It’s been a busy time & the business is set to continue…
Easy peeps,
I’m not quite ‘on-point’ with the monthly update (I’m precisely 11 days overdue), but here it is for April! So, the new Kez single ‘Puppeteer’ dropped on March 17th and seems to be being received nicely! Thanks to all of you who’ve listened in so far, and if you haven’t then be sure to check it out! (It’s available on the usual pence-paying suspects! So give it a listen. Our next single has just been mixed so keep an eye out for that in May…
My latest collection FERAL has also been going down a treat with folks, so thanks for all of you that have purchased it so far! It’s definitely my most succinct and favourite collection so far and I’m enjoying the experience of airing the poems live. Head over to the live section to see when I’m bringing the tour to a place near you! Do keep checking back as I’ll put dates up there as they’re confirmed!
So it’s been nearly 4 years since I updated the site…I’ve no excuses other than life getting in the way of almost everything…but here we are and hopefully I can get a bit better at it all in 2025!
I’m still always available for educational workshops and I’m currently offering an interesting variety of offers, so hit me up on info@thras.co.uk for more info!
As it says in the title for this post; my new single produced by the excellent Si Tew, will be available from iTunes/Spotify etc. from Monday 16th August 2021. Follow my Spotify profile etc to get in on the action. A video produced by Warwicka is also set to drop on Thursday 12th August. I’ll share here in due course. Until then hold tight.
As the title suggests it’s been a while…that’s for a number of reasons but mainly due to the fact we’ve all been forced into hibernation for the last 16 months! However, I’m sure you’re all as happy as I am that we now seem to (hopefully) be heading out of the other side. A lot has happened since I last posted both professionally, and personally. I could say a lot more but I’m quite determined to keep this post brief and aim to keep you updated more regularly in the future.
Things I’m currently up to: Writing a play commissioned by the wonderful lot at Derby Theatre as part of Derby CAN (Derby Creative Arts Network), working on two separate poetry collections, working on some musical collaborations, and writing a novel kindly funded by an Arts Council DYCP (Developing Your Creative Practice) fund. In other words; watch this space and watch it hard! There’ll be gigs being added to the live section as well as some new videos, interviews, tunes, etc. I’m also available as always for educational work (my workshops are ace) so get in touch on: info@jthras.com if you want those.
Follow me on my social media if you want to keep more up-to-date with what I do. Thanks for stopping by and see you all soon.
Apologies that it’s been so long since I wrote a blog post- but yer know- man’s been busy winning awards, releasing books, gigging and educating the fine folks on the art of poetry etc. So where do I start? That’s the question I’m asking myself! It’s been an absolutely crazy year. I’ve tried to update everything I’ve been unto in the media and press/published sections (but I’ll have undoubtedly have missed something out so please forgive me if I have).
So last year, last year, last year: I was proud to score a hat-trick at the Saboteur awards where I picked up the title of ‘Best Spoken Word Performer in the UK’ along with ‘best regular spoken word night’ for my baby that is Word Wise, we also scooped ‘best collaborative works’ for the Man-Up project which I was lead writer on with the wonderful folks at Restoke. Last year also saw me perform live on the pitch for my beloved DCFC three times and I was lucky enough to do it once again just last week against Manchester United in the F.A. Cup. My ‘We Are Derby’ poem also made it onto the big screen at Wembley stadium for the EFL playoff final. I was also lucky enough to be commissioned by the BBC and National Poetry Day and my poem ‘Nowt But Pride’ was the main poem on the BBC website, I also got interviewed for the Contains Strong Language Festival by the legend (and fellow football poet) Ian McMillan. I also appeared on BBC Radio 4 on a programme called Powerlines which was all about us working-class scruff that operate in the poetry world! (I’m gonna try and get a load of the radio stuff I’ve done clipped off and onto Soundcloud in the near future). I also released my second collection ‘Our Man’ through Burning Eye Books, which can be bought here: https://jamiethrasivoulou.bigcartel.com/product/our-man I also toured the collection as a one-man-show at the Edinburgh, Greater Manchester, and Buxton Fringes and did my first Scottish tour with the lovely folks at Sonnet Youth back in December. I also ran loads of education projects, fulfilled tonnes of commissions and loads more, thanks for everyone who supported anything I did.
So what for this year? I’ve started a podcast called ‘Word Wise Podcast’ which you can access via Spotify and the usual outlets (There’s a link to it and the Youtube version after these brackets): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_giYD2Sqoo
I’m also running plenty of educational projects in schools, prisons, colleges etc. I’m also still doing a bit of lecturing at the University of Derby. I’m also working on some interesting commissions and collaborations so keep popping back and I’ll do try and do better to keep this blog updated. (But please remember that the sign of a busy writer is one that doesn’t have time to update their website!) 😉
I’m absolutely over the moon to announce that my work has been shortlisted in no less than 3 categories for the Saboteur 2019 UK Spoken Word Awards. I’ve been listed for Best Spoken Word Performer in the UK, Word Wise has been listed for ‘Best Regular Spoken Word Night’ and ‘Man Up’ by Restoke has been listed for ‘Best Collaborative Work’. We’d be wholeheartedly grateful if you could vote for these projects using this form: https://form.jotformeu.com/91033853215350
Reciting the We Are Derby poem to over 400 pupils @ Lawn Primary School
Ayup people!
So 2019 has definitely gotten off to a bang! I’ve been rushed off my boots with lots of education work. This includes my first ever requested encore in a school assembly to over 400 kids, who were chanting along to my We Are Derby Poem (See photo above). I’ve also enjoyed being one of the lead writers visiting schools on behalf of SLAMJAM in Lincolnshire. I’ve also recently been involved in the This Is Derby project on behalf of the wonderful team at Deda. I also held a series of workshops as a visiting lecturer at both Keele and Derby Universities.
The next instalment of last year’s ACE funded Travelling Band project (Constell8) is also off to a start! Keep checking back for more dates on that one! In March I put out a new live video for my poem COBWEBS from the February UNISLAM victory which has been getting some good reactions over social media, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKs596bNhU4&t=94s There’s also some footage of me reading some new material that was recorded live @ Side Gallery for the Small Town Inertia exhibition in Newcastle back in January, Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zExJzq05NGs&t=348s
I’m lucky enough to have had my new show accepted for a week-long run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the fantastic people at Laughing Horse. Our Man will feature from Monday 19th until Sunday 25th August at the aptly named Raging Bull from 6:00 PM each night. The show is made up of poems from my next collection of the same title that is due to be published through Burning Eye Books in July. The self-titled poem was published recently in the Morning Star newspaper and can be read here: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/c/poetry-picketline-our-man-1
It’s a lovely article from Codnor Community Primary School’s newsletter from last year. It’s great to see the school celebrating the work of their year 4 pupil who attended my workshop at Derby Museum last June and created a stunning poem.
I’m available for work in schools and educational institutions this year so be sure to get in touch ASAP as my diary is filling up fast. Contact me on: info@thras.com