Jeffrey Cyphers Wright received his BA from West Virginia University and moved to New York City in 1976. He took workshops at the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery with Ted Berrigan, Alice Notley, John Godfrey, and Jim Brodey.
     He went on to receive an MFA in poetry after studying with Allen Ginsberg at Brooklyn College. For many years Wright taught at Brooklyn College and other institutions including the Poetry Project and Teachers and Writers Collaborative. He was awarded grants from Poets and Writers to teach and host events.
Wright founded Hard Press and published postcards by 100 different artists and poets along with five books, including the anthology 3-Zero, Turning Thirty. From 1986 until 2001 he published 80 issues of Cover Magazine, The Underground National. The magazine was unique in its coverage of all the arts.
In 2007, Wright began Live Mag!, a journal of art and poetry. The publication has produced 19 issues. In addition to publishing, Wright is an impresario and regularly hosts art and poetry events. He’s also an art and literary critic. For years he had a poetry column in the Brooklyn Rail. Currently, he reviews for ArtNexus, Rain Taxi, and American Book Review.
     An eco-activist, Wright put his all into protecting community gardens. He produced a play and a film about his adventures. He has also made films using his poetry, puppetry, collage works, and grandchildren.
     Poems have been published widely and are in several anthologies including The World; Aloud, Voices from the Nuyorican Cafe; Thus Spake the Corpse, An Exquisite Corpse Reader; NYC Insiders; and Best American Poetry. His artwork can be found online and has been shown at Tribes Gallery, the Manny Cantor Center, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaekel, the Fountain Art Fair, and other venues.
Wright has enjoyed residencies at Howl! Happening and eMediaLoft. He won a Theater for the New City poetry contest and he’s a Kathy Acker Award winner for poetry and publishing.