Internationally award-winning poet and writer
out of emptied cups
*** Books of the Year - The Lonely Crowd 2019 ***
*** Best Dressed - Sundress Academy for the Arts 2020 ***
Anne is a member of New South Wales Writers’ Centre, Australian Poetry and Australian performing rights organisation, APRA AMCOS. All of Anne’s written works are subject to copyright. She has global royalty agreements in place with APRA AMCOS and CCLI.
For further details on her professional experience, please visit Anne’s LinkedIn page. For a list of her business and legal publications, please see: Business Publications & Projects.
Anne supports charities with a special interest in humanitarian issues and the rights of women and children, including lets.net.au and touchedbyolivia.com.au.
Originally from the west of Ireland, Dr Anne Casey is an internationally published and award-winning poet and writer living in Sydney, Australia. Over a 30-year career, she has worked as a business journalist, researcher, writer, magazine/journal editor, media communications director and legal author, holding senior positions in government and the private sector. She holds a PhD from the University of Technology Sydney where she works as a Casual Academic, researching and teaching creative writing. Anne also holds a Law degree from University College Dublin and qualifications in Media Communications from Technological University Dublin. She was awarded the Distinguished Creative Arts Doctoral Student Award (1st Prize) for her doctoral research by the DDCA (Deans and Directors of Creative Arts in Australian universities) - a national award for significant contribution to the field of research/practice, showcasing national-level research outcomes with international esteem potential. Anne also received an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship and a bursary for her PhD work in archival poetry and poetics of resistance at the University of Technology Sydney. Her doctoral thesis examines 'The second-wave impact in Australia of the Great Irish Famine: Reviving lost histories through poetics of resistance'.
Anne is the author of five books of poetry, including one co-authored with US poet, Heather Bourbeau. She has served as Vice President of Voices of Women Incorporated, a not-for-profit literary and performance arts initiative; guest editor for Rabbit journal (RMIT University) and for Not Very Quiet journal; and as Senior Poetry Editor for the two literary journals of Swinburne University in Melbourne - Other Terrain Journal and Backstory Journal from 2017 to 2020. She has served on numerous editorial advisory boards and is a founding member of Irish-Australian women's arts ensemble, The Prankqueans which has twice been commended in the Parliament of New South Wales for its cultural contribution in Australia.
Anne's writing and poetry are widely published internationally and rank in The Irish Times newspaper's Most-Read. In December 2022, a poem of Anne's was selected for The Polaris Trilogy - to be sent to the moon on the NASA Lunar Codex flight. Along with poems selected from each continent to tell Earth's story, Anne's poem will be protected from radiation and preserved for millions of years. It will be available for reading by astronauts who visit the moon for exploration and when stopping off on the way to Mars.
Anne has won poetry awards in Ireland, the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India and Lebanon, most recently American Writers Review Prize, the Henry Lawson Prize, the iWoman Global Award for Literature and the American Association of Australasian Literary Studies Poetry Prize 2024 - see Awards. After a long absence, while pursuing a business media career, Anne 'came home to poetry' while grappling with her grief after her mother's death - her first poem as an adult was published in The Irish Times in 2016. This poem, In memoriam II: The Draper, was the fifth most-read item - across all categories - in The Irish Times on the day of publication and resulted in a furore of social media commentary.
Her poetry appears in newspapers, magazines, journals, anthologies, videos, music albums, podcasts, broadcasts, archives and art exhibitions. Anne's Henry Lawzon prize-winning poem, 'Whisperings' was set to music by internationally renowned composer, David Yardly, recorded with the Sydney Chamber Choir and released on The Lost Codex of Avalon music album in December 2021. As part of a collaboration with chart-topping Australian hip hop artist, Tuka, two of Anne's poems feature on his 2020 album, 'Nothing In Common But You'. Through a collaboration with Australian artist, Jane Theau, a selection of Anne's poetry featured as visual art and voiceovers at the 'Stitched Up' exhibition at Newcastle Gaol in July-August 2017. Anne's writing was selected to be performed on stage in Sydney and in film by professional actors as part of the The Monologue Adventure and Voices of Woman in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
A reading by Anne of her diaspora poem 'I will arise and go' was featured as part of a special message by Consul General Rosie Keane and Prime Minister of Ireland, An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin - to commemorate Ireland's 100 years of freedom as a democratic State and expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine - on St Patrick's Day 2022. This video was released by the Consulate General of Ireland, New South Wales on 17 March 2022,
Anne's poem, 'Recipe for a Giant Pickle' was selected to be performed by the Climate Guardians at the inaugural Biennale of Australian Art (BOAA) - the largest ever showcase of living Australian artists - in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia in October 2018. Her poem, 'scion' was selected for inclusion in the Spirit of Nature poetry and art exhibition at Manly Art Gallery, Sydney in November 2018. A recording of Anne's poem 'Between ebb and flow' was selected for inclusion in The Poetry Jukebox during February and March 2019. ' What Lies Beneath - a lament for the Great Barrier Reef', written by Anne Casey by special invitation, was performed by international environment activists, The Climate Guardians at the opening of leading contemporary Australian artist, Janet Laurence's 'After Nature' exhibition at iconic Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia in February 2019.
Anne is author of Portrait of a Woman Walking Home (Recent Work Press 2021) - which was shortlisted for the International Rubery Book Award 2022 and the Society of Women Writers NSW Book Awards 2022, and selected for Best Poetry Books of 2021 (Aniko magazine, Australia); the light we cannot see (Salmon Poetry 2021) which was shortlisted for the Society of Women Writers NSW Book Awards 2022; out of emptied cups (Salmon Poetry 2019) - which was selected for Wardrobe Best Dressed 2020 (Sundress Academy for the Arts, USA) and Books of the Year 2019 (The Lonely Crowd, UK); and where the lost things go (Salmon Poetry 2017, 2nd ed 2018). Anne's fifth poetry collection, Some Days The Bird (Beltway Editions 2022) is co-written with US poet, Heather Bourbeau; this book won a Distinguished Favorite award in the NYC Big Book Awards 2023.
She is a regular reader, headliner and keynote speaker at literary, cultural and other events, as well as festivals, conferences and symposiums. She has appeared at fixtures and venues including the Consulate General of Ireland, Sydney; State Library of New South Wales; Ireland's largest and longest running traditional music summer school and festival, Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy; one of Europe's oldest and most respected literary festivals, Cúirt International Festival of Literature (Galway, Ireland); Poetry Ireland (Dublin, Ireland); the University of Missouri-St Louis; Medellin International Poetry Festival (Colombia); the University of Newcastle (Australia); Swinburne University (Melbourne); the University of Canberra; the University of Technology Sydney; the University of Wah (Pakistan); Casula Powerhouse, New South Wales; Rowan Tree Readings (Ireland); Ó Bhéal (Cork, Ireland); Over The Edge (Galway, Ireland); The Poetry Circle (Limerick Writers' Centre, Ireland); Salmon Literary Centre (Clare, Ireland); Irish Women Abroad (Sydney); Sapphos (Sydney); Reading the River (Brooklyn, NSW, Australia); Sydney Poetry Lounge (Sydney); Kinokuniya Books (Sydney); Poets' Corner (WestWords, Sydney); Better Read Than Dead (Sydney); North Shore Poetry (Sydney); Cuplet (Newcastle); Edith Cowan Writers' Centre (Perth); Melbourne Poets Union (Melbourne); Manly Art Gallery (Sydney); Garden Lounge creative space (Sydney); Girls on Key (Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne); Remembrance Day for Lost Species 2019 at Articulate gallery in Sydney; and That Poetry Thing (Smith's Alternative, Canberra) - for upcoming dates, see: Readings & Events. See also: Interviews & Media.
Anne is included in the following archives:
- Irish Poetry Reading Archive at James Joyce Library, University College Dublin
- Poets & Writers Directory
- Contemporary Irish Women Poets
- An Index of Women Poets
- AustLit at the University of Queensland
- The Society of Women Writers of New South Wales
- Red Room Poetry (Australia).
Anne's article "Returning from Australia, I barely recognise my hometown", which included two poems, was the Number 1 most-read piece overall in leading Irish national daily newspaper, The Irish Times, over the weekend it was published in August 2017 and featured in the newspaper's Most-Read for 2017. The article tackled family issues related to emigration and resulted in widespread commentary on social media. Anne's feature article, including one poem, entitled 'Home is where the heart is' was published in print in the Christmas Edition of The Irish Times Magazine on 21 December 2019, also appearing online in The Irish Times newspaper under the title 'The last Christmas I spent in Ireland was 12 years ago'. This article featured in the Top 10 Most Read items in the newspaper, also reaching No 1 over the weekend of its first publication.
Anne's article "The Lock Up", which included one poem, was the most-read feature article and the third most-read piece overall in The Irish Times newspaper over the weekend of its publication in May 2017, and featured in the newspaper's Most-Read for 2017. The story unearthed a shameful history of abuse, rape and neglect suffered by marginalised children in 19th century Australia. Anne was subsequently interviewed by Roisin Ingle on The Women's Podcast for The Irish Times. Other articles of Anne's featuring in The Irish Times Most-Read include: "Marked women, unmarked graves and my typical Irish childhood", published in May 2018 and "'In Australia I’m regarded as Irish, but in Ireland I’m not from here’" published on 6 July 2019.
You can find Anne's poetry in publications etc including The Irish Times, The London Magazine, Rattle, American Writers Review, Nimrod, Irish Poetry Reading Archive (James Joyce Library, University College Dublin), Australian Poetry Anthology, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, The Canberra Times, Atlanta Review, Tahoma Literary Review, Entropy, apt journal, Quiddity, Barzakh (Albany, State University of New York), Life in Quarantine (Stanford University), The Murmur House, DASH (California State University), Crosswinds, Pratik, HCE Magazine, Anti-Heroin Chic, Westerly Magazine, Cordite, Plumwood Mountain, Griffith Review, Autonomy anthology (New Binary Press), Abridged, Verity La Magazine, Eureka Street, FourXFour Journal (Poetry Northern Ireland), The Honest Ulsterman, University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's International Poetry Prize Anthology, ACU Prize for Poetry Anthology, Grieve 10th Anniversary Anthology (Hunter Writers Centre 2022), In Your Hands poetry anthology (The Red Room Company 2020), Days of Clear Light (Salmon Poetry 2021), Boyne Berries, Ablucionistas, Wordpeace Journal, Mingled Voices 4: Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology 2019,, HeadStuff, Burning House Press, Poethead - A Celebration of Women's Poetry for International Women's Day 2018, The Poetry Jukebox, Women’s National Book Association (USA) Sixth Annual Writing Contest Anthology, Giant Steps: Fifty poets reflect on the Apollo 11 moon landing and beyond anthology (Recent Work Press 2019), Sundress Publications, Writing Water chapbook (The Red Room Company 2020), Mingled Voices 4: The International Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology (Proverse Press 2020), Mingled Voices 5: The International Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology (Proverse Press 2021), Heron Clan VII anthology, Children of the Nation anthology, Messages from the Embers anthology (Black Quill Press 2020), Embody 2 anthology (Verity La), The Journal (The Australian-Irish Heritage Association of Western Australia). From the Ashes anthology in aid of Australian bushfire relief (Maxium Felix Media 2020), Stilts Journal, The Australian Poetry Collaboration, Henry Lawson Verse & Short Story Anthology 2018, The Poets' Republic, The Australian Showcase Edition of The Enchanting Verses (2019),Scope Magazine, Digging Press/Digging Through the Fat, A Plague of Poetry, Backstory Journal (Swinburne University, Melbourne), Into The Void Magazine, The Incubator, Live Encounters, The Irish Literary Times, The Stony Thursday Book, Déraciné, Panoply Literary Zine, Awake in the world ecopoetry anthology (Riverfeet Press 2019), The Same, Not Very Quietjournal, ROPES Literary Journal (25th edition), What She Knew (Papaya Press, UK), Bedford International Writing Competition Anthology 2017, Bedford International Writing Competition Anthology 2020, Burningword Literary Journal, In the News anthology (The Poetry Box 2018),Verse Daily, Poems and Pictures (Mary Evans Picture Library, UK), Bangor Literary Journal, An Áit Eile, Black Bough Poetry, Bold+Italic literary journal, Bedford Writing Bookshelf, The Diamond Jubilee (60th Anniversary) Edition of the Clare Association Yearbook (2019), The Clare Association Yearbook 2018, The Corrugated Wave, Globalisation anthology (MMH Press 2021), Addictions & Compulsive Behaviour mini-anthology (Poetry Pharmacy 2017), Wrong Way Go Back anthology (Pure Slush 2020), Unheard Poetry, unfurl, Poem Today, Pink Cover Zine, Poethead, HUSK Magazine, Enthralled Magazine, FemAsia Magazine, Not4U Zine, EMPWR, Other Terrain Journal (Swinburne University), Tales from the Forest, Dodging the Rain, Luminous Echoes: A Poetry Anthology, Deep Water Literary Journal, The Blue Nib, The Remembered Arts Journal, Richard Reads, Thank You for Swallowing and Visual Verse: An Anthology of Art and Words amongst many others.
Anne has collaborations with artists and composers in Australia, Ireland, France and the United States. She has written lyrics for 30+ songs, which feature in concerts and live performances, music albums, videos and on radio. Her artistic collaborators have included chart-topping Australian hip-hop artist, Tuka; internationally renowned chamber music composer, David Yardley; US musician, Rex Haberman and his band, War Poets; Australian chamber musician and composer, John Lewis; Irish actor and performance artist, Davóg Rynne; and Australian visual artist, Jane Theau. Via a global licensing agreement with CCLI, Anne's co-written songs with John Lewis are currently in use in countries including the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and have received extensive radio airplay.