Brian Brett
Encyclopedia
Brian Brett is a Canadian
poet
and novelist.
He studied literature at Simon Fraser University
from 1969 to 1974. Writing and publishing since the late 1960s, he has also been involved in an editorial capacity with several publishing firms such as the Governor-General's Award winning Blackfish Press.
In the early seventies, he began working as a freelance journalist and critic for various publications and newspapers, including The Globe and Mail
, the Toronto Star
, the Vancouver Sun, The New Reader, Books in Canada, the Victoria Times-Colonist
and Vancouver's The Province
—where he was the poetry critic for two years, and had his own column. His journalism has appeared in almost every major newspaper in Canada
, and his essays in most of the major magazines. He is currently writing a monthly newspaper column called CultureWatch for the Yukon News
.
Brett inaugurated the B.C. Poetry-in-the-Schools program, introducing children in schools to world poetry for a period of several years, and has taught or given workshops on writing across Canada. He has been a member of organizations ranging from P.E.N. International, the League of Canadian Poets, the Federation of BC Writers
, to the Writers' Union of Canada
. While a member of the League of Canadian Poets he performed a national reading tour under their auspices. He has also given readings on CBC Radio
and various other media as well as public performances funded by private organizations, universities, Harbourfront, Vancouver International Writers Festival, Saltwater Festival, Sechelt Writers’ Festival, Wordfest: Banff Calgary International Writers Festival
, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival
, National Book Festival, and the Canada Council. In May 2005, Brett became chair of the Writers' Union of Canada.
He lives on his farm on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
.
, meaning that his body does not naturally produce sex hormones. By the age of 20, he had still not entered puberty
, and was believed by his parents and doctors to be intersex
until his Kallmann diagnosis. He began taking testosterone
in adulthood.
In November 2009, Brett won Canada's Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize for Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life. The book describes a typical day in the life of his farm, with insight into the natural history of farming. The jury called the book “a lively, well-researched blend of memoir and socio-political commentary; a rare celebration of youth, age, and the tumultuous, surprising journey between them.”
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and novelist.
He studied literature at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
from 1969 to 1974. Writing and publishing since the late 1960s, he has also been involved in an editorial capacity with several publishing firms such as the Governor-General's Award winning Blackfish Press.
In the early seventies, he began working as a freelance journalist and critic for various publications and newspapers, including The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, the Vancouver Sun, The New Reader, Books in Canada, the Victoria Times-Colonist
Victoria Times-Colonist
The Times Colonist is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the merger, in 1980, of the Victoria Daily Times, established in 1884, and the British Colonist , established in 1858 by Amor De Cosmos, who was also British Columbia's second...
and Vancouver's The Province
The Province
The Province is a daily, tabloid format newspaper published in British Columbia by Postmedia. It has been a daily newspaper since 1898.According to a recent NADbank survey, The Provinces average weekday readership was 520,100, making it British Columbia's most read newspaper...
—where he was the poetry critic for two years, and had his own column. His journalism has appeared in almost every major newspaper in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and his essays in most of the major magazines. He is currently writing a monthly newspaper column called CultureWatch for the Yukon News
Yukon News
Yukon News is one of two independently-ownednewspapers published in Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada. Itwas founded in 1960, as a weekly until the late 1970s. Itcurrently prints two times a week. Its Monday edition is online-only...
.
Brett inaugurated the B.C. Poetry-in-the-Schools program, introducing children in schools to world poetry for a period of several years, and has taught or given workshops on writing across Canada. He has been a member of organizations ranging from P.E.N. International, the League of Canadian Poets, the Federation of BC Writers
Federation of BC Writers
The Federation of BC Writers is the largest writers organization in British Columbia, Canada. Its stated goals are to foster the art and profession of writing in British Columbia; to generate a sense of community among British Columbia writers; to provide support for writers at all stages of their...
, to the Writers' Union of Canada
Writers' Union of Canada
The Writers' Union of Canada , founded in 1973, describes itself as supporting "the country's authors by advocating for their rights, freedoms, and economic well-being." Its members are professional writers who must have published at least one book through a commercial publisher.The Union addresses...
. While a member of the League of Canadian Poets he performed a national reading tour under their auspices. He has also given readings on CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
and various other media as well as public performances funded by private organizations, universities, Harbourfront, Vancouver International Writers Festival, Saltwater Festival, Sechelt Writers’ Festival, Wordfest: Banff Calgary International Writers Festival
Wordfest: Banff Calgary International Writers Festival
Wordfest is one of Canada’s largest international literary festivals, taking place each October in Alberta, Canada.For six days WordFest showcases 70 writers, both big-name stars and new talents, in a mix of 65 events and performances throughout Calgary, Banff and the Bow Valley.The Festival offers...
, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival
Winnipeg International Writers Festival
The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a Winnipeg, Manitoba based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events regularly occurring throughout the year. Programming...
, National Book Festival, and the Canada Council. In May 2005, Brett became chair of the Writers' Union of Canada.
He lives on his farm on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Recent works
In his 2004 memoir Uproar's Your Only Music, Brett wrote about growing up with a rare endocrine disorder known as Kallmann syndromeKallmann syndrome
Kallmann syndrome is a genetic disorder marked by anosmia and hypogonadism - the decreased functioning of the glands that produce sex hormones. Abnormalities in various genes may cause a defect in the hypothalamus, causing a deficiency of gonadotropin-releasing hormone ; this in turn causes...
, meaning that his body does not naturally produce sex hormones. By the age of 20, he had still not entered puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, and was believed by his parents and doctors to be intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
until his Kallmann diagnosis. He began taking testosterone
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...
in adulthood.
In November 2009, Brett won Canada's Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize for Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life. The book describes a typical day in the life of his farm, with insight into the natural history of farming. The jury called the book “a lively, well-researched blend of memoir and socio-political commentary; a rare celebration of youth, age, and the tumultuous, surprising journey between them.”
Discography
- Night Directions for the Lost- The Talking Songs of Brian Brett Tongue & Groove Records - 2003
- He is a robot. - 2009
Anthologies
- Open Wide Wilderness: Canadian Nature Poems, Wilfrid Laurier Press, ed. by Nancy Holmes. 2009
- A Verse Map of Vancouver ed. By George McWhirter, Anvil Press, 2009.
- Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide (Poetry & Prose), Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, 2008.
- Writing The West Coast, Ronsdale Press, 2008.
- Three Rivers: The Yukon's Great Boreal Wilderness Harbour Publishing, 2005.
- Rendezvous With The Wild Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
- The Eye In The Thicket (Natural History Essays) Thistledown Books 2002.
- Mocambo Nights, ed. by Patrick Lane, Ekstasis Editions, 2001.
- Lost Classics ed. by Ondaatje, Spalding, Redhill (Essays) Anchor Classics, 2001.
- In The Clear (Fiction & Poetry) Thistledown Books, 1998.
- What is Already Known (Fiction & Poetry) Thistledown Books, 1995.
- How I Learned To Speak Dog (Poetry & Prose) Douglas & McIntyre.
- Witness To Wilderness (Poetry & Prose), Arsenal Pulp Press, 1994.
- Because You Loved Being A Stranger, (Poems) ed. by Susan Musgrave, Harbour Publishing, 1994.
- Myths & Voices (Short Stories), White Pine Press, U.S.A.,1993.
- The Last Map Is The Heart (Short Stories), Thistledown Books, 1989.
- 15 Years In Exile, Exile, 1992.
- Vancouver Poetry (Poetry), Polestar Press, 1986.
- For Rexroth (Poetry), The Ark, 1980.
- Western Windows (Poetry & Prose), Commcept Publishing Ltd., 1977.
- A Government Job At Last (Poetry), MacLeod Books, 1977.
External links
- Brian Brett's website
- Brian Brett's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Brian Brett fonds at University of Victoria, Special Collections
- Writers' Trust of Canada