Tim Hawkins

Tim Hawkins’ writing has been described as “ranging widely in geography, tone and style in search of the extraordinary in the things we take for granted.” That’s a description of Tim Hawkins the poet, not the more well-known comedian of the same name (although his poems are sometimes quite funny). Unsurprisingly, Hawkins’ life also has ranged widely in geography, tone and style. A graduate of University of Michigan and Framingham State University, he has lived and traveled widely throughout North America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America, working as a journalist, communications manager, technical writer, grant writer, adjunct professor and teacher in international schools. In his younger days, he worked his way through high school, college and after at a host of jobs including dishwasher, fry cook, waiter, bartender, landscaper, house painter, door-to-door canvasser, telemarketer, soap factory line worker, Alaskan fish cannery slime-table worker, stevedore, nose-hair clipper model and Taiwan cram school teacher. Today, Hawkins lives near his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan and works in the health care industry.

Hawkins’ writing – poetry, short fiction and nonfiction – began to appear in the early 2000’s, has been published in dozens of print and online venues and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize (2011, 2017, 2019), Best of the Net (2018, 2019) and Best Microfiction (2018). His first poetry collection, Wanderings at Deadline (Aldrich Press, 2012) was described by Ann Drysdale as a collection that “does honour to the reality of life; to the blood and bones of it.” Wanderings was followed by two poetry chapbooks in 2019: Jeremiad Johnson (In Case of Emergency Press) and Synchronized Swimmers (KYSO Flash Press). Elizabeth Kerlikowske says that Jeremiad Johnson “balances on the razor wire between natural beauty and disgust with the world as it has devolved to us.” Amorak Huey calls Synchronized Swimmers “a wistful marvel of a collection.”

2021 saw the publication of two more books: One nonfiction, From Death to Life: How One Organ Donor Saved the Lived of Two Friends (Fred Nelis), and a second, full-size poetry collection, West of the Backstory (Fernwood Press). Arnold Johnston calls West of the Backstory “an extremely generous and lucid collection by a consummate poet (which) celebrates ‘quotidian milestones’ and our own evanescence.” Find out more at his website: www.timhawkinspoetry.com ; friend and/or follow him at Goodreads, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.