Joseph Earl Thomas

Joseph Earl Thomas is a writer from Northeast Philly whose writing has appeared in Apiary, Philadelphia Printworks, and Philadelphia Stories, where he was a finalist for the 2016 Sandy Crimmins National Prize in Poetry. A memoirist and poet, he often wonders how things might have gone had he fallen in love with hominids first. He is currently working on two book-length projects: Sink, a memoir about coming of age as an undereducated blerd in the city, and God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, a novel exploring the way poverty and patriotism shape the world for young men of color during war-time. This Fall, he’ll begin studying at Notre Dame University’s MFA program.

The Den of Earl

It was a favorite line of his. More than him saying it, I was frustrated by the expectation that a nine-year-old should know how to thaw and cook red meat. I was forever failing at things I was never taught to do.