Elaine Equi was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1953. She is the author of many books of poetry, including Voice-Over which was chosen by Thom Gunn for the 1999 San Francisco State Poetry Award; Ripple Effect: New & Selected Poems, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and on the short list for the Griffin Poetry Prize; and The Intangibles. Widely published and anthologized, her work is included in The Norton Anthology of Postmodern American Poetry, and six editions of The Best American Poetry. In 2023, she was the guest editor of the annual anthology Best American Poetry. Over the years, her witty, aphoristic, and innovative work has become nationally and internationally known. Her poems have been translated into Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Croatian, and Arabic. She lives in New York City with her husband, the poet Jerome Sala.