Robert Halsall Abel was born on May 27, 1941 in Painesville, Ohio. His father was Robert H. and he was a textile worker and his mother was Lora Constance (Logan) and she was a bus driver.
He graduated from College of Wooster cum laude in 1964 with a B.A., Kansas State University with a M.A. in 1967, and the University of Massachusetts, with an MFA in 1974.
He is married to Joyce Keeler, and has three children:Sarah, Charles, and Robert.
His work appeared in Colorado Review, Dim Sum, Glimmer Train, Manoa, Massachusetts Review, Mind's Eye, and Writers' Forum.