In this episode, my former student/regular podcast contributor Patrick Cooper and I sit down to talk to Joseph Earl Thomas about his critically acclaimed memoir “Sink,” a book that won high praise from the likes of Carmen Maria Machado, Kiese Laymon and many other prominent literary figures.
As someone from the same place and time as Thomas, Pat was interested in hearing more about what it means to thrive if you’re living a life so focused on survival. I was interested in learning what it means to take the inner lives of children seriously. Thomas, a widely published writer from the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, did not disappoint. He had much to say about all of this in this down-to-earth conversation.
Joseph Earl Thomas has an MFA in prose from The University of Notre Dame and is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Pennsylvania. An excerpt of “Sink” won the 2020 Chautauqua Janus Prize and Thomas has received fellowships from Fulbright, VONA, Tin House, Kimbilio and Breadloaf. He is now the Anisfield-Wolf Fellow at the CSU Poetry Center, an associate faculty member at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, and director of programs at Blue Stoop, a literary hub for Philly writers. — Maureen Boland
Warning: This episode contains subject matter and language that may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
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