Karavan Press title: In the Slowness of Melting by Glen L. Thompson

Paddling
to what pleasure?
sporting hope in dying
waters

from ‘Paddle action!’

They slip
out of reach
while forming on my lips,
utterances mouthed
become

not sound; an essence of sound
a blank speech-bubble,
the panel un-inked.

from ‘I wander between words’

Publication date: September 2026

ISBN: 978-1-0671781-2-3

About the author

GLEN L. THOMPSON (he/him) is a Research Fellow in the History Department at Stellenbosch and holds a PhD in History (University of Stellenbosch). He lives in Cape Town and is writing a book on the history, politics and culture of surfing in South Africa.

He is the co-host of The Deep Duck Dive Podcast, a hydrofeminist and critical surf studies public scholarship project. To support his pursuit of the waves and the past, he works as the privacy officer at a mobile messaging technology company. In 2006, he co-wrote Txt Me: A Cellphone Affair, a stage play that was performed at the National Arts Festival Fringe. In the Slowness of Melting is his debut poetry collection.

Find him at writingsurfinghistory.org.za and thedeepduckdivepodcast.alitu.com