Gail Thomas

Gail Thomas has published four books of poetry, Odd Mercy (Headmistress Press), Waving Back (Turning Point), No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley (Haley's), and Finding the Bear (Perugia). Her chapbook, Odd Mercy, was selected by poet Ellen Bass to win the Charlotte Mew Prize from Headmistress Press.

Also, Waving Back was named a Must Read for 2016 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and was awarded Honorary Mention by the New England Book Festival. You may read sample poems at her website, gailthomaspoet.com

Her poems have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, Hanging Loose, and The North American Review. She is the recipient of writing and teaching grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, and was awarded residencies at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire and Ucross in Wyoming.

Her book, No Simple Wilderness, about the drowning of towns and villages in Western Massachusetts in the 1930's to provide drinking water for Boston has been taught in college courses. As one of the original teaching artists for the state's Elder Arts Initiative, Gail has led arts projects with musicians, dancers, and storytellers across the state. She teaches at Smith College, writes songs and plays in a ukulele choir.