Tracy Ryan je poetka a prozaička zo Západnej Austrálie, známa najmä v 90. rokoch ako priekopnícka feministická poetka. Jej skoré diela skúmali zložité pomery doby a koniec druhej vlny feminizmu prostredníctvom osobných skúseností. Ryanová často čerpá inšpiráciu z okolia a osobného života, pričom ju zaujímajú spôsoby, akými možno jazyk prerušiť a upraviť na feministické účely. Jej poézia, prirovnávaná k Sylvii Plathovej, sa vyznačuje mýtickými podtónmi, no zároveň si zachováva svoju vlastnú, jedinečnú silu.
The Fremantle Press Anthology of Western Australian Poetry is a comprehensive survey of the state's poets from the 19th century to today. Featuring work from 128 poets, and accompanied by biographical notes and an introductory essay by editors John Kinsella and Tracy Ryan, this watershed anthology brings together the poems that have contributed to and defined the way that Western Australians see themselves.
Water is contained in these poems in many different ways- from the water filling a second-hand cooler in an old farmhouse to ocean riptides and impassive dams; from swimming lessons to paddocks layered with water after rain. From scheme water, pipelines and a countryside in the grip of drought - the water in this collection is a many-sided metaphor. Tracy Ryan's latest collection of poems is full of intimate intensity and clear vision, each poem wrought with consummate skill by 'one of Australia's most gifted poets' (Marion May Campbell).