Evelyn Reilly grew up outside of Chicago and studied zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, before moving to New York City. She earned an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, where she also worked in a research lab. She is particularly interested in Anthropocene aesthetics, innovative poetics, and cross-genre work that incorporates both language and visual art. 

Reilly is the author of the poetry collections Apocalypso (Roof Books, 2012), Styrofoam (Roof Books, 2009), Fervent Remnants of Reflective Surfaces (Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs, 2006), and Hiatus (Barrow Street Books, 2004). Her poetry and essays have been published in many journals and anthologies, including The Arcadia Project: Postmodernism and the Pastoral (2012), Earth Bound: Compass Points for an Ecopoetics (forthcoming), The &NOW Awards2: The Best Innovative Writing, Omniverse, The Eco-language Reader, Verse, and How2. 

Reilly lives in New York City, where she writes and develops exhibits for natural history, history and cultural museums.