Barry Breen writes poetry, plays and short stories. Formerly a widely published and anthologised poet, he ‘dropped out’ to write short stories, then to work as a Shakesperean actor and director with OZACT (and directed a Vietnam language production of Macbeth in Ho Chi Minh City), then to take up art – being represented in a number of joint exhibitions in Ballarat, including the Flanangan Prize exhibition in 2010 and 2012.

He is now back writing poetry, recently appearing in The Australian  and Eureka Street, gives a monthly poetry talk at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Currently poet-in-residence at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, he also writes a blog on poetry matters (click on link at right) and another on his work at the Gallery.

The vacuum cleaner critic

My poetry got sucked into a vacuum cleaner

From a bedside shelf, sheets and sheets of it

It went down rather badly, in an instant or sooner,

Whining pathetically as it crumpled and split.

I hadn’t thought that the critics could reign

In domestic appliances as well as literary dominions

That the dustbag of my venerable machine

Could harbour such destructive opinions.

All you editors out there and bloggers and the rest

Take notice you’re in danger of becoming redundant

The new hoovers and hewers of the poets’ harvest

Are lurking where bulldust’s even more abundant.

                                                      B A Breen