Tom Lyford

TOM LYFORD is a writer and poet living in New England.

Born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine in 1946, before there were such things as computers, calculators, cell phones, or ATM's, he claims he didn't even see a TV until he was eight or nine years old. A real-deal babyboomer, he was the second of Raymond and Violet (Craig) Lyford's four children.

A 1964 graduate of Foxcroft Academy, Tom went on to get his B.S. degree in Education (English major, history minor) from Farmington State College, graduating in 1968. In 1966, he married his high school sweetheart, Phyllis Raymond, F.A. Class of 1966. Together, they had three children: Melissa, born in 1968; Kathryn, 1970; and Christopher, 1972

Over the next thirty-four years, Tom served as a high school English teacher (one year in Belfast, Maine; ten years in Mexico, Maine, where he served as English Department Head for six years; and the last twenty-three years back at at Foxcroft Academy). Currently he is employed as a library clerk at Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft. His hobbies have included directing, as well as acting in, plays; appearing in one independent film; amateur radio; photography; motorcycling; computer programming; playing the guitar; sharing his poetry; story-telling; and performing stand-up comedy .

Lyford was selected as one of the presenting poets at Winter Harbor's Schoodic Arts Festival in August 2005. He co-read with Belfast's Poet Laureate, Elizabeth Garber, at Bangor's Borders in February 2006; in March and April was a featured poet at Camden Library's Spring Poetry Series and Damariscotta's "A Symphony of Poets" library programs respectively; and in mid-November was a featured reader with Darcy Shargo and Robin Merrill at The Harlow Gallery in Hallowell, Maine. During April, 2007, Tom was featured with another Maine poet, retired educator Ken Nye, for the National Poetry Month celebration at the Rumford Public Library in Rumford, Maine and in 2009/2010 was featured in a trio of poetry comedy nights at the Hallowell and Wine in Hallowell.

Tom's poems and essays have been published in Sakana, Bangor Metro, Off the Coast, Wolf Moon Press Journal, Up North, and The Bangor Daily News. He has published five chapbooks of poetry: Pleasant Street: A Chapbook of Baby Boomer Ballads & Poems and Poetic License, in 2005; On Becoming a Man of Substance and Americana in 2006; and Kilroy Was Here…Me Too! In 2009, Lyford's first, full-length prose memoir, a humorous work entitled Work Aversion Trauma: A Lifetime of Suffering came out. In April of 2010, a full-length, 'best-of' collection entitled My Cinema Paradiso came out as well. Two of his poems appeared in the December, 2010 anthology, Maine Taproot: An Anthology of Verse (ISBN-13: 978-1-893035-10-2). The manuscript for his second memoir, Playing With Fire, was completed in January of 2011.

The May 2006 issue of Maine's Off the Coast, Dave Moreau reviewed Pleasant Street. In January 2007 Dana Wilde reviewed Americana in The Bangor Daily News. Mr. Wilde further offered a dual review of both Kilroy Was Here: Me Too! and Work Aversion Trauma: A Lifetime of Suffering in August 2009, again appearing in The Bangor Daily News (use the REVIEWS tab above to read these critiques.

Tom has traveled modestly, held various positions, explored his fascinations, and continues to do so... while planted firmly in the magical hamlet of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine with his wife of forty-five years, Phyllis (Phyl). He enjoys providing readings, discussions, and writing workshops at schools, libraries, churches, civic organizations, and nursing homes. If you have an interest in hosting such a program, you may contact him at tlyford@roadrunner.com.