In childhood, Scalapino traveled throughout Asia, Africa and Europe with her father Robert A. Scalapino (founder of UC Berkeley’s Institute of East Asian Studies), her mother, and her two sisters (Diane and Lynne). She attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon and received her B.A. in Literature in 1966 before moving on to earn her M.A. at UC Berkeley. Scalapino published her first book O and Other Poems in 1976. During her lifetime, she published more than thirty books of poetry, prose, inter-genre fiction, plays, essays, and collaborations. Other well-known works of hers include The Return of Painting, The Pearl, and Orion : A Trilogy (North Point, 1991; Talisman, 1997), Dahlia's Iris: Secret Autobiography and Fiction (FC2), Sight (a collaboration with Lyn Hejinian; Edge Books), and Zither & Autobiography (Wesleyan University Press).

Scalapino's poetry has been widely anthologized, including appearances in the influential Postmodern American Poetry, From the Other Side of the Century, and Poems for the Millennium anthologies, as well as the popular Best American Poetry and Pushcart Prize series anthologies. Her work was the subject of a special "critical feature" appearing in an issue of the online poetry journal How2.

From 1986 until 2010, Scalapino ran the Oakland small press she founded, O Books.Scalapino taught writing at various institutions, including 16 years in the MFA program at Bard College. Other schools she taught at over the years included Mills College, the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of the Arts, San Francisco State University, UC San Diego, and the Naropa University.

Poetry

• O and Other Poems, Sand Dollar Press, 1976
• The Woman who Could Read the Minds of Dogs, Sand Dollar Press, 1976
• Instead of an Animal, Cloud Marauder Press, 1978
• This eating and walking is associated all right, Tombouctou, 1979
• Considering how exaggerated music is, North Point Press, 1982
• that they were at the beach ... aeolotropic series, North Point Press, 1985
• way, North Point Press, 1988
• Crowd and not evening or light, O Books, 1992
• Sight (with Lyn Hejinian), Edge Books, 1999
• New Time, Wesleyan University Press, 1999
• The Tango, (with Marina Adams), Granary Press, 2001
• Day Ocean State of Stars' Night: Poems & Writings 1989 & 1999-2006, Green Integer (E-L-E-PHANT Series), 2007
• It's go in horizontal, Selected Poems 1974-2006, UC Press, Berkeley, 2008

Fiction

• The Return of Painting, DIA Foundation, 1990
• The Return of Painting, The Pearl, and Orion : A Trilogy, North Point, 1991; Talisman, 1997
• Defoe, Sun & Moon Press, 1995
• The Front Matter, Dead Souls, Wesleyan University Press, 1996
• Orchid Jetsam, Tuumba, 2001
• Dahlia's Iris ... Secret Autobiography and Fiction, FC2, November 2003

Inter-genre writings

• The Public World / Syntactically Impermanence, Wesleyan University Press, 1999
• How Phenomena Appear To Unfold , Potes & Poets Press, 1991
• Objects in the Terrifying Tense / Longing from Taking Place, Roof Books, 1994
• Green and Black, Selected Writings , Talisman Publishers, 1996
• R-hu, Atelos Press, 2000
• Zither and Autobiography, Wesleyan, 2003
• Floats Horse-Floats or Horse-Flows, Starcherone Books, 2010

Plays

• Goya's L.A., a play, Potes & Poets Press, 1994 (music by Larry Ochs)
• Stone Marmalade (the Dreamed Title), (with Kevin Killian) Singing Horse Press, 1996
• The Weatherman Turns Himself In, Zasterle Press, Spain 1999