Esther Boles grew up in Amherstburg, Ontario. After studying at the University of Windsor and UCSB, she continued south to the central mountains of Mexico, where she stayed for twenty-seven years, working as a simultaneous interpreter while also studying printmaking and music at the University of Guanajuato and creative writing and literature with Edgar Reza. Over the years, she collaborated with puppet productions and kept busy raising her family. Currently she lives with her partner near Owen Sound.