Robert Francis was born in Upland, Pennsylvania, in 1901. He studied at Harvard and received his bachelor's degree in 1923. Three years later, he received his master's degree from the same school. He taught at summer workshops and conferences throughout his life. He also guest-lectured at universities across the United States. His works include Stand with Me Here (1936); Like Ghosts of Eagles: Poems 1966–1974 (1974); a novel, We Fly Away (1948); and an autobiography, The Trouble with Francis (1971). He won the Shelley Memorial Award for poetry writing in 1939. He died in 1987.