Michel-Cassidy lived for 15 years in voluntary exile in rural Northern New Mexico. She is a writer, critic, teacher, editor, and visual artist. She is a senior book reviews editor at Tupelo Quarterly, where she also contributes criticism, and for several years, was a contributing editor at Entropy Magazine. She holds an MFA in fiction from the Bennington Writing Seminars, and another, in visual arts, from the California College of the Arts. She was a cross-disciplinary resident at Gullkistan in Laugarvatn, Iceland, and a visual arts resident at Brazier’s Park in Ipsden, England. Michel-Cassidy is a mediocre skier and has recently taken up open-water swimming. She currently lives between Arroyo Seco, New Mexico, and a houseboat in Sausalito, California.