Robert Alden Sanborn, a 20th century American writer of both poetry and prose, was born November 3, 1877 in Boston, Massachusetts to Frederick C. Sanborn, a clerk, and Mary Farley Sanborn (1853-1941), a writer. After studying at Harvard from 1896 to 1898 he began his writing career as a journalist before he took to writing as his principal occupation. He published two books of poetry, Horizons (Boston: Four Seas Co., 1916) and The Children and Judas (Boston: B. Humphries, 1954), as well as a fantasy novel, Mr. Mudge Cuts Across (Los Angeles: Suttonhouse, c1937). Olive Burchfiel (1888-1960) acted as Sanborn's editor for several years.

Sanborn and his wife Virginia (nee Berry Wright) (1887-1949) married in New York City on October 10, 1919. Together they had two children: Georgia-Mary (September 7, 1920-April 13, 2006) and Robert Berry (January 14, 1927-February 9, 1983). Sanborn died February 15, 1966 in Norfolk, Massachusetts.