Suzanne Buffam was born in Montreal, raised in Vancouver, and currently lives in Chicago. Her first collection of poetry, Past Imperfect , was named a Book of the Year by the Globe and Mail and won the Gerald Lampert Award. Her second collection of poetry, The Irrationalist , was named a finalist for the 2011 Griffin Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in international anthologies and publications, including Poetry , Jubilat , Denver Quarterly , Colorado Review , Books in Canada , and Breathing Fire: Canada's New Poets ; and has been translated into French, German, Spanish, and Slovenian. She teaches Creative Writing at the University of Chicago.