Professor Robert Hampson has had a long-standing involvement in contemporary innovative poetry.  He co-edited New British Poetries: The Scope of the Possible (1993) and, more recently, Frank O’Hara Now (2010). He is currently co-editing a volume of essays on Allen Fisher and working on a monograph on Poetry and the Politics of Postmodernity. He co-organises the TALKS series of seminars at the Centre for Poetics Studies, Birkbeck College, London, and a seminar on Innovative Poetry at the Institute for English Studies. Stride published his selected poems, Assembled Fugitives, in 2000; his long poem Seaport was recently re-published by Shearsman; and Veer published the sequence an explanation of colours.

Dr. Kristen Kreider is a Lecturer in Creative Writing (Poetry) at Royal Holloway, University of London.  Since taking this position in 2008, she has sought to promote an interdisciplinary, socially engaged approach to contemporary poetry and poetics, and to encourage a rigorous dialogue between creative and critical practice. Situating her own research in the expanded field of contemporary writing and text-based art practice, Kristen is currently completing a monograph entitled Material Poetics: Sign, Subject, Site.
As a pracitioner, Kristen collaborates with architect James O’Leary. The work of Kreider + O’Leary engages with the particularities of a given site – be this a physical, architectural location or more abstract locus of creative intent – in order to open up meaning.  The work takes on many forms including performance, installation and time-based media and has been exhibited in the UK as well as internationally in Europe, Australia, Japan and the United States.  http://www.kreider-oleary.net

Dr. Will Montgomery is a critic active in the field of contemporary poetry and poetics. He is the author of The Poetry of Susan Howe: History, Theology, Authority (Palgrave, 2010) and he has recently co-edited (with Robert Hampson) Frank O’Hara Now: New Essays on the New York Poet (Liverpool UP, 2010). He has published many articles on contemporary poetry and is a member of the Poetics Research Group at Royal Holloway. He is currently RCUK Research Fellow in Contemporary Poetry and Poetics. Before working at Royal Holloway, he taught at Southampton University and at Queen Mary, University of London. He has a long-standing involvement, as critic and practitioner, in contemporary experimental music, field recording and sound art. See: http://www.selvageflame.com. He has released three CDs and one recent audio piece, on social housing and modernism in south London, was presented as part of the South Bank’s Ether Festival in 2010.

Dr. Redell Olsen’s publications include; ‘Book of the Fur’ (Rempress, 2000), ‘Secure Portable Space’ (Reality Street, 2004) and the collaboratively edited ‘Here Are My Instructions’ (Gefn Press, 2004). She is the editor of the online journal of How2, which publishes modernist and innovative poetry and poetics by women writers. See: http://www.how2journal.com. Recent work is available in ‘Infinite Difference: Other Poetries by UK Women Poets’ (Shearsman, 2010) and ‘I’ll Drown My Book: ‘Conceptual Writing by Women” (Les Figues Press, 2011). Her recent projects have involved texts for performance and film and include: ‘Newe Booke of Copies’ (2009) and ‘Bucolic Picnic (or Toile de Jouy Camouflage)’ (2009). ‘The Lost Swimming Pool ‘; a site-specific collaboration was commissioned by the Creative Campus Initiative,  June 2010.  She has recently published articles on Frank O’Hara, Abigail Child and the relationship between contemporary poetics and the visual arts. She is a Director of the MA in Poetic Practice and a member of the RHUL poetics research group.

ASSOCIATES
Prudence Chamberlain has just completed a Masters in Poetic Practice and is now in her first-year of PhD, developing a poetics of flippancy to position first person within fourth wave feminism.  She has done readings at the Feminist Cultural Carnival and The Jam, hosted by Arts Admin.  She is also a writer for Blackshaw Theatre Company, adapting Titus Groan for production in early 2012.

Sophie Robinson was born in 1985.  She has an MA in Poetic Practice, and is currently completing a practice-based PhD in Queer Phenomenology and Contemporary Poetry at RHUL.  Her first book, a, came out from Les Figues press in 2009.  Her work has been included in several anthologies including Infinite Difference: Other Poetries by Women in the UK (Shearsman 2010), Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century (Bloodaxe 2009) and The Reality Street Book of Sonnets (Reality Street 2008).  In 2011 she will commence a six month poetry residency at the V&A.
Blog: http://www.sophierobinson.blogspot.com
Book: http://www.lesfigues.com/lfp/185/a