Real Boys

A remarkable debut from a promising new poet.

In his debut collection, Real Boys, Thomas Stewart examines the death of his father and explores questions of grief, guilt, mental health, identity, sexuality and masculinity. As these poems unfold, a hallway of mirrors is created. Through the lens of father-son relationships, cinema, art and Welsh mythology are expanded and rethought. This collection grapples with what it means to be a father, a son and a self. Subverting the notions of gender, Stewart addresses both the damage of old stereotypes and the passage of generational trauma, questioning how we might change.

'A wonderful meditation on the language of grief, want, lust and hope' Jenni Fagan

'A beautiful and wistful collection which wrangles with life's ample grief and heartache' Andres N. Ordorica

'These poems are a revelation. I took great comfort from Thomas Stewart's collection' Lotte Jeffs

'A collection of intensely personal, often painful, but ultimately life-affirming poetry'

'With Real Boys, Thomas Stewart has offered us a collection of intensely personal, often painful, but ultimately life-affirming poetry'

'A beautiful and wistful collection which wrangles with life’s ample grief and heartache. Stewart captures the delicate balance of queerness and masculinities, highlighting how we so often mythologise our fathers even when they have capacity to cause great anguish after death'

'A wonderful meditation on death, love, the language of grief, want, lust, and hope. Thomas Stewart’s poems show how barbs of strength emerge after plucking away all thorns, then allowing them to regrow'

'This collection follows closely life, death and grief. Questions of upsurge and fertilisation are raised over and over, and I loved that this book about death is also about sex. The continuous quiet of this form allows a reader to go deeper into the core of this grief'

Thomas Stewart studied at the University of South Wales and creative writing at the University of Warwick and in Milan. In 2021, he was awarded a New Writers Award from Scottish Book Trust where he was mentored by Claire Askew. In 2020, he was Highly Commended in the Verve Poetry Competition, and his poem was included in the anthology, We've Done Nothing Wrong, We've Nothing to Hide (Verve Poetry Press, 2020). Thomas is the author of two poetry pamphlets: Based on a True Story (fourteen poems, 2022). Empire of Dirt (Red Squirrel Press, 2019), a Poetry Book Society selection.

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