Name: Book Launch and Discussion: Becoming a Poet in New York by Tony Towle
Start: 2026-05-20T17:30:00+01:00
End: 2026-05-20T18:30:00+01:00
Location: Victoria Rooms G.17 Harley

Book Launch and Discussion: Becoming a Poet in New York by Tony Towle

A launch and discussion of Tony Towle's memoir, Becoming a Poet in New York, forthcoming from Kulvert Books (Bristol).
About this Event

Becoming a Poet in New York is a fascinating memoir from New York School poet Tony Towle. It covers the formative years of Towle’s career 1960-63 in prose recollections, when a hopeful budding young poet finds himself at the creative centre of New York’s exciting poetry and art scene. In humorous anecdotes we encounter the anxiety of balancing working, romantic and creative life whilst mixing with a cast of notable characters, witnessing ‘history’ as it unfolds through key figures for Towle’s poetic development, including Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, Frank Lima, Ted Berrigan, artists Joe Brainard and a certain Andy Warhol.

The event will feature a recorded reading by Towle from his memoir and a participatory discussion led by academics associated with the Bristol Poetry Institute. Books will be available to purchase. All welcome.