Samuel Menashe was born in New York City and was educated at Queens College of the City University of New York as well as the Sorbonne in Paris. He spent three years serving in the U.S. Army Infantry in Belgium, France, and Germany during World War II. In 2004, Menashe was the recipient of the first Neglected Master Award from the Poetry Foundation. In 2005, the Library of America added Menashe to their collection with New and Selected Poems.