Robert has been writing stories and poems since 1978—when his parents left a typewriter unattended on the kitchen table.

In recent years, his work has appeared in a handful of literary journals and on numerous unsolicited postcards to family and friends.

His twenty favorite movies, in alphabetical order, are:

- A Complete Unknown
- A Few Good Men
- Apollo 13
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- Casablanca
- Glengarry GlenRoss
- Hoosiers
- Ida
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Purple Rain
- Rear Window (1954 version)
- Rocky
- Shadowlands (1993 version)
- Stalag 17
- Star Wars
- The Godfather
- The Shawshank Redemption
- The Sound of Music
- Three Colors: Blue
- Wuthering Heights (1939 version)

His three favorite hot sauces, ranked, are:

1. Pain is Good, Garlic #37
2. Yellow Bird, Habanero
3. Cholula, Chipotle

His five favorite Prince songs, in alphabetical order, are:

- “Adore”
- “Another Lonely Christmas”
- “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”
- “Let’s Go Crazy”
- “Purple Rain”

His favorite Bob Dylan song is:

- “Brownsville Girl”

His favorite Robert Bly poem is:

- “Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter”
Click here to read the poem on the Library of Congress’ website

His three favorite books, in alphabetical order are:

- A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
- Life Work by Donald Hall
- The Writing Life by Annie Dillard