Mari Rhydwen was raised in North Wales. She studied anthropology and linguistics in London and Cambridge, and practised Zen meditation in Japan. She moved to Australia and completed her doctoral research on Aboriginal literacy and language change. Rhydwen has lived and worked in remote communities in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, working on literacy with Kriol-speaking communities. She has held a number of research and teaching positions at universities in Western Australia, including teaching in the School of Communications at Murdoch University.
In 2001 Rhydwen won first prize in the international Economist/Shell essay competition. She has also been active in refugee support groups, and has written about the Kriol Aboriginal language in Writing on the Backs of the Blacks (1996).
