Documentation is rare, especially recordings, of this important Venice poet associated with the beat generation. A compilation of performances related to the subject of baseball entitled Innings & Quarters is one place to hear this artist in action, hardly enough material with which to defy author and friend Charles Bukowski's notion that John Thomas was "the best unread poet in America." Reviewing a Thomas collection for Rattle, author John Bennett made the following comment: "I know this: years ago (Thomas) sent me some poems in an envelope, and when I read them I felt like I'd just been thrown to the ground and sat upon." Thomas started his life with aspirations to be a priest, then joined the air force and became a computer programmer very early on in the history of this technology. The realization that bigger and better bombs were going to be the result of his efforts prompted him to ditch the field entirely. He hitchhiked to Venice, CA in 1959 with only $14.00 in his pocket and never looked back. Thomas' initial and perhaps most important association was with a group known as "the Venice Beats," whose relation to the writing scene in California at that time can be compared to singers in the outlaw country scene. He married fellow poet Philomene Long, the couple maintaining a lifestyle of intentional poverty based on Zen philosophy. Thomas' books include Feeding the Animal. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide