Peter Sanger received his education at the universities of Melbourne, Australia and Victoria, British Columbia as well as Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. During his thirty year teaching career at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC), he became Head of Humanities and later received the recognition of Professor Emeritus in 1999. Sanger's commitment to his work and students, his achievements in his writing and in his community have earned him an Honourary Doctorate from NSAC which he was awarded in May 2012.
Sanger has published numerous books of poetry including Aborealis, a collaborative project with renowned photographer Thaddeus Holownia in 2005, Aiken Drum which was shortlisted for the 2006 Atlantic Poetry Prize and his most recent collection John Stokes' Horse (2012). His prose projects include Spar (2002), White Salt Mountain (2005), The Stone Canoe: Two Lost Mi'kmaq Texts (2007), and his extensive study of the life and poetry of Richard Outram, Through Darkling Air (2010). He is also known for his measured criticism and insightful reviews of work by Douglas Lochhead, Robert Bringhurst, John Thompson, Emily Carr and Elizabeth Bishop. Sanger has been the poetry editor of The Antigonish Review since 1985. He lives South Maitland, Nova Scotia.