Poet celebrates publication of new book

Richard Thomas, a local poet, has just had his second poetry book published.

Since learning he was going to become a father in 2012, Plymouth poet Richard Thomas has been wanting to write about his experience, and several years later his poems have

appeared in a brand new book.

Zygote Poems, the title of the collection, was coined when Richard was writing his dissertation at Plymouth University, for his English and Creative Writing degree.

The collection came together over the course of the academic year, and has now been picked up by established poetry publishers Cultured Llama.

He said of the news that “Cultured Llama published my first collection of poems, The Strangest Thankyou, just as my daughter Emmeline, now aged 2 ½, and whom the book is dedicated to, was born. Having seen a string of the poems published online, they jumped at the opportunity to get their hands on the manuscript for Zygote Poems.”

Richard, 28, who lives on North Road West, wanted to write a collection that sung his daughter's praises, and also identified the anxieties that come with such responsibility as becoming a parent. The book uses phonetic spelling to emphasise the brain fog that can be experienced from someone suffering from anxiety, but also to mimic 'baby language'.

It was important for Richard to share his experience, but he said he wanted to “avoid common sentimentalities and reach for something new and profound” with his new book, which is written in an experimental style that Richard is fond of in poetry.

Having now graduated from his BA degree with First Class Honours, Richard is studying an MA in Creative Writing, in which he is being taught by Angela Szczepaniak, his BA 

dissertation adviser, who mentored him through the process of writing Zygote Poems, as well as later endorsing it, saying “Zygote Poems is as engaging as it is starkly honest, grappling in equal measure with the anxieties and charms that come with new fatherhood.”

His publisher says the book is “A unique and brave unfolding of young fatherhood.”

Richard will be doing a launch reading in Plymouth in October, so keep your eyes peeled, but until then, Zygote Poems is available at http://www.culturedllama.co.uk/books/zygote-poems

Follow Richard online at www.richardchristopherthomas.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/richardchristopherthomas

@richcthomas