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Finding the Bear: Poems
Finding the Bear was the inaugural publication of Perugia Press, which publishes first and second books of poetry by women. In Finding the Bear, Gail Thomas's voice is that of lover, mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister. The reader will not forget 'Barbara Dying.' Above all, these poems are a celebration of life and 'I can't remember the meanings for empty, frozen, gone.'
84 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
About the author
Gail Thomas
7 books3 followersPoet and teacher Gail Thomas has published six books: Trail of Roots (2022), Leaving Paradise (2022),Odd Mercy (2016), Waving Back (2015), No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley (2001) and Finding the Bear (1997).
Trail of Roots won the A.V. Christie Series of Seven Kitchens Press, Odd Mercy was chosen by Ellen Bass for the Charlotte Mew Prize of Headmistress Press, and its “Little Mommy Sonnets” won Honorable Mention for the Tom Howard/ Margaret Reid Prize for Traditional Verse. Also, Waving Back was named a Must Read for 2016 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and Honorable Mention in the New England Book Festival.
Thomas’s work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, Hanging Loose, and Valparaiso Poetry Review. Individual poems have won the Naugatuck Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize, the Edward Hearst Prize, and the Pat Schneider Poetry Prize. Several poems have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, and she was awarded residencies at The McDowell Colony and Ucross.
Her book, No Simple Wilderness, about the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930’s has been taught in college courses. As one of the original teaching artists for the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Elder Arts Initiative, Thomas led workshops and collaborated with dancers, musicians and storytellers in schools, nursing homes, hospitals and libraries across the state.
Thomas teaches poetry with Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshops, speaks at conferences and poetry festivals, and reads her work widely in community and academic settings.
Trail of Roots won the A.V. Christie Series of Seven Kitchens Press, Odd Mercy was chosen by Ellen Bass for the Charlotte Mew Prize of Headmistress Press, and its “Little Mommy Sonnets” won Honorable Mention for the Tom Howard/ Margaret Reid Prize for Traditional Verse. Also, Waving Back was named a Must Read for 2016 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and Honorable Mention in the New England Book Festival.
Thomas’s work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, Hanging Loose, and Valparaiso Poetry Review. Individual poems have won the Naugatuck Review’s Narrative Poetry Prize, the Edward Hearst Prize, and the Pat Schneider Poetry Prize. Several poems have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, and she was awarded residencies at The McDowell Colony and Ucross.
Her book, No Simple Wilderness, about the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930’s has been taught in college courses. As one of the original teaching artists for the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Elder Arts Initiative, Thomas led workshops and collaborated with dancers, musicians and storytellers in schools, nursing homes, hospitals and libraries across the state.
Thomas teaches poetry with Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshops, speaks at conferences and poetry festivals, and reads her work widely in community and academic settings.
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