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.

Off
the
coast of
Vancouver
Island, dolphins &
orcas hunt salmon together.

On
the
open
savannah,
zebras keep their eyes
peeled, while ostriches sniff danger.

At
the
park, two
dogs catch the
same squirrel's scent, cut
it off, & drive it up a tree.

On
the
grasslands
east of the
Rockies, badgers &
coyotes stalk prey together.

In
warm
waters,
clownfish hide
in anemones'
poisonous tentacles, paying
for protection by luring in fish & crabs.