Robert Bechtold Heilman (July 18, 1906 – August 5, 2004) was an American educator and writer.
Heilman attended Lafayette College and later received his Ph.D. in English from Harvard University in 1935.
In 1948 Heilman joined the University of Washington faculty, as chair of the English department, which he led until his retirement in 1971.
In this piece, Heilman argues that there are five components to Southern writing, and that Southern writing should be valued for its ability to mix these components into a balanced canon: Heilman contributed for 60 years to the Sewanee Review, and was an advisory editor for nearly 30 years.
The editor from 1973 to 2016, George Core, wrote of him: "The greatness of Bob Heilman was demonstrated many times as he discharged his many offices – teacher, administrator, scholar, critic, editor, essayist, citizen in the body politic – with vast accomplishment and unfailing panache.