Sam Ryan

Sam Ryan is an emerging critic and early career researcher. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania, where he is working on a thesis on the poetry in Overland and Quadrant. More broadly, he is interested in the genre of literary journal and its place in literary cultures. He has worked in publishing – in various functions – for more than a decade. He is Overland’s digital archivist and has a firm belief in the importance of digital preservation of literary journals. He has written for the Australian Journal of Biography and History, Australian Book Review, Cordite, and The Conversation. He is the 2024 ABR Rising Star.

Sam Ryan reviews ‘The Blue Cocktail’ by Audrey Molloy and ‘Ekhō’ by Roslyn Orlando

June 2024, no. 465 • 27 May 2024

Identity is a hard thing to define. What makes us who we are? We have social identities, shaped by our affinities and proximities to social groups, cultural identities informed by values, languages, rituals, traditions, and a whole multitude of different phenomena that combine to make us who we are. In Roslyn Orlando’s literary début, Ekhō, identity is linked to voice and agency; I am who I a ... (read more)

Sam Ryan reviews two new poetry collections

November 2023, no. 459 • 24 September 2023

Tamryn Bennett’s Icaros and Willo Drummond’s Moon Wrasse both use the natural as their central motif. Nature has of course always been a font of inspiration for poets. These two poets draw from that font in vastly different ways. Bennett’s title refers to a form of South American song that is chanted during rituals of cleansing and healing that involve plants. Drummond’s refers to a hermap ... (read more)

Sam Ryan reviews '101 Poems' by Ron Pretty

May 2023, no. 453 • 26 April 2023

Ron Pretty has published eight collections of poetry and five chapbooks over his long career. His latest and perhaps last book, 101 Poems, from Pitt Street Poetry’s Collected Works series, includes pieces from his previous collections, as well as some new work. We start with The Habitat of Balance (1988) and go all the way through to his most recent collection, The Left Hand Mirror (2017), befor ... (read more)