Robert W. Norris was born and raised in Humboldt County, California, where he played basketball in high school and junior college. In 1969, he entered the Air Force, subsequently became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, and served time in a military prison for refusing to fight in the war. In his twenties, he roamed across the United States, went to Europe twice, and made one journey around the world. During that time, he worked as a millhand, construction laborer, stevedore, mailman, baker, saute cook, and oil rig steward. Norris has lived in Japan since 1983. He retired as a professor emeritus from Fukuoka International University in 2016. He is the author of three novels, a novella used as an ESL textbook, and over 20 academic papers on teaching English. He and his wife live near Fukuoka, Japan.