Rachel Wetzsteon was born in Manhattan, New York on November 25, 1967. She received a bachelor's degree from Yale University, a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. She taught for numerous years at the Unterberg Poetry Center. Her poetry primarily examined the solitary yet defiant lives of single women. She published three volumes of poetry: The Other Stars; Home and Away; and Sakura Park. She also wrote Influential Ghosts, which is a study of W. H. Auden. Her work appeared in numerous publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New Republic, and The Nation. She was the poetry editor of The New Republic and was on the faculty… of William Paterson University. She committed suicide on December 25, 2009.