Brendan Ryan (poet)

Brendan Ryan (born 4 December 1963) is a contemporary Australian poet.[1]

Brendan Ryan grew up on a dairy farm at Panmure in Western Victoria. His poetry, reviews and essays have been published in literary journals and newspapers, including The Best Australian Poems series (Black Inc). In 2007, he was awarded the Longlines Residency at Varuna. He is the author of four collections of poetry: Why I Am Not a Farmer, 2000, A Paddock in His Head, 2007, A Tight Circle, 2008, and Travelling through the Family 2012. A new collection of poetry is forthcoming in 2015. His second collection of poetry, A Paddock in his Head was shortlisted for the 2008 ACT Poetry Prize. Travelling Through the Family, (Hunter Publishers) was published in 2012 and was shortlisted for the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Awards.[2] He lives in Geelong, Victoria where he teaches English at a secondary college.

In 2015 Ryan's 'Small Town Soundtrack' was published. Writing in Australian Book Review no. 382 Peter Kenneally describes Ryan's style as both 'cinematic and musical'.[3] A piece by Ryan was a rare inclusion of poetry in a 2016 published non-fiction book by Don Watson titled A Single Tree which was widely lauded for the insights it gave into rural Australian life over a long time span.[4]

In 2019 Ryan's sixth book was published, The Lowlands of Moyne.