He was born in Winona, Minnesota, and grew up in a rural setting near the town of Fountain City, Wisconsin.

After moving to New York City he attended Columbia University, where he received an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree.

Wunderlich has published four collections of poetry, most recently God of Nothingness (Graywolf Press, 2021).

Since 2004, he has been a member of the literature faculty at Bennington College in Vermont,[4] where he is also Director of the Graduate Writing Seminars.

Poetry magazine wrote, Mark Wunderlich's first book, The Anchorage, is a vigorous, necessary attempt to make our words catch up with our changing world: 'This is America--beetles clustered with the harvest, dust roads trundling off at perfect angles, and signs proclaiming unbearable roadside attractions.'