about his work. Brett began writing in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, he worked as a freelance journalist and critic for
The Globe and Mail, the
Toronto Star, the
Vancouver Sun,
The New Reader,
Books in Canada, 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. Brett was a member of
P.E.N. International and the
Federation of BC Writers, 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 gave readings 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. 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. In 2016, the Writers' Trust of Canada awarded Brett the
Matt Cohen Lifetime Award to honour his body of work. ==Personal life and death==