Who?

​Thom Boulton is a writer, photographer, and presenter — resident in Plymouth UK. He was Poet Laureate for the City of Plymouth (2016 - 2020) and is a regular performer in the South West of England, reading at Cross Country Writers, Wonderzoo, Plymouth Language Club, and The Port Eliot Festival. Over the past few years Thom has been involved in projects such as the Poppies:Wave artistic response, a robotic poetry collaboration with Volume AI, has sat on the panel for the Mayflower400 cultural bids, and co-produced a weekly poetry slot on Radio Devon during lockdown. His debut poetry collection, 'Prima Materia' was published by Waterhare Press (2018) , and his second collection, 'Gebo' — was published by Shoals of Starlings Press (2021).

READ SOME POEMS

What people say...

...approachable and youngish - Norman Jope

This debut collection is by a way of an odyssey into the self, an exploration of an individual's journey through the dark to the light, taking in a wide range of materials and experiences. - Steve Spence

Like all the best poets, Thom Boulton, is driven by a sheer, playful love of all the things language can do. - Meredith Miller

Gebo is full of exciting, innovative poems. Personal favourites include Thread, and The Gift, which both make the most of their sparse, punchy delivery. But it is in the longer poems that Thom Boulton’s voice really resonates, especially in This Poem Will Never Be Read - full of aphorisms and repetition - and Apocalypse, the poem that opens the collection superbly. - Jason Hirons

—​ a bit of chronology

​Poet Laureate for the City of Plymouth, UK (2016)
In the Darkly Woods [Folklore Stage Show] (2016)
Twin Sounds (2016)
Illuminate Festival (2016)
The Darkly Woods Strikes Back [Sequel Show] (2017)
Guest Lecture for BEd at Rolle (2017)
Poppies:Wave artistic response (2017)
Barbican Light Switch On (2017)
Volume AI and Pepper the Robot (2018)
The Port Eliot Festival (2018)
Prima Materia [1st collection] (2018)
The Commons book launch [Editor] (2019)
Pagan Federation Conference, Glastonbury (2019)
​No Audience Open Mic Charity Event (2019)
Wednesday Writes on Radio Devon (2020)
Poet Laureateship ends (2020)
Co-founded The Deadbeats (2021)
Gebo [2nd collection] (2021)
Annabel's Summer Soiree Burlesque Show (2022)