O'Sullivan was born in Lincoln, England of Irish immigrant parents[citation needed].
Her early work appeared in magazines such as Angel Exhaust.
[citation needed] O'Sullivan's work is influenced by Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Beuys, Jerome Rothenberg, Bob Cobbing and Basil Bunting.
Her books include An Incomplete Natural History (1984),[1] In the House of the Shaman (1993), Red Shifts (2000) and Palace of Reptiles (2003).
She edited out of everywhere: An anthology of contemporary linguistically innovative poetry by women in North America & the UK (1996).