Tim Mayo

Poet

Brattleboro, VT
Vermont US
Email: 
tim-mayo@tim-mayo.net
Website: 
www.tim-mayo.com/

Author's Bio

Tim Mayo holds an ALB, cum laude, from Harvard University in French Language & Culture and an MFA in Writing & Literature from Bennington College. His first full length collection, The Kingdom of Possibilities,(Mayapple Press, 2009) was a finalist for the 2009 May Swenson Award. His second volume of poems, Thesaurus of Separation(Phoenicia Publishing 2016) was a finalist for the 2017 Montaigne Medal and a finalist for the 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Award. His  collection, Notes to the Mental Hospital Timekeeper (Kelsay Books) was published in November, 2019 and received an Honorable Mention in the chapbook category of the 2020 Eric Hoffer Book Awards. His fifth collection (third full-length) Muscle Memories of Love and Disaster was published by Bainbridge Island Press in 2026. He lives in Brattleboro, VT, where he has wroked st the Brattleboro Retreat, a mental institution and is a founding member of the Brattleboro Literary Festival.

Education: 
Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College MFA
Writers Retreats: 
Vermont Studio Center

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Muscle Memories of Love and Disaster (Bainbridge Island Press, 2026)
,
Thesaurus of Separation (Phoenicia Publishing, 2016)
,
The Kingdom of Possibilities (Mayapple Press, 2009)
Chapbooks:
Notes to the Mental Hospital Timekeeper (Kelsay Books, 2019)
,
The Loneliness of Dogs (Pudding House Publications, 2008)
Journals:
5 A.M.
,
American Journal of Poetry
,
American Poetry Journal
,
Arbutus
,
Atlanta Review
,
Avatar Review
,
Babel Fruit Online
,
Barrow Street
,
Big Toe Review
,
Blue Lake Review
,
Chrysalis
,
Crab Creek Review
,
Crosswinds Poetry Journal
,
Del Sol Review
,
Four Corners
,
Hamilton Stone Review
,
Inertia
,
International Poetry Review
,
MannequinEnvy
,
Meniscus
,
Narrative Magazine
,
Naugatuck River Review
,
Nine Muses Poetry
,
One Art
,
OVS Magazine
,
Paris/Atlantic
,
Poet Lore
,
Poetry International
,
Prachya Review
,
Rat's Ass Review
,
Redheaded Stepchild
,
River Styx
,
Rose and Thorn
,
Salamander
,
San Pedro River Review
,
Sheila-Na-Gig
,
Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices
,
Tar River Poetry Review
,
The Writer's Almanac
,
Turtle Island Quarterly
,
Valparaiso Poetry Review
,
Verse Daily
Prizes won: 

International Merit Award for Poetry, The Atlanta Review 1999, 2000; Semi-Finalist, "Discover"/The Nation Poetry Contest 2000; Finalist, WinningWriters.com War Poetry Contest 2007; Finalist, WCDR Chapbook Challenge, Ajax, Ontario, Canada 2008; Nominated for Best of the Web Award by Babel Fruit 2008; Nominated for Best of the Web Award by The Rose & Thorn 2008; Vermont Studio Center Vermont Artist Week Fellowship 2006, 2008, 2018; Semi-Finalist Brittingham & Pollock Awards, 2009; Finalist, May Swenson Award, 2009; Semi-Finalist The Word Works Washington Prize, 2014, 2015; Finalist Quercus Review Press Poetry Book Award, 2014, 2015; Finalist, Paumanok Award 2009, 2016; Nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Red Headed Stepchild 2011; Nominated for Pushcart Prize by OVS Magazine 2012; Nominated for Pushcart Prize by Naugatuck River Review 2012; Nominated for Pushcart Prize by Naugatuck River Review 2013. Nominated for Pushcart Prize by Rat's Ass Review 2015. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Phoenicia Publishing 2016.  Finalist for the 2017 Montaigne Medal. Category finalist for the 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Award (Thesaurus of Separation). Nominated for Pushcart Prize by Nine Muses Poetry 2019. Honorable Mention, chapbook category for the 2020 Eric Hoffer Book Award (Notes to the Mental Hospital Timekeeper).

Watch

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Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Louise Glück, Larry Levis, W.H. Auden, and Hart Crane
What I'm reading now: 
Here by Sydney Lea, Mistaking Each Other for Ghosts by Lawrence Raab, 3 Sections by Vijay Seshadri, Faithful and Virtuous Night by Louise Glück , Hallowed: New and Selected Poems by Patricia Fargnoli, Some Glad Morning by Barbara Crooker, The Marksman by Jeff Friedman

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
French
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Apr 28, 2026