Ruth Fainlight was born in New York, but has mainly lived in Britain since she was 15, having also spent some years living in France and Spain.[1] She studied for two years at the Birmingham and Brighton Colleges of Art.[2] In addition to her own works, Fainlight has also provided criticism for BBC Radio, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian and numerous other publications.
Fainlight was married to the British writer Alan Sillitoe (1928–2010)[3][4] and has a son, David, who is a photographer for The Guardian, and an adopted daughter, Susan. Fainlight lives in London.
Fainlight has twice been Poet in Residence at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, and was a close friend of Sylvia Plath in the years leading up to Plath's death.[5]
