Paolo Ruffilli was born in 1949.
Attended the University of Bologna, where he studied modern literature. After a period of teaching, he became editor with the publisher Garzanti in Milan, and is presently the general editor of the Edizioni del Leone in Venice. Beginning in 1972, he has published nine volumes of poetry. The more recent: Piccola colazione (1987, American Poetry Prize), Diario di Normandia (1990, Montale Prize), Camera oscura (1992), Nuvole (1995), La gioia e il lutto (2001, Prix Européen, in english translation Joy and Mourning, Dedalus Press 2004). He published also the novel Preparativi per la partenza (2003), essays, novels and translations from english.