 In 1976 Berry compiled the anthology "Bluefoot Traveller" and in 1979 his first poetry collection, "Fractured Circles", was published by New Beacon Books.In 1981 he won the Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition, the first poet of West Indian origin to do so.He edited the landmark anthology "News for Babylon" (1984), considered "a ground-breaking publication because its publishing house Chatto & Windus was 'mainstream' and distinguished for its international poetry list".