Redell Olsen

Redell Olsen is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she co-directs the Poetics Research Centre. Her work bridges avant-garde poetics, environmental humanities, and feminist theory. She holds a PhD in contemporary poetry and visual arts from the British Academy (2002) and has taught at institutions including the University of Cambridge and Dartington College of Arts. Olsen’s research focuses on intersections of art, science, and ecology, exemplified by her DARE Art Prize-winning project with Opera North and the University of Leeds’ BioDAR team. She supervises practice-based PhD students and directs the MA in Poetic Practice. Awards include the Judith E. Wilson Visiting Poetry Fellowship (2013–14) and multiple recognitions for her interdisciplinary art-film projects.

Her creative work spans poetry, film, and performance, addressing themes like climate crisis, medieval book arts, and feminist activism. Recent projects include Fossil Oil: a book of hours (2024) and Weather, Whether Radar: Plume of the Volants (2021). She collaborates with museums, galleries, and scientific institutions to explore environmental justice through art.