Thomas DeFreitas

Poet

Arlington, MA
Massachusetts US

Author's Bio

Thomas DeFreitas was born in Boston, was educated at the Boston Latin School, and attended the University of Massachusetts (in Boston and in Amherst) for two years. His poems have appeared in Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Dappled Things, Ibbetson Street, Pensive, Plainsongs, and elsewhere.

In 2018, Thomas’s poem “Chasing the Waves” was chosen by Arlington, Massachusetts Poet Laureate Cathie Desjardins to be part of the Talking Chair Project, an interactive poetry exhibit installed during National Poetry Month 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, "Grief" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editor of Autumn Sky Poetry Daily.

Thomas's fourth collection of poems, Walking Between the Raindrops, was published in February 2025 by Kelsay Books.

Publications & Prizes

Anthology:
The Silver Note: Poets of Arlington, Massachusetts (Ibbetson Street Press, 2025)
Books:
Walking Between the Raindrops (Kelsay Books, 2025)
,
Longfellow, Tell Me (Kelsay Books, 2022)
Chapbooks:
Elegies & Devotions (Kelsay Books, 2026)
,
Swift River Ballad (Kelsay Books, 2023)
,
Winter in Halifax (Kelsay Books, 2021)
Journals: , ,
Ibbetson Street
,
Light
,
Muddy River Poetry Review
,
Mudfish
, ,
Orchards Poetry Journal
,
Plainsongs
, ,
Soul-Lit
Prizes won: 

Plainsongs Award Poem, "Detox," Summer 2019

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Theodore Roethke, Ted Kooser, Hilary Sallick, Mary Buchinger, Victor Howes, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Jennifer Martelli, Dylan Thomas, Marianne Moore, Kenneth Koch, Emily Dickinson, Julia Fehrenbacher, James Crews, MK Creel
What I'm reading now: 
Every Note, a Lantern by Mary Katherine Creel, Mother of Other Kingdoms by Kai Coggin, Bourbon and Branch Water by Cedar Koons, All the Honey by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Boston, MA
Massachusetts
Raised in: 
Boston, MA
Massachusetts
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Last update: Sep 02, 2025