Born Könyves Tamás in Budapest, Hungary, he emigrated to Canada following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He lived in Montreal from 1957 to 1983, when he moved to Vancouver, where he resides with his wife, Marlene, sons Alexander, Gabriel and daughter, Hannah. He graduated from Concordia University in 1969, worked as a teacher, editor and journalist until 1977, when he became a poet-member of Vehicule Art Gallery, Montreal's first artist-run non-profit centre. As a poet at Vehicule Art, he collaborated with Endre Farkas, Ken Norris, Artie Gold, Stephen Morrissey, Claudia Lapp and John McAuley to form a group of 7 who became known as The Vehicule Poets. Their exploits were documented in the 1993 book, "Vehicule Days: An Unorthodox History of Montréal's Vehicule Poets", edited by Ken Norris.