During the Civil War in the Former Yugoslavia, Michael worked in the Press Section of the Information Centre of Bosnia-Herzegovina in London, promoting US and NATO military intervention in the Civil War in the Former Yugoslavia. He believed in the ideal of a multi ethnic Bosnian state and that it would stop the widespread massacres of civilians that were taking placing at the time.
A book of his poems entitled ‘Tomorrow It Will All Run Backwards’ is being published by the Two Ravens Press in Scotland in Spring 2015 and will be available from the Two Ravens Press site and from Amazon UK.
Michael Brett attended Adrian Henri’s Arvon class in 1976. He won the Isle of Skye, Scotland Iolaire Arts Foundation Poetry Prize in 1986 with his poem ‘Lord Bourchier at Pleshey.’
In 2014, The Wilfred Owen Association included his poem ‘Every Dead Baby is a Baby Croatian’ in their contemporary war anthology.
In 2011, Random House USA and UK included some of his poems in the Ebury Book ‘Heroes: 100 Poems from the New Generation of War Poets,’ edited by Carol Ann Duffy among others.
A selection of his poems is included the 2012 poetry anthology ‘Enduring Freedom’ edited by former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion.
In July 2012, Michael won two major awards in London, England in the Mayor of the London Borough of Enfield’s Poetry Competition with his poem ‘The A406 is for Lovers’ which was nominated in two categories.
Michael was born in Accra, Ghana in 1955. He was educated in England at Cranbrook School and the University of Reading, where he read English. He worked in the City of London for over ten years, has a background in financial journalism, and continued to write throughout that period.
He is currently Head of English at a school in South London.
About the author:
‘The mode of address in these poems is direct, point-blank. Brett is concerned with parachuting us into seeing what he, with consistently unsentimental eyes, has seen.’
-Mario Petrucci, Imperial War Museum, London, Poet in Residence.
‘Michael Brett turns edgy metropolitan experience into beauty and wit.’
-Dr Thomas M Woodman, Senior Lecturer, Department of English and American Literature, University of Reading.
‘A unique and compelling odyssey which I would thoroughly recommend.’
-Richard Wachman, columnist for The Observer, on an unpublished book of poetry.