Thomas Russell Laidlaw came into existence in Las Vegas and has been gambling with his life ever since. His childhood was centered around the Laidlaw clan's homestead in West Bend, Wisconsin, but young Tommy often road-tripped across the country on wild excursions with his bartender mother Sherry, his drunk Uncle Rusty, his kid sister Tammy, and whoever else happened to be up for relocation at the time. Tom gets his pathological sincerity from his father, Frank, who lives in Miami with his other kid sister, Alexandra.
Growing up in and around Wisco dives has made Tom at home on a barstool; he evolved from professional barfly in 1994 when he became Chief Operating Officer and co-owner, with Cliff Barrow, of the Unofficial Soup Kitchen Bar and Grill. The Soup Kitchen was a logical outgrowth of the successful travelling poetry show of the same name, founded by Laidlaw and his co-horts, Tom Alvary, Chris Hyatt, and Rob Olmstead; it was named Chicago's Best New Poetry Venue of 1994 by the now-defunct Letter Ex Poetry Newsmagazine. Weekly "saloon poetry" shows organized, produced, and hosted by the Soup Kitchen featured poets and performers from Chicago's thriving bar culture and established a flourishing community of talent from a diverse variety of backgrounds.
Tom's personal history with the creative written word began by writing love letters to girlfriends for other inmates when he was jailed for punching out a cop. While living in Chicago's Uptown, he met the well-known American-Indian poet, Eddie Two-Rivers, who encouraged him to keep writing. Laidlaw's first published poem, Dark Shades and a Pocket Full of Change, along with five other works, were featured in editions of Indelible Ink magazine; a collection of his juvenalia can be found in Poetry. Tom has written bar reviews published by Barfly - A Guide to Chicago's Drinking Establishments, as well as co-authoring, with Tom Alvary, Barfly's Poetry Beat column, a listing of saloon poetry venues. Tom currently dedicates his time to the study and development of prose, to the the design and enactment of the website you are now visiting, and to the love of his life, Dana Winrow.  

Send Tom your comments...  

Back to the Short Fiction Showcase

USK Home