Bio

J. T. Townley has published in Harvard Review, The Kenyon Review, The New York Review of Books, Slate, The Threepenny Review, and many other magazines and journals. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize (five times) and the Best of the Net Award. His recent book is Firsts Abroad (Rutgers University Press, 2026). He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, a PhD in Sociology from University College London, and an MPhil in English from Oxford University, and he directs the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program at Oregon State University.

I
am,
thanks to
allergies
& sinus pressure,
a real human barometer.

My
pain
is less
about highs
& lows than changes
in the atmospheric pressure.

My
head
feels like
it's being
crushed by a dump truck
hauling a full load of hatred.

The
ache
in my
head is like
an icepick stabbing,
stabbing, stabbing at my temple.

My
head
is in
the world; the
world is in my head;
who says I'm not part of nature?