It’s not lost on poet PJ Thomas that she is doubly blessed. In fact, it’s a most comforting circumstance she celebrates daily — and well she should.
Home finds Thomas near the Otonabee River. It’s where she does what she was she truly loves to do: daily put pen to paper. That’s blessing number one.
“I so love this town and the people in it,” says Thomas, providing a not-so-subtle hint about blessing number two. “The landscape and the geography, the heart, the connectedness, the arts scene, the encouragement that I could be an independent artist … I don’t have to pretend to be a mathematician or a scientist. I can be who I really am.”
Who PJ Thomas really is has touched a lot of hearts and minds.
Her newest collection of poems, entitled Waves, is a soothing, warm and self reflection-inducing lifeboat in a stormy sea of real world and social media ugliness that Peterborough playwright and novelist Frank Flynn describes as “A self-ignited three alarm fire at the corner of romanticism and magical realism.”
On Sunday, November 6th at the Gordon Best Theatre on Hunter Street West, Thomas’ poetry will briefly depart the virtual universe where it most often resides for the launch of Waves, her second book of poetry published by PAJE Press.
The 2 to 4 p.m. celebration of her work will feature readings by local champion poets Justin Million, Ziysah, and Jon Hedderwick with Dennis O’Toole gifting his musical talent. And maybe — just maybe — Thomas will read one or two of her own poems.
“I hope to have my anxiety under control and maybe read a few poems at my launch,” says Thomas, a veiled reference to mental health challenges she has wrestled with for many years now.
“I tend to write a lot of depressing poetry. I write about mental health and everyone’s issues with it, including my own. During COVID, I thought ‘Everyone is so sad right now. People are dropping like flies. We’re losing our loved ones.’ So I let the depressing poetry sit on the back burner for a while and tried to write some very uplifting poems. I like to think I achieved that.”
Mission accomplished, according to Flynn, who wrote the foreword for Waves, noting that Thomas’ ‘capacity to illuminate the subtlest corners of the heart will make you re-think what you thought you knew about poetry.’
Flynn met Thomas in person for the first time back in May when they were both involved with a reading event at The Theatre On King in downtown Peterborough.
“He tooted his own horn a bit, as we were all asked to do, but then he starts tooting my horn,” recalls Thomas of that encounter.
“I felt like making a joke, like ‘I’ll pass you a hundred (dollar bill) later on.’ I’m so highly complimented because he is a great writer. I say that about so few people. To read what he wrote about my poetry made me happier than a plum.”
Raised in Peterborough from a young age, Thomas’ resumé includes editorship of Arthur — Trent University and Peterborough-Nogojiwanong’s independent student press — and administrative involvement with Millbrook’s 4th Line Theatre early in its coming to be, as well as an associate membership with the League of Canadian Poets.
But writing has been her salvation and she has taken full advantage, penning two novels and publishing her aforementioned first book of poetry.
“Undertow was more heart wrenching whereas Waves is more beautiful,” she assesses, noting a planned third book, Drifting, will complete the trilogy, featuring “more love (themed) poems.”
“I’ve written so many love poems about so many people I know. Love is not all candy floss and sweetness. We need to look at the human condition as people with hearts and as human beings.”
“Undertow was basically (a collection of) my first poems. For Waves, I got to choose from a thousand poems. I hope it’s the crème de la crème, as they say.”
While the pandemic years provided no shortage of day-to-day challenges for Thomas, much the same as it did for everyone, she has emerged grateful.
“I didn’t lose anyone I know or love to COVID,” says Thomas, adding it was a productive period for her creatively,
“The creative spirit doesn’t go away during fear and darkness. Sometimes it can do some very healing things in those places. When we’re all going through a stressful time, we need to actively put forward good things.”
VIDEO: “Fundamental Nature” – PJ Thomas and Rick Fines
And then there was her collaboration with Peterborough singer and songwriter Rick Fines.
“Rick read a poem I posted online and wrote ‘PJ, that’s a song, I hear a rhythm in it,” recalls Thomas, noting Fines put three of her poems — “Live Forever,” “Fundamental Nature,” and “Scared To Dance” — to music, recorded each, and included them on his 2020 album Solar Powered Too, which was nominated for a 2021 Juno Award in the Blues Album of the Year category.
“He reached out to me and that got me writing lyrics with a couple of other musicians and songwriters,” says Thomas.
“It’s hard to describe the musicality of words. Not just the rhymes but all of the sounds (of words) — the phonics of it — and then to consider singing it. You don’t want a lot of hard consonants. You want the wide open vowel sounds. I look a little more at hooks and catchiness. When I’m writing poetry often it’s very emotional, but when I’m writing lyrics it’s a lot of fun.”
Of note, Fines’ 10-year-old daughter did the artwork for the cover of Waves.
“Her mother had kept all of her artwork, so I got to choose from bunch,” says Thomas. “She blew me out of the water with these abstracts, and the balance and the depth (of her art). We found an image for the cover that’s just phenomenal. It’s of the Aurora Borealis. She is so gifted.”
As her book launch nears, Thomas is as excited as she is anxious. Unlike the launch for Undertow, which was done virtually and has received more than 1,000 views, this launch is in person. That, says Thomas, injects “so much more emotion” into the event.
“A friend said ‘You can’t make showbiz out of poetry’ — what do you think Shakespeare did?” Thomas laughs.
“It’s very lonely being a page poet. There seems to be more community around the (poetry) slams and things like that. I’m older and more set in my ways of being a page poet. (Local poet) Charlie Petch launched a book and got me out to my first live reading in 10 years last October. I’ve done a couple more since.”
“These poets (at her launch) are just phenomenal. I’ve had the joy of working with one or two of them. Hopefully I’ll do a bit of a reading too but, to be honest, it makes me very nervous. We’ll see.”
Admission is free to the book launch for Waves, where copies will be for sale for $20 each, cash only. Autographs are available.
Ahead for Thomas is much more of the same: a daily writing regimen that sees her regularly post her poems on Facebook and receive feedback from her followers. As well, she’ll continue her work to complete Drifting for its publication.
Asked if she has written her best poem, Thomas gives the expected answer.
“How do you know? I think I’ve written it and then I top it. Hopefully I’m always improving and developing my work. To stay stuck in a rut is a certain death for artists. I want to keep challenging things — changing and learning and connecting.”
For more information about PJ Thomas, to read samples of her work, to order her books, and to support her by donating or becoming a Patreon patron, visit pjpoet.ca. You can also follow her on Facebook, where she debuts her work on a regular basis.
