• Poet, lyricist, rapper, teacher, mentor, and motivator Tim Staley will receive the Arts in Education Award, honoring “an individual whose leadership and pioneering spirit promote and shape visual and performing arts education initiatives.”
Staley, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, has a master of fine arts in poetry from New Mexico State University. He has taught at Oñate High School and as an adjunct instructor at NMSU. He started a KTAL radio open mic event. He sponsored the state “Poetry Out Loud” contest for eight years, and his students have gone on to national competition in Washington, D.C. He founded Grandma Moses Press in 1992 and currently serves as publisher. He is the author of “Lost On My Own Street” and “The Most Honest Syllable Is Shhh.”
Tim Staley, poet 