Gilfillan, Merrill, 1945-

Michael Gizzi was born in Schenectady, New York in 1949 to Carolyn and Anthony Gizzi. He had two brothers, Peter and Thomas Gizzi. He spent part of his childhood living in Ohio and lived in East Greenwich, Rhode Island for three years (10th, 11th, and 12th grade) of high school. His parents moved up to Pittsfield, Massachusetts and he returned to Rhode Island as an undergraduate student at Brown University where he recieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976. He would return to Brown to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in English in June 1977. He attended the Masters program with Keith Waldrop who, ultimately, connected him to the Burning Deck community of poets and artists. He was married to his first wife, fellow artist, Ippy (Patterson) and had his daughter Pilar at this time and they purchased a home in Rehobeth, Massachusetts. He worked for seven years as an arborist and tree surgeon in Southeastern New England to support his family.

After receiving his MFA, Michael Gizzi moved out to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts where he worked collaboratively with Clark Coolidge on a Jack Keuroac inspired series. This work with Clark Coolidge fomented a long lasting friendship in work and in life. In the early 1990s, Gizzi began teaching English and creative writing at Lenox High School, which he did for several years. In the late 1990s, he would move back to Providence. At this time he was married to his second wife, Cape Verde native, RISD graduate and collage artist, Barbieo (Barros). He worked as adjunct faculty and visiting professor at Roger Williams University and Brown University. He officially started work as an adjunct creative writing professor at Roger Williams in 2005 and worked for three more years as a visiting professor there. Due to financial constraints, Roger Williams could not ask Gizzi back in the fall of 2009. He worked as a visiting professor in literary arts at Brown during this time, as well, and coordinated a number of poetry readings and projects such as the Down City Poetry Series on campus.

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