Rene Joseph Caron was born on November 1, 1955 in Kingston, Ontario Canada. Caron was briefly exposed to the piano as a child. During adolescence his interest was reawakened and he went on to study at the University of Western Ontario. However, at this time he was taken with the idea of becoming a mystic and in 1974 set off to explore the third world. All career plans were put on hold.

Caron settled in Guatemala for several years where he lived on a diet of fruit. He lived one mile above sea level at the base of a volcano (Lac Atitlan). "If I couldn't talk to animals by the time I was 25, I figured I'd kill myself," Caron says, reflecting on his aborted quest.

In 1979 Caron returned to Canada where, armed with new skepticism, he plunged into a variety of secular pursuits including: real estate development; piloting; gambling; playing in bands, software development and stock trading.

Caron began the Rimbaud project around 1991. By 1999 Caron had burned through an unsuccessful marriage and was winding down his software company. He currently lives in Ottawa, ON with his new wife and child.