Threading the Light

By turns poignant, wryly humorous and nostalgic, Ross Thompson's debut collection of poems charts a chronological journey through the pre-adventure world of childhood, the wounds of awkward adolescence and the future promise of adult life. These threads are woven together and illuminated, as if "held inside the hand / of a skilled jeweller", resonating as they reach towards the sequence 'Grief Is Great', a hesitant lament in the aftershock of loss. Honest and emotive, Threading The Light is a book about hope, about moving forward without letting go of the past.

“A stunning debut. Here are poems rich in the language of intimacy, of light and shade. Thompson is delicate, adept and courageous; he is unflinching and honest. We need such poetry.” — Maria McManus

“Here is a voice that can deliver a poem with authority and mischief, an engaging wink and a nudge. Thompson’s frames of reference are startling but never obfuscate the poet’s quest to find the bullion phrase. Experience and imagination are buckled tightly into well-wrought rhythms. The grave and the humorous are shaped with ease on the lathe of Thompson’s pen.” — Mel McMahon