Anne Cluysenaar was born in Brussels in 1936. Her family came to England just before the war. She studied at Trinity College, Dublin, graduated in English and French Literature and in 1961 became an Irish citizen. In 1987 she withdrew from full-time academic life to concentrate on writing and painting. She now runs a self-catering smallholding and teaches creative writing part-time at the University of Wales, Cardiff, also taking writing and painting workshops in museums, art galleries, Forestry Enterprise venues, schools and community centres.