Hillman was born on March 27, 1951, in Tucson, Arizona. She began writing poetry as a child and pursued her love of writing at Pomona College in California, where she graduated in 1973 with her bachelor's degree. She continued her graduate education at the University of Iowa, where she received her master's of fine arts degree in 1975. After school, she moved back to her adopted state of California, where she worked as a salesperson for University Press Books in Berkeley from 1975 to 1984. During this time, she married Leonard Michaels (1976) and published her first book of poetry, Coffee, 3 A.M. (1982). In 1984, she began teaching English at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. She eventually became a professor of creative writing, a post she still holds today.

In 1985, Hillman published her second volume of poetry, White Dress. She and Michaels were divorced the same year. Over the next decade, Hillman published...