Brian Thornton

Brian Thornton is a blind poet from West Texas. He received his PhD from Texas Tech University in 2011 but, like most poets, he has no idea what he wants to be when he grows up. Thornton has worked as a vacuum cleaner repairman, taught English to drunken bodega stockmen, worked with mine-clearing units on the Iraq/Iran border, played guitar in a mildly successful heavy metal band, and endured the taunts of small children as the human-headed snake in a carnival sideshow. He is currently serving as Assistant Professor of English for Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Brian Thornton's poetry has been featured in several print and online publications including Iron Horse Literary Journal, War Literature and The Arts, Breakwater Review, Amarillo Bay, and International Kurdish Press. His creative works have also appeared in several anthologies and multimedia collections and exhibitions. Prior to its publication, his collection of poems, Places We Were Never Meant To See, was selected as runner-up for the Hub City Press New Southern Voices Poetry Prize.