Barry Mitcalfe Biography | Poet

Barry Mitcalfe (1930–86) was a New Zealand poet, editor, and peace activist. Born 31 March 1930 in Wellington, New Zealand, Mitcalfe studied at Victoria University of Wellington, where he received a Diploma in Education in 1962, and a Bachelor of Arts (with honors) in 1963. In the 1960s and early 1970s he was a leader of the New Zealand movement against the Vietnam War, and co-edited several booklets on the issue. After the war ended he became a leader of the New Zealand anti-nuclear movement. In 1981 he was a writer-in-residence at the South Australia College of Advanced Education, and in 1982 held an Ursula Bethell Residency in Creative Writing at the University of Canterbury.