Robert W. Norris

Robert W. Norris is a 75-year-old Northern California native. He was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and served time in a military prison for refusing his order to fight. In his twenties, he roamed across the United States, went to Europe twice, and made one journey around the world. In 1983, he landed in Japan, where he eventually became a university professor and retired as a professor emeritus.

Norris is the author of three novels, a novella, two memoirs (written in his seventies), and over 20 research papers on teaching. His first memoir, “The Good Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise: Pentimento Memories of Mom and Me,” was a tribute to his mother and covered both her life and his own. His second memoir, “All That We Are: A Vietnam War Conscientious Objector’s Reflections on His Years (1992-2016) of Peace Education Activities and Relationships in Japan,” tells the story of his years of teaching at a Japanese university, engaging in peace education lessons and activities, and working together and corresponding with a variety of Japanese journalists, activists, authors, documentary producers, and scholars in the fields of peace and literature. “All That We Are” will be published in autumn 2026 by Foreshore Publishing, an indie publisher located in London.

Norris and his wife live near Fukuoka, Japan.