“Robert Hayden was born Asa Bundy Sheffey in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4, 1913. His parents, Ruth and Asa Sheffey, separated before his birth, and Hayden spent the majority of his childhood in the foster care system. His foster parents, Sue Ellen Westerfield and William Hayden, raised him in a low-income Detroit neighborhood known as Paradise Valley. Their home life was tumultuous. Hayden witnessed frequent verbal and physical bouts between his foster parents during his childhood years. The trauma he sustained as a result of this experience spurred periods of debilitating depression.
As a noticeably small child with poor vision, Hayden often found himself socially isolated. He found refuge in literature, developing interests in fiction and poetry. After graduating from high school, he attended Wayne State University (known as Detroit City College at the time). He left college in 1936 to begin working for the Federal Writers’ Project. In this post, Hayden spent time researching African-American history and folk life—subjects that would inspire and inform his poetic work.
Hayden remained with the Federal Writers' Project for two years. He spent the following years crafting his first volume of poetry, Heart-Shape in the Dust. The book was published in 1940. The same year, Hayden married Erma Inez Morris. Hayden converted to his wife’s religion—the Baha’i faith—shortly after their marriage. His beliefs influenced much of his work, and he helped to publicize the little-known faith.

Bio Source Info:  http://www.biography.com/people/robert-hayden-9332119#synopsis