Karolina Zapal is a poet, prose writer, translator, and author of two books: Notes for Mid-Birth (Inside the Castle) and Polalka (Spuyten Duyvil). She was born in Poland and often meditates on the Polish language and culture in her work. Her writing has appeared in journals such as Adi Magazine, the Rumpus, the Seventh Wave, and others. A graduate of Naropa University's MFA in Writing & Poetics, she lives in Massachusetts with her family and works at the Mass Center for the Book.