Anne Blonstein (1958-2011) was born in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, and studied plant genetics at Cambridge University. In 1983 Blonstein was appointed to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, where she remained for the rest of her life. She began publishing poetry in 1987, and in 1991 she left her career in science to pursue writing full time, working as a freelance translator and editor. The Anne Blonstein collection, 1975-2011, consists of manuscripts, diaries, notebooks, and correspondence documenting the creation and publication of her work, as well as correspondence with friends.