Virginia Barrett was born in New York City but spent most of her childhood in Vermont. She has published six collections of poetry and edited two anthologies of contemporary San Francisco poets including OCCUPY SF-poems from the movement. She has been awarded a residency grant from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, New Mexico and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A visual artist as well, her writing is often fed by line and shape, color and composition, and by the work and personal histories of artists she admires. She holds an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and an MAT in Teaching Art from the Rhode Island School of Design.