Richard Valentine Thomas has been an avid reader for as long as he can remember. Books came first, and always; the writing came later. It was in his fifties that he began composing the poems and short stories gathered here, and he has been at it ever since.
Born in 1934, he is a New Zealander, a father of six and a grandfather of ten. When he isn’t reading or writing, he is very likely to be found with a bowl of ice cream — a lifelong loyalty he has never seen much reason to give up.
These pages bring his poems and stories together in one place, so they might be read the way he has always loved to read: unhurried, and for their own sake.