Towle currently lives in New York City with actress, Diane Tyler. He has two children.

In the 1960s, Towle became associated with the New York School, taking workshops with Kenneth Koch and Frank O'Hara. He has received, among other awards and prizes, fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Poets Foundation, and the Ingram Merrill Foundation.

North. (Columbia University Press, 1975)Autobiography and Other Poems. (Sun/Coach House South, 1977)Works on Paper. (Swollen Magpie Press, 1978)Gemini. (Swollen Magpie Press, 1981)New & Selected Poems(1963 - 1983). (Kulchur Foundation, 1983)Some Musical Episodes (Poetry and Prose). (Hanging Loose Press, 1992)The History of the Invitation: New and Selected Poems 1963 - 2000. (Hanging Loose Press, 2001)MEMOIR 1960 — 1963. (Faux Press, 2001)Nine Immaterial Nocturnes. (Barretta Books, 2003)Winter Journey. (Hanging Loose Press, 2008)