'To Origins and Back is a rich meditation on what it means to be human. In this collection, Greg Tome ruminates on the universal and the personal: the tug of kith and kin, the scars of the past, and the seasons that ebb and flow around us and inside us. Employing dynamic lineation, lyrical word combinations and fresh angles on traditional themes, Greg explores the damage we cause, the connections we cherish and the small moments that can redeem a day, a life.' - Deborah Ritchie 'This volume takes the reader into a wide and diverse world, from ancient history to a school playground, from war to the plight of the Returned, from the moment of waking to the size of the next power bill, and with stops along the way to contemplate country towns, MRI brain scans, and the coffee shop shut down by drought. In clear, subtly nuanced verse - laced with some wonderful touches of wry, ironic humour - Greg Tome once again draws upon experience, observation, and a self-deprecating Aussie style of wisdom to steer us through life. It's wonderful stuff - enjoyable and thought-provoking.' - Van Ikin, University of Western Australia 'Greg's poetry is best described in "The First Thursday": "...words aching to touch the face of some god". To read his work is to see through the "third eye", to be obliquely aware of untouchable reality, accessible only by contemplation. When not caged by the restraints of rhyme, lineal convention and even grammar, his words fly free, drawing the reader into an entrancing, mystical transcendence.' - Fr Paul McCabe