Kaily Dorfman was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, and completed her MFA in poetry at UC Irvine and her PhD in English and literary arts at the University of Denver. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the Best New Poets anthology, and is published or forthcoming at journals including New England Review, Tar River Poetry, Painted Bride Quarterly, The New Criterion, and Summerset Review.