Lisa Jarnot is the author of six collections of poetry and a biography of the poet Robert Duncan (The Ambassador from Venus, 2012, University of California Press). She lives in Jackson Heights, Queens with her husband and daughter and works as a freelance gardener.

Claudia Rankine is the author of several collections of poetry, most recently Citizen, which was released by Graywolf in October 2014 and has since been nominated for a National Book Award. Rankine currently teaches at Pomona College.