Barry Middleton Biography

I was born in 1946 in a small town at the edge of the Mississippi delta. The town and surrounding countryside would have been great subject matter for Norman Rockwell paintings. Much of that landscape and many of my experiences there are reflected in my poetry. As time progressed I realized I was blessed to have been born in interesting times and in an interesting place.

I was educated in the parochial school system in Mississippi and graduated High School in 1964. I attended Spring Hill College in Mobile Alabama and graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Illinois with a BS Degree in Psychology in 1969.

After graduation, I worked as a school teacher in the then segregated African American school system in my home town and later as a social worker in Orlando Florida where I worked with all kinds of troubled and abused children.

In 1987 I graduated from Rollins College in Orlando with an MA Degree in Counseling. For the remainder of my career I worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Venice Hospital, in private practice, and as a group specialist at Sarasota Florida’s public hospital.

But the most important accomplishments of my life have been watching my son grow up and having the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream to write and especially to write poetry.