Cole Swensen (1955) was born in San Francisco. Poet, translator, editor, critic and professor, Swensen is the author of more than twenty poetry collections and over ten volumes of translations of French poetry and prose. Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006, Swensen has taught at the University of Denver, the University of Iowa, and Brown University. Her work, sometimes called lyric-Language poetry, is considered postmodern and “post-Language” in the sense that she maintains close ties with the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Poets. Swensen has been recipient of numerous awards, among them a National Poetry Series selection, Sun & Moon’s New American Writing Award, the Iowa Poetry Prize, the San Francisco State Poetry Center Book Award and two Pushcart Prizes. Her translation of Jean Frémon’s The Island of the Dead won the 2004 PEN USA Literary Award for Translation. Her life-long commitment to translation is a testament to her belief in the international exchange of words and language, and in the importance of radical and traditional poetries for contemporary society.