Brian Brett (born 28 April 1950) is a
Canadian poet,
journalist,
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
and
novelist.
[Brian Brett]
in The Canadian Encyclopedia. He has been writing and publishing since the late 1960s, and he has worked as an editor for several publishing firms, including the Governor-General's Award-winning
Blackfish Press
Blackfish is a common name for the following species of fish, dolphins, and whales:
Fish
* Alaska blackfish, (''Dallia pectoralis''), an Esocidae from Alaska, Siberia and the Bering Sea islands
* Black fish (''Carassioides acuminatus'') a cyprin ...
. He has also written a three-part memoir of his life in British Columbia.
Early life
Brett was born in
British Columbia. He grew up with a rare
endocrine
The endocrine system is a messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neu ...
disorder,
Kallmann syndrome, which prevented his body from entering
puberty; he later wrote a memoir about the effect this has had on his life.
Brett attended
Simon Fraser University between 1969 and 1974, studying literature.
Career
Brett began writing in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, he worked as a freelance journalist and critic for ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', the ''
Vancouver Sun'', ''The New Reader'', ''
Books in Canada
''Books in Canada'' was a monthly magazine that reviewed Canadian literature, published in print form between 1971 and 2008. In its heyday it was the most influential literary magazine in Canada.
Foundation
One of the co-founders of ''Books in Ca ...
'', and the ''
Victoria Times-Colonist''. He was a poetry critic and columnist for Vancouver's ''
The Province''. He also wrote articles for many other newspapers in Canada, and his essays appeared in many magazines. For ten years he wrote a monthly newspaper column called CultureWatch for the ''
Yukon News''.
Brett inaugurated the B.C. Poetry-in-the-Schools program, which for several years introduced students to world poetry. He has presented many writing workshops across Canada.
He has been a member of
P.E.N.
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...
International and the
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 p ...
, and the
Writers' Union of Canada. He embarked on a national reading tour organized by the League of Canadian Poets, of which he was also a member.
Brett has given reading of his work on
CBC Radio as well at 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.
In 2004 Brett published a book, ''Uproar's Your Only Music'', about his struggles with
Kallmann syndrome.
["Book review: Author Brian Brett shows beak form"]
. Candace Fertile, ''Vancouver Sun'', 10.30.2015
In November 2009, Brett won Canada's
Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize
The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer.
Canada's most lucrative non-fiction prize, the winner rec ...
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.
In 2016, the Writers' Trust of Canada awarded Brett the
Matt Cohen Lifetime Award to honour his body of work.
"Rogers Writers' Trust: Celebrating the 2016 winners"
'' Maclean's'', November 3, 2016.
Personal
Brett lives on his farm on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.["Brian Brett pens memoir about his pet African grey parrot Tuco"]
''North by Northwest · CBC News''. Dec 20, 2015 He takes testosterone to mitigate the effects of Kallmann syndrome, which include pain and osteoperosis.
Bibliography
*''Fossil Ground at Phantom Creek'' - 1976
*''Smoke Without Exit'' - 1984
*''Evolution in Every Direction'' - 1987
*''The Fungus Garden'' - 1988
*''Tanganyika'' - 1991
*''Poems: New and Selected'' - 1993
*''Allegories of Love and Disaster'' - 1993
*''The Colour of Bones in a Stream'' - 1998
*''Coyote'' - 2003
*''Uproar's Your Only Music'' - 2004
*''Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life'' - 2009
Discography
*''Night Directions for the Lost- The Talking Songs of Brian Brett'' Tongue & Groove Records - 2003
*''Talking Songs'' by Scattered Bodies - 2014
Anthologies
*''Poems from Planet Earth'', (Poetry), Leaf Press, Winter 2013
*''In The Flesh, Twenty Writers Explore the Body'', (Essays) Brindle & Glass, ed. by Lynne Van Luven & Kathy Page, 2011
*''Measure of the Year'', (introduction), by Roderick Haig-Brown, Touchwood Editions, 2011
*''The Heart Does Break: Canadian Writers on Grief and Mourning'', (Essays) Random House. Ed. By George Bowering and Jean Baird. Random House. 2009
*''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.
References
External links
*
Brian Brett fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
* Archives of Blackfish Pres
(Blackfish Press, R11707)
are held at Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
. Brian Brett is one of the founders of the magazine with Allan Safarik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brett, Brian
1950 births
Living people
Canadian male novelists
Canadian memoirists
Simon Fraser University alumni
Writers from Vancouver
20th-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian novelists
20th-century Canadian poets
20th-century Canadian male writers
Canadian male poets
21st-century Canadian poets
Articles containing video clips
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian male non-fiction writers