About

Hannah Irene Rubenstein is a New York City-based poet, playwright, and essayist whose work deals with intersecting themes of childhood, grief, humor, nature, and community. An avid storyteller and theatermaker, she is committed to making the arts more accessible for all and to fostering nuanced conversation around identity on and off stage. Hannah is a graduate of Barnard College (English, Creative Writing, and Theatre) and recently (Summer 2023) completed postgraduate intensive writing courses with University of Oxford.

Hannah’s poetry, essays, and journalism have been published in the Broadway News, Bicoastal Review, Michigan Radio, Juilliard Journal, Meliora, Laurel Moon, and Communicator, among others. She has worked as a writer, administrator, or creative collaborator with organizations including the MAP Fund, the Juilliard School (Drama Division), the Public Theater, Theatre for a New Audience, the New York Neo-Futurists, and Michigan Radio. Along with her creative writing, Hannah is a freelance copyeditor, dramaturg, and English tutor. 

At Barnard, Hannah authored two senior theses. First, an in-depth research paper focused on the textual nuances and performance history of The Merchant of Venice, which grappled with the play’s antisemitic legacy and the potential for performance to re-shape our understanding of identity and social change. Second, a chapbook of original poems entitled What We Lost, which dealt with the intersection of personal, environmental, and political tragedy, and earned Barnard’s Helene Searcy Puls Prize in Poetry. Also at Barnard, Hannah directed and served as dramaturg for various campus theater productions. Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a proud Community High School “Rainbow Zebra”, Hannah served as editor-in-chief of the school’s award-winning newsmagazine, The Communicator, and earned accolades including a National Scholastic Press Association’s Story of the Year Award, the Judith DeWoskin Outstanding Writing Scholarship, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s Bruce Bartman Scholarship.

Hannah has an encyclopedic knowledge of John Mulaney quotes and Taylor Swift songs, a Notes app full of indecipherable observations, and the ability to touch the tip of her tongue to her nose.