Staff Profile
Ryan Stephen Thornton
Visiting Lecturer, Postgraduate Researcher in Theatre and Performance
I am a maximalist poet, local historian, writer and performance maker, and I am currently completing a part-time PhD in Theatre and Performance at York St John University. My research explores how queer histories are written, remembered and performed, especially in places where the historical record is fragmented or incomplete. I work across creative writing, walking-based research and site-specific performance to develop new ways of engaging with the queer past.
My current project, Nowt So Queer, is a practice-based investigation of queer history in York. Through poetry, performance tasks and walking routes, I explore how the city holds traces of queer life and how creative practice can make these histories more visible. I am interested in how writing, performance and archival research can support new understandings of identity, place and memory.
Alongside my research, I teach on undergraduate Theatre and Performance programmes at York St John. My teaching is shaped by my interests in contemporary performance, queer theory, creative writing and performance-making practices.
I am also a freelance writer and editor. My work has been published in magazines and journals in the UK and internationally, and my poetry collection Salt-Rimmed Breath on Jazz-Thigh Gospel was published in 2025. I co-run the poetry and arts magazine MoodMilk with Swedish multidisciplinary artist Pixie Flodhammar, and I organise an annual pride-month poetry competition, Verse Traps, which supports emerging and experimental writers.
- School – School of the Arts
- Email – r.thornton@yorksj.ac.uk
Further information
Teaching
I have been a Visiting Lecturer at York St John University since 2022. I have been the co-lead on the first-year module Big Ideas in Performance, and I supervise final-year dissertations and independent performance projects. I support students working on a range of topics, including queer and gender performance, performance theory, creative writing, poetry, comedy, and contemporary performance.
My approach to teaching is practice-led and reflective. I encourage students to explore performance as a way of understanding identity, history and culture. I work to create inclusive and supportive learning environments where students feel able to experiment, question and develop their own ideas.
Courses/modules taught on:
- Co-Lead on first-year Performance Theory module Big Ideas in Performance (2022-2023)
- Supervisor for third-year Dissertation module (2023-present)
- Supervisor for third-year Independent Performance module (2024-present)
Research
My research explores how queer histories can be written, performed and re-imagined when the archival record is incomplete or deliberately obscured. I am interested in how poetry, walking and performance can act as creative methods for encountering and responding to the past. Much of my work focuses on how place holds memory, and how embodied, site-responsive creative writing practices can reveal stories that are not present in official archives.
I use creative writing and performance to investigate queer identity, emotion and experience, and I am especially drawn to the gaps, silences and ambiguities that shape queer history. I am developing a methodology that treats walking as a form of archival engagement, using poetic scores and performance tasks to generate new forms of connection with historical sites and archival records. I am also interested in the relationship between creative practice and research, and in how creative work can communicate complex ideas in accessible and meaningful ways.
My broader interests include queer and gender theory, performance theory, site-specific practice, creative-critical writing, poetry, and the emotional and sensory dimensions of memory. Across my work, I aim to show how creative practice can expand the ways we engage with history and support more inclusive, imaginative and community-centred forms of knowledge-making, storytelling, and archiving.
Publications
Poetry collections
Thornton, R.S. (2011) The Skyward Bound Blues. [Poetry Collection].
Thornton, R.S. (2025) Salt-Rimmed Breath on Jazz-Thigh Gospel. [Poetry Collection].
Published poems
Thornton, R.S. (2023) ‘Bodies That Made Me Electric’, in Tait, S.A. (ed.) Pride. Powders Press, pp. 6–7.
Thornton, R.S. (2023) ‘Black Sheep of Bootham Bar’, in Tait, S.A. (ed.) Pride. Powders Press, pp. 6–7.
Thornton, R.S. (2023) ‘Candy Floss Queer’, in Camiolo, L.M. and O’Leary, C. (eds.) Impostor, 3(1), p. 39.
Thornton, R.S. (2023) ‘Other’, in Hearth & Coffin, 3(3), p. 82.
Thornton, R.S. (2023) ‘Black Treacle Heart’, in Collins, B. and Farrell, A. (eds.) Cape Magazine, 5(2), p. 47.
Thornton, R.S. (2023) ‘White Sage’, in Alejandro, J. (ed.) Coalition Works, Issue Five: Fall 2023, p. 24.
Thornton, R.S. (2024) ‘Memories from a timeline’, in Coffin Bell Journal, 7(2).
Thornton, R.S. (2024) ‘Ways Who Snickle’, in Coffin Bell Journal, 7(2).
Thornton, R.S. (2025) ‘Ways Who Snickle’, in Campbell, L. and Baumgartosborn, C. StepAway Magazine: Queering the Landscape Issue.
Thornton, R.S. (2025) ‘Wont’, in Callaghan, A. (ed.) Ey Up 4. Written Off Publishing.
Thornton, R.S. (2025) ‘Soft Fruits in the Mouth of the Day’, in Rollins, L. (ed.) Bitter Baby Zine, Issue 1.
Articles
Thornton, R.S. (2025) ‘Pink Is Not The Only Flower’, in VanderKooi, R. (ed.) HANKYCODE Magazine, 2, pp. 29–30.
Professional activities
Outside teaching and research, I work as an editor, reviewer and sensitivity reader, specialising in poetry, creative writing and work relating to queer and gender representation. I also have experience in independent publishing and small-press development.
I am the co-founder and co-editor of MoodMilk, a poetry and arts magazine produced in collaboration with Swedish multidisciplinary artist Pixie Flodhammar. I run Verse Traps, an annual pride-month poetry competition aimed at supporting new and experimental voices. I also maintain Poet Chaotique, a creative platform where I share poetry, essays and creative-critical reflections linked to my research.
