Rochelle Ratner began writing poetry as a teenager and published her first collection, A Birthday of Waters, in 1971, shortly after moving to New York City. Her childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey — its landscape and the atmosphere of a deteriorating resort town before legalized gambling — shaped much of her early work, including her novel Bobby’s Girl and poetry collections such as Sea Air in a Grave Ground Hog Turns Toward, Pirate’s Song, and Combing the Waves.
Throughout the 1970s she experimented with serial forms in poetry before expanding into prose, drama, and fiction. Her plays include Kité Fami: My Family Has Left Me (1976), based on the Salem Witch trials, and Tellings (1979), a dramatic monologue about her mother’s life. Her novels include The Lion’s Share and Mother and Child, both of which explore themes of trauma and relationships. She also edited the anthology Bearing Life: Women’s Writing on Childlessness.
Over the course of her career, Ratner’s work expanded to include short fiction, memoir, criticism, and editing, while poetry remained a constant foundation throughout.
Bio information sourced from Mermaid Press.