Mary Makofske is a poet, prose writer, and teacher, author of six poetry books. The latest is No Angels (Kelsay, 2023). Her other books are The Gambler’s Daughter (The Orchard Street Press, 2022); World Enough, and Time (Kelsay, 2017); Traction, winner of the Richard Snyder Prize (Ashland Poetry Press, 2011); Eating Nasturtiums (Flume, 1998); and The Disappearance of Gargoyles (Thorntree, 1988). She was a professor of English at SUNY Orange until her retirement in 2006. Before her academic career, she worked as a travel agent, reporter and feature writer, and health educator. She was born and grew up in Washington, D.C., attended Douglass College (B.A., English) and the University of Minnesota (M.A., English), and has lived in New Jersey, Minnesota, England, Illinois, and New York State.
She has two sons and four grandsons and currently lives with her husband in a solar house with a large garden. In addition to writing, she volunteers with political and environmental organizations.