Jo Shapcott was born in London. She has won a number of literary prizes including the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Collection, the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the National Poetry Competition (twice). Her most recent collection is Tender Taxes, versions of Rilke's French poems (Faber, 2001). She is the co-editor, with Matthew Sweeney, of Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times (Faber, 1996).