Lyn Lifshin (1942–2019) was born and raised in Vermont. She received a BA from Syracuse University and an MA from the University of Vermont. Lifshin published numerous poetry collections, including Secretariat: The Red Freak, The Miracle (Texas Review Press, 2014); Another Woman Who Looks Like Me (Black Sparrow–David Godine, 2006), which received the Paterson Award for Literary Excellence; Before It’s Light (Black Sparrow Press, 1999), which received the Paterson Poetry Award; Cold Comfort: Selected Poems 1970–1996 (Black Sparrow Press, 1997); and Kiss the Skin Off (Cherry Valley Editions, 1985).
She was a very prolific poet, publishing over 130 books and chapbooks. Her work appeared in numerous literary magazines and cultural publications, including Earth’s Daughters, The American Poetry Review, The American Scholar, Christian Science Monitor, The Georgia Review, Ploughshares, Dunes Review, Rolling Stone Magazine, and Yankee. She also edited anthologies, appeared in others, and was the subject of the documentary film Lyn Lifshin: Not Made of Glass by director Mary Ann Lynch.
Lifshin received numerous fellowships, including the Yaddo Fellowship (1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, and 1980) and the MacDowell Fellowship (1973). She won the Creative Artists Public Service Award in 1976, the Hart Crane Award, Cherry Valley Editions Jack Kerouac Award for Kiss the Skin Off in 1984, and the Madelin Sadin Award in 1989. The Albany Public Library Foundation named her a Literary Legend.