Elaine Randell was born in 1951 in south London, and now lives on Romney Marsh. She keeps Soay sheep, chickens and English Setter dogs. Rural life in Kent and Turkey, where she also has a home, is important to her. In the 1960s Elaine started Amazing Grace poetry magazine and subsequently Secret Books, publishing Tom Raworth, Allen Fisher, Paul Matthews and Barry MacSweeney, to the last of whom she was married from 1973-1979. Her first publication, Songs of Hesperus, appeared in 1972 and thirteen other books have appeared since. Selected Poems was published by Shearsman in 2006, followed by Faulty Mothering (Shearsman, 2010), a book inspired by her work over many years with adoptive children and their families. Keen on collaborative work with other artists, her work Songs for the Sleepless, based on the work of Elizabeth Smart, was orchestrated by composer Bill Connors for the Llandudno Music Festival in 2006. A new book, Spilt Milk , is currently in preparation with the photographer and psychologist, Catherine Jacobs.