Amber Flora Thomas

Amber Flora Thomas is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at East Carolina University's English Department. She holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis and a B.A. from Humboldt State University. Her work focuses on poetry exploring racial identity, environmental justice, and contemporary American life. Thomas has published three poetry collections—Eye of Water, The Rabbits Could Sing, and Red Channel in the Rupture—and her poems appear in Tin House, Orion Magazine, and Callaloo. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and has received fellowships from Yaddo, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and Sewanee Writers Conference.

Research & Teaching: Thomas teaches courses in creative writing, poetry, and environmental literature. She regularly instructs at the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference and has been recognized with awards including the Dylan Thomas American Poet Prize. Her research bridges personal narrative with ecological and social justice themes.

Awards & Recognition:

• Cave Canem Poetry Prize (2004)
• Dylan Thomas American Poet Prize
• Richard Peterson Prize
• Ann Stanford Prize

Key Contributions: Thomas’s work interrogates intersections of race, environment, and identity. Her essay on Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas analyzes apology’s role in healing historical wounds. She advocates for writing as a tool to confront societal violence and ecological crises.