Robert Francis (1901-1987) was born in Upland, Pennsylvania. Francis studied at Harvard (A.B., 1923; Ed.M., 1926). He taught at summer workshops and conferences and 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 in 1939.