Hermine Meinhard grew up in Newark and Maplewood, New Jersey, a lover of fairy tales, writing on scraps of paper under the bedroom nightlight. She now lives in the Yorkville section of Manhattan with its echoes of the Brothers Grimm and the old Austro-Hungarian world.  

Her first full-length collection, Bright Turquoise Umbrella (Tupelo Press, 2004), follows a child into young womanhood through a shifting, magical landscape of portents and signs. Bright Turquoise Umbrella was a finalist for the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award. 

Hermine is known as an innovative teacher whose playful, improvisational methods help students bring the vitality of their experience to their writing. Currently she is Adjunct Associate Professor of Humanities at NYU and a faculty member of the New York Writers Workshop. She also offers private one-on-one writing classes and coaching and welcomes inquiries from prospective students. She has an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College.