Rowena Bastin was the youngest of three children born to schoolteacher Abbie Mary Beardsley and botanist Edson Sewell Bastin. Bastin's father died the year after she was born, and the family moved from New Jersey to Highland Park, Illinois. While Bastin's older stepbrother pursued an interest in geology, Bennett's mother encouraged both of her daughters to pursue interests in reading.
Bastin majored in English at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and published her first book of poetry in 1930. After this, she continued writing poetry, and went on tour reciting her poetry throughout Chicago, including the American Library Association, the Chicago Women’s Club, The Greater English Club of Chicago, Northwestern University’s Writer’s Guild, and Allied Arts Chicago, and also created a stage adaptation of "Puss in Boots" for the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 1954.
While giving a lecture at the Apple River Writer’s Conference in 1956, Bastin and her family relocated to Galena, Illinois. She continued writing and publishing her work, and made several appearances at the Galena Public Library. In 1971, Bastin relocated to Cortland, New York, where she died in 1981.
