Thomas DeFreitas was educated at the Boston Latin School. His poems have appeared in Dappled Things, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Ovunque Siamo, Pensive, and elsewhere.
In 2018, Thomas’s poem “Chasing the Waves” was chosen by Arlington (MA) Poet Laureate Cathie Desjardins to be part of the Talking Chair Project, a poetry exhibit at the Robbins Library in Arlington. In the summer of 2019, “Detox” was chosen as an Award Poem by the editors of Plainsongs. In November 2024, Thomas’s poem “Grief,” found in this volume, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editor of Autumn Sky Poetry Daily.
Thomas’s three previous collections have all been published by Kelsay Books: Swift River Ballad (2023), Longfellow, Tell Me (2022), and Winter in Halifax (2021). Thomas’s work has also been included in On and Off the Road: Poems of New Hampshire (Peterborough Poetry Project, 2020) and The 2017 Poetry Marathon Anthology, edited by Caitlin and Jacob Jans.
Thomas is a member of St. James’s Episcopal Church, Cambridge, MA, where on All Saints Sunday 2023 he preached a sermon at the invitation of the rector, Rev. Matthew W. Stewart, and where he has collaborated with music minister Patrick G. Michaels on several hymns that have been sung at Sunday liturgies.
Resident of Arlington, MA since 2010, Thomas is a contributing member of the Academy of American Poets. He is also active in the New England Poetry Club, Boston’s Black Seed Writers, and Arlington’s Beehive Poetry Group.
His website is:
thomasdefreitas.me
Paperback: 78 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (February 28, 2025)