Sant came to Melbourne, Australia, with his family in 1962. He received a BA from La Trobe University and has subsequently worked in a variety of occupations. Sant moved to Hobart in 1978 and shortly afterwards co-founded Island Magazine. He remained as a co-editor for ten years.
Sant is an award-winning poet whose work has appeared in many literary magazines in Australia and overseas. His first collection of poetry appeared in 1980 and he completed another five volumes before 2000. Since then he has been a writer-in-residence in the UK and China, including the academic year in 2010-11 at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He has travelled widely and given readings in numerous countries.
Since 2000 several other volumes of his poems have appeared - including, in 2004, Tremors - New & Selected Poems. He has also edited an anthology of essays, Toads, about the relationship between writing and a writer's other necessary work. He has contributed to the development of the arts as a member of the Literature Board of the Australia Council and the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board. Since 1980, he has received a number of Australia Council fellowships and grants. In 2003 he received the Centenary Medal.
