Izzy Wasserstein was born and raised in Kansas. She teaches English at Washburn University, writes poetry and fiction, and shares a house with a variety of animal companions and the writer Nora E. Derrington. Her work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Flint Hills Review, Crab Orchard Review, and elsewhere. Her first poetry collection, This Ecstasy They Call Damnation, was a 2013 Kansas Notable book. She likes to slowly run long distances. Her website is izzywasserstein.com.