2023 Indie Reader Discovery Award in fiction. Indie Reader.

2022-2023 Reader Views Literary Awards in three categories including the SPONSORED AWARD BY INSIDE SCOOP LIVE! for the Most Innovative Book of Poetry. Reader Views.

2023 Readers’ Favorite Book Award Winner (Fiction-Mythology) and Five Star Review. Readers’ Favorite.

Nominated for a 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award. Eric Hoffer Book Award.

2024 Amazon #1 New Release Audio Poetry Book. (January 2024)

“Mesmeric and enveloping… fluid poetry and stunning visual multimedia” — Kirkus Reviews

“Still, the Sky is a labyrinthine poetic epic that fleshes out a resilient and multifaceted mythological brotherhood.” — Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Foreword Clarion Reviews

“This striking collection of dramatic verse interrogates, complicates, and humanizes… A work of originality and power, Still, the Sky… has the expressive clarity of dramatic monologues. Sharply vivid verse, powered by yearning and precision of language” — BookLife by Publishers Weekly (Editor’s Pick)

“A feast for the eye, the heart, the spirit… reminiscent of the best of Robert Graves and Ezra Pound… Clearly a poet — a poet of words, and a visual poet — is at work here. — Pacific Book Review

“A wellspring of carefully-wrought imagery… Pearson’s poetry accomplishes a unique etherealness, precariously tethered to the present with a gossamer string, leaving the reader to feel the distance of millennia.” — Joshua Ryan Bligh, Independent Book Review

“The Greek mythology references provide a special draw to scholarly readers; but the travel through history fueled by Tom Pearson's employment of various poetic devices creates its own unique blend of observation and philosophy. Now, the Greek myths retold here do not necessarily require a background in Greek literature—but those who do hold such interests and background will find the poetry especially evocative, filled with references that offer thought-provoking connections between past and present.” – D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Pearson’s meticulous choice of words and his innate sense of narrative rhythm—coupled with his sublime use of multimedia art… make for an unarguably unique experience.” — Kirkus Reviews

“A stunning collection of thought-provoking [poetry] and arresting artwork… cleverly combining a coming-of-age motif with tales from Greek Mythology, Tom Pearson’s STILL, THE SKY is as much a deliberate statement as it is a placeholder for further examination” — James Weiskittel for IndieReader

“This exuberant creation delights the eyes and inner ear and lends itself to repeat readings and in-depth thinking…. Poems about Icarus flying too close to the sun explore the responsibility of the father and suggest that a father's neglect is a far more tragic reason for a son's fall than the dangers of the son's ambition.” — R.J. Johnson, The US Review of Books

“Still, the Sky is an impeccably researched and elegantly designed collection combining poetry exploring and reimagining the dual Bildungsromane of Icarus and Asterion with intriguing installation artwork that enhances the text... a well-paced journey that oscillates between action and dreamy lyric contemplation.” – Blue Ink Reviews (Starred Review)

“Still, the Sky is a poetry collection that blends mythology and art in a metaphysical consideration designed to appeal to poets and literature students alike..… a work of literature that ideally should be assigned reading for any class strong in Greek mythology and contemporary poetic reflections of history and lore.” – D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

MUST READ: “Pearson reminds us of the sheer romantic power of mythology but also sculpts and shapes it… There was something forbidden and foreboding lurking in each stanza - encapsulating the bittersweet of coming-of-age and relationship between two young men, lost in what connects them and severs them in the end… a must-have collection masterfully marrying the past with the present.” — Kristiana Reed, Reedsy Discovery

Listen to Interview with Tom Pearson on the Inside Scoop Live! Podcast.

“Tom Pearson is not easily confined to one artistic category. He wears many hats, as a choreographer, theater director, performance and multimedia artist, and poet. His unique career trajectory embodies the essence of a multi-hyphenate artist, someone whose artistic journey refuses to be limited by conventional boundaries… His upcoming release is a harmonious interplay of music, spoken word, and theater in the experimental audiobook adaptation of “Still the Sky”. – Read the full feature in LA Weekly

From Q&A with Tom Pearson for BookLife by Publisher’s Weekly: Do you think your theater work has influenced your writing? Definitely. My work in theater and my writing have always been intertwined, but only in the past few years have I put the writing forward on its own. My first book, The Sandpiper’s Spell, follows a sort of ritual/ceremonial structure much like my immersive performances. Still, the Sky continues this, but with a theatricality also enhanced by the design elements of the artwork in the book. Contemporary poetry is frequently considered autobiographical, but I often employ character-driven narratives while considering the reader experience and structural as well. That’s the choreographer/ director in me meeting the poet. Read the full interview.

From Interview with Tom Pearson for Pacific Book Review: What do you hope your readers take away from this book? I am always hesitant to say because I hope that the work will offer reflection for them, that readers will take away something very personal that the words and images conjure. Mythology and poetry are both interesting because they can be super specific but also open channels into larger associations. I’ve created a lot of provocations about coming of age and relationships, especially between men, that get rather complex, and so I hope there is enough detail in these that they might create sensory or memory pathways that register on some deep level with readers whether identifying through first romantic or sexual relationships, or relationships with mentors or father-figures, or connecting with the sacred feminine forces that are also very present in these stories. Read the full interview.

From Interview with Tom Pearson for Review Tales: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? A caster of spells. A sorcerer. Or an architect. I really wanted to build a pyramid. Read the full interview.

From Interview with Tom Pearson for Indie Reader Discovery Awards: Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?) I am motivated by the ideas themselves and how they develop, what they say that they want from me. Sometimes, that means the idea becomes a book of poetry, sometimes a piece of visual art, and sometimes a performance-based work. I am motivated to be authentic and to be medial, to move things from one space to another—to really listen and invite inspiration and then work it into something that is shareable that could help someone else. Read the full interview.

From Paw Prints, Guest Essay at Author Anthony Avina’s Blog: “I have begun to meditate on what these little threads mean over time, how a body of work forms from the scraps of previous work, how material moves forward and themes reiterate, or ideas sift and fold back together again to create specificity. It becomes a pattern for world building, one iteration at a time. It makes the work larger through the micro-expressions along the way—allowing for volunteer images that might invisibly imprint upon the eventual narrative.” Read the Full Essay.

From Indie Spotlight: Tom Pearson by Sue Bavey: “I’ve been writing poetry since I was very young, and most of my works start as word images or movement gestures, and either become dances or poetry. Sometimes the poetry also becomes theater, and sometimes it is all intermingled with the multi-media woks I create. But poetry is my mother tongue. And when I say that, really poetry and dance are the same for me; they come from the same symbolic thought patterns and deep distillation of imagery.” Read the Full Q&A.

“These poems continually whisper with the vividness of harried existentialism… in beckoning calamity and breathless quietude, astir with temptation and desire… Tom Pearson invites us into a space where he is vulnerable and intimate.” — Khushi Gadhiya

“A mirage of experiences, emotions, memoirs and so much more… a complex collection of poetry, one that requires multiple readings to fully digest and appreciate” — Emily-Jane Hills Orford

“A thought-provoking and artfully written collection of poems” — Miche Arendse

“The poetry collection creates a shared view of coming-of-age… in vivid verse, driven by yearning… a maze of fragmented memories, confessions, and tributes” — Manik Chaturmutha

“Compelling figurative representations, an explosion of social, artistic, emotional, and intellectual expressions that carve their meaning in a fusion of written and visual art…. a poet with a strong, intelligent, and lyrical voice.” — Vincent Dublado

“Still, the Sky presents a multiplicity of modern retellings of Greek stories that are frequently dazzling in their uniqueness… Tom Pearson’s use of language is surprising, direct, and reaches an astonishing depth.” – The Bookish Elf

“Still, the Sky is a book I recommend to art and poetry lovers alike with the certainty that any who have yet to venture into the realms of mythology will be enraptured.” — Sarah Stuart

“… a perfect balance between raw, grated, difficult, emotional pain and beautiful words… an invigorating, razor-sharp poetry collection… fierce, provocative, and sensual” — Readers’ Corner

“Heartfelt, emotional, and thoughtful… a marvelous and moving work of art that fans of poetry and mythology will not be able to put down.” — Anthony Avina

More Reader Reviews at:

Goodreads

Amazon

Summer 2023: Eppure, Il Cielo, the Italian translation (by Andrea Sirotti) of Tom Pearson’s Still, the Sky, is published by Interno Poesia Editore, Italy.

March 2023: Still, the Sky receives 2022-2023 Reader Views Literary Awards in Three Categories: SPONSORED AWARD BY INSIDE SCOOP LIVE for the Most Innovative Book of Poetry, GOLD AWARD for Poetry, and REGIONAL AWARD for NORTH EAST. View all Awards and Details at Reader Views.

Coming Spring 2023: Audio Book version of Still, the Sky with music by Sean Hagerty with Isaiah Singer + Narration by Andrew Broaddus, Mary Madsen, and Justin Lynch.

[CANCELLED] July 20, 2022 at 7:00PM (BST, Doors open at 6:30PM), London, UK: Tom Pearson with Marta Luné—SIGNING/READING at COMMON PRESS

June 9, 2022 at 7:00PM (EDT), New York City, USA: Tom Pearson, Still, the Sky BOOK LAUCH Event at THE RED ROOM