James Keir Baxter 1926 – 1972 was a New Zealand poet and playwright, regarded as one of the most important of his era.

Baxter was educated in New Zealand and England. He published ‘Beyond the Palisade’ (1944), ‘Blow, Wind of Fruitfulness’ (1948). A critical work ‘Recent Trends in New Zealand Poetry’ (1951) has been praised for its perceptiveness and maturity. Later poetry collections include ‘The Fallen House’(1953), ‘Iron Breadboard’ (1957), ‘Pig Island Letters’ (1966), ‘Jerusalem Sonnets’ (1970), and ‘Autumn Testament’(1972). He also published ‘Aspects of Poetry’ in New Zealand (1967). Baxter’s ‘Collected Poems’ was first published in 1979 and his ‘Collected Plays’ in 1982.