversation with music and the visual arts.

In 2026, Ford performed at the Lviv National Philharmonic in Ukraine as guest poet for the world premiere of Gene Pritsker’s Concerto in Groove, with violinist Petro Krysa, conductor Taras Krysa, and the Lviv Virtuosos. He later read his biographical poem “The Job I Lost” at Composers Concordance’s 9/11 Requiem in New York, commemorating the 25th anniversary of September 11. The concert was included in Symphony’s coverage of orchestral and classical-music commemorations of the anniversary.

Ford has developed longstanding creative collaborations with composers, musicians, and visual artists including Carli Muñoz, Gene Pritsker, Mark Kostabi, Charles Coleman, Gerry Brown, and Adam Holzman.

Among Ford’s closest creative collaborators is pianist, composer, writer, poet, and restaurateur Carli Muñoz, with whom he has worked across music, poetry, and live performance. Their work together spans the song “Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH)” and events including TRUCE: Nocturne, Chuck Connelly’s Art Interpreted by Music and Poetry, and Sky Vault. Their artistic relationship also extends to the page: Ford appears in Muñoz’s memoir, A Fool’s Journey: To the Beach Boys & Beyond, and his review of Muñoz’s poetry collection, TRUCE: A Book of Poetry, appears on the book’s back cover.

His work has taken him to stages including Birdland Jazz Club, The Bitter End, Joe’s Pub, Le Poisson Rouge, Chelsea Table + Stage, Nublu, and the Stonewall Inn in New York, as well as venues in Austria, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ukraine. In 2022, he shared the program with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega at the Players Theatre as part of The Village Trip Festival.

Ford has released two albums of poetry set to music, The Music Between Us (2021) and Footprints of Steel (2025), along with a handful of singles, including a collaboration with Paul Kostabi on “Word Count Is a Guillotine.” His recordings have received radio airplay on stations including WFMU, WPRB, WRUU, and WMSE, and his poetry has appeared repeatedly in Maintenant, Three Rooms Press’s annual journal of contemporary Dada writing and art. A member of BMI, he holds more than 50 songwriter credits.

His work also extends into the visual arts. Ford frequently writes ekphrastic poetry in response to works by artists including Mark Kostabi and Chuck Connelly. In 2026, Kostabi referenced Ford alongside jazz legend Ornette Coleman in his song and music video Keep That Light On. Ford has also appeared on screen and contributed poetry to short films directed by Octavio Maya Rocha.

Ford is the host and curator of Sky Vault, an intimate concert and performance space in Lower Manhattan, where he presents musicians and interdisciplinary artists in close-up performances.

Ford has been mentioned in publications including the New York Daily News (2022, 2023), AM New York, Rutland Herald, The Highlands Current, and Symphony. He has also read his poetry on public-access television through Manhattan Neighborhood Network and appeared as a guest on several arts and music podcasts.

Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Ford earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Lehigh University. His “Wall Street Poet” moniker reflects his career in finance: he began as a Series 3-licensed commodities broker at Dean Witter Reynolds and later became a partner at Financial Sciences, a provider of treasury and risk management technology. He has also been quoted as a financial expert in the National Enquirer and continues to work as a financial technology consultant alongside his artistic career.