Anna Brooks grew up with her four brothers on farms near Virginia, SA, then Geraldton, WA. This, with family camping trips, gave her a strong feeling for nature. She returned to the city (Adelaide) to live in 1974. She studied Biology at the University of Adelaide, majoring in Botany, then went to the Australian National University, Canberra (1981) where she completed a PhD in Plant Physiology in 1985.
From 1986-88 she lived in the USA at Champaign-Urbana, Ill., doing research in plant physiology at the University of Illinois. She decided after this that research was not for her, and returned to Australia to think out alternatives. For several years she tutored Biology part-time to 1st year students at the University of Adelaide while at the same time doing voluntary work for conservation groups, and getting serious about publishing poetry. She had begun writing poetry as a teenager, but until now had never thought to publish. She went to Friendly Street readings, and was involved in a regular poetry workshop. In 1991 she began submitting poems to journals, and was first published in 1992. Meanwhile, her tutoring had shown her how much she enjoyed working with people, so in 1993 she began to study Psychology. She finished a Masters in Clinical Psychology at Flinders University in 1997, and is now working as a psychologist, and loving it.
Her writing reflects her interest in human nature, as well as the natural world. She has had a wide range of interests, including bushwalking, rock-climbing, back-packing overseas, cycling, classical music, folk-dancing and gardening.
