Tony Towle was born in New York in 1939; he began writing poetry in 1960 “out of the blue.” His connection to the New York School dates from 1963, when he took workshops at the New School with Kenneth Koch and Frank O’Hara. Since then, he has published thirteen books of poetry, most recently Noir (from Hanging Loose Press, 2017). My First Three Books (from Vehicle Editions, 2020), combines an interview, photographs, and a CD of the poet reading some of his early work. Awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Art, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Frank O’Hara Award.

Tony Towle began his connection to the New York School of Poetry in 1963, when he took workshops at the New School with Kenneth Koch and Frank O’Hara. In 1970, Towle received the Frank O’Hara Award, in conjunction with which his first major collection, North, was published. He worked at renowned print publisher Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) from 1964 to 1981, as founder Tatyana Grosman’s administrative assistant. Towle has received fellowships from the National Foundation of the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, and an award in Poetry from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, among other honors and prizes. His thirteenth book of poems, Noir, was published by Hanging Loose Press in 2017.