Tony Towle was born in Manhattan in 1939, and has lived there most of his life, at present Downtown, in Tribeca. He began writing poetry in 1960, when he was twenty-one, “out of the blue.” A significant early event was taking poetry workshops with Kenneth Koch and Frank O’Hara at the New School in 1963. His first major collection of poetry was North, the Frank O’Hara Award selection for 1970. In all, Towle has published thirteen collections of poetry, most recently Noir (2017); and two books of prose, Memoir 1960-1963, an engaging account of becoming a poet in New York; and his latest publication, My First Three Books (2020), combining an interview, photographs, and a CD of the poet reading early poems. In addition to the Frank O’Hara Award, other grants and fellowships Towle has received include from the Foundation for Contemporary Art, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Poets Foundation. From 1964 to 1981 he worked at Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE), Tatyana Grosman’s renowned print atelier in West Islip, Long Island. As Mrs. Grosman’s secretary and administrative assistant, Towle had extensive informal contact with Barnett Newman, Jasper Johns, Helen Frankenthaler, Larry Rivers, Marisol, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Motherwell, and Cy Twombly, among others. The experience of being around such prominent artists and their wonderful art was a unique and indelible experience.
Hanging Loose Authors
Tony Towle
Books by Tony Towle
Noir
Winter Journey
Some Musical Episodes
