A. D. Hope was a prominent figure in Australian history. He is famous not only for his poetry but also for his critical satire of the Australian government. He did not publish his first collection of poetry, The Wandering Islands, until he was 48. His poems faced a lot of backlash and created a lot of controversy because many of them were very explicit in their depictions and descriptions of the physical act of love. At the time, Australia had rather strict "obscenity laws," and Hope faced the possibility of censorship. This did not dissuade him, however.

Despite being controversial, his works won many awards and he became a very well-known figure in Australian literary circles. He passed away in 2000 at the age of 93.