Andrews was born in Chicago and studied international relations at John Hopkins University and political science at Harvard. His first book, Edge, was published in 1973.
Together with Charles Bernstein he edited L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Magazine, which ran to 13 issues between 1978 and 1980 and was one of the most important outlets for L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, giving a name to the new movement. In 1984 he and Bernstein published most of the contents of the 13 issues in The L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Book.
Since 1975, Andrews has been a professor of political science at Fordham University. He is committed to a politics of radical dissent and his poetry is formed by the belief that the systematic disruption of language norms is a political act capable of bringing about change. Consequently, he rejects the classical notion of poetry as the 'direct treatment' of things in language, arguing that the only thing that can be so treated is language itself.
As well as a number of essays, Andrews has published about forty books of poetry, either on his own or in collaboration with other writers. These include I Don't Have Any Paper So Shut Up (Or, Social Romanticism) (1992) and Ex Why Zee: Performance Texts, Collaborations with Sally Silvers, Word Maps, Bricolage & Improvisation (1995). His most recent books have been published online.Early Life and Work
Language
Andrews and Politics
Publications