David Toms is an Irish poet whose contemporary poetry is much admired and widely published. He is originally from Waterford, has lived in Cork and in Prague and now lives and works in Norway.
Contemporary Poetry
David’s previous publications are
“Soma | Sema” (Knives, Forks and Spoons Press, 2011)
Several chapbooks including “For the Misanthropic Muse” (Default, 2009)
“Those Feet and Where they are Going” (Knives, Forks and Spoons Press, 2010)
“dikt / actions osl / ondon” with Maren Nygård (Smithereens Press, 2017).
His poetry has also appeared in anthologies including:
“Veersomes #004” (Veer Books, 2015)
“The Elysian” (New Binary Press, 2017)
“Wretched Strangers” (Boiler House Press, 2018)
“FREE POETRY: Ireland”(Free Poetry, 2017) edited by Ellen Dillon.
History and Sport
In addition to his creative work, David holds a PhD from University College Cork in history. He is the author of “Soccer in Munster: A Social History, 1877-1937,” (Cork University Press, 2015) and co-editor, with Conor Curran, of “New Perspectives on Association Football in Ireland: Beyond the Garrison Game” (Routledge, 2018). His historical writing has appeared in Lookleft, History Ireland, Irish Economic and Social History, Decies, Sport in History, Sport in Society, and Soccer & Society.
“Northly” which was published by Turas Press in September 2019, is David’s first full collection to be published in Ireland.
Reviews and Interviews
Sam Murphy interviews David for Headstuff: https://www.headstuff.org/culture/literature/poetry/interview-david-toms-northly/
Liam Murphy, Literary editor of the Munster Express, in his review of “Northly” said:
“The title poem, “Northly” is such a triumph of images, altering your perception…It was empowering to be as a witness to a book of such discoveries.”
“Northly” is a stunning collection of contemporary poetry, a haunting evocation of the cultural and spirit of northern lands: Ireland, and Norway, David’s adopted home.
Film poem from “Northly”
David has created a film poem based on “Stortinget”, which is one of his beautiful “Northly” poems. You can view it below:
Stortinget by David Toms from derekfoott on Vimeo.
To buy “Northly”, visit the Turas Press online shop: https://turaspress.ie/shop/northly-by-david-toms/