Overview

Kant and marmalade, a solemn talk with a lift, an existential struggle with something from IKEA, an absurdist discussion of meaning in poetry, or a disquisition on the nature of windows: Robin Thomas is a poet of high imagination, always looking for the unusual angle and finding it over and over in this, his latest collection. Giant Crabs and Spiders ranges across philosophy, painting, music, literature, politics, history, science, and what it’s like to be alive. The poet explores knowledge, ethics, meaning, mortality, and writes of loss and grief. Bubbling away through these intense, sometimes quirky, always compassionate poems is a joy in language, its musical resources and endless possibilities.

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9781915048295

Table of Contents

Reviews

‘The poems of Robin Thomas never fail to surprise, intrigue and delight me. In his recent collection, Giant Crabs and Spiders, he has excelled. He approaches any situation, routine or behaviour from a totally fresh angle. His clear-sightedness and dry humour are the vehicle for a subtext of kindness, humanity and awareness of the dangers and ambiguities underlying the life of the average person as they make philosophical and personal choices. This is a book to read and dip into again and again, to be reminded that life is a serious, absurd phenomenon, that makes you laugh as well as, at times, weep.’ — JANICE DEMPSEY, December 2025

Author Information

Robin Thomas spent most of his working life in an engineering company in Reading having qualified as a chemical engineer at Birmingham University. While still employed, he obtained a degree in English Studies from the then Polytechnic of North London, followed by an MA in Victorian Poetry at the Open University and an MA in Writing Poetry at Kingston University. He lives in Caversham.

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