Storyteller.
Clara Rose Thornton is a culture journalist, radio and TV broadcaster, spoken word artist, poetry workshop instructor, and event organizer. She has lived in New York City, Vermont, Oregon, and Quebec in North America; in Dublin, Paris, Croatia, and Germany in Europe; and recently repatriated to her native Chicago. She founded the company InkBlot Complex to incorporate writing, editing, and entertainment services under one umbrella. InkBlot Complex focuses on the arts and their intersection with social justice, identity politics, history, and place.
A lively, erudite broadcaster, in Ireland Clara Rose appeared as a frequent film critic on "Arena," the national arts program from Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ); discussed film, race, and feminism on the likes of "The Ryan Tubridy Show" and "The History Show" on RTÉ Radio 1; and appeared regularly as a TV culture journalist on RTÉ 1's "Morning Edition." Print cultural criticism has appeared in the Irish Independent, the Irish Times, District Magazine, Artscope, and the Chicago classic, Stop Smiling: The Magazine for High-Minded Lowlifes. For four years she wrote “Southerly Exposure,” the weekly fine arts column of the Rutland (Vt.) Herald, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning daily. Clara Rose counts Facebook (Meta), Harvard University, and Ancestry among brand journalism clients.
Clara Rose is a multiple poetry slam champion, including the 2014/15/16 Dublin Slam Poetry Champion. Following her first Dublin win, the hallowed Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan honored her with a featured artist set. Fall 2014 saw a tour of Ireland as the headlining performer for the nation's inaugural Black History Month, which she was instrumental in founding. Around this time, she toured Europe as Vice & Verses, an InkBlot Complex creation and site-specific performance involving her spoken word set to live music, co-composed with native musicians in the countries in which the shows were performed [Denmark, Croatia, France, Ireland]. She has taught the InkBlot Complex Poetry Workshop in South Korea, Bosnia, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, and judged two Poetry Out Loud competitions [US].
InkBlot Complex has produced events for Soho House Chicago, Western Balkans Information and Media Literacy Conference, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Zagreb, and a plethora of other educational institutions. In Ireland, prominent performances and engagements include Electric Picnic, All Together Now, Body & Soul, International Literature Festival Dublin, Dalkey Book Festival, and Project Arts Centre. A consistently touring performer, her provocative musical poetry may be experienced in countries around the world. Clara Rose is remotely attending Harvard University, earning her Master of Liberal Arts degree in Journalism, class of 2026.
⚫️ Bio for media use is here.
A lively, erudite broadcaster, in Ireland Clara Rose appeared as a frequent film critic on "Arena," the national arts program from Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ); discussed film, race, and feminism on the likes of "The Ryan Tubridy Show" and "The History Show" on RTÉ Radio 1; and appeared regularly as a TV culture journalist on RTÉ 1's "Morning Edition." Print cultural criticism has appeared in the Irish Independent, the Irish Times, District Magazine, Artscope, and the Chicago classic, Stop Smiling: The Magazine for High-Minded Lowlifes. For four years she wrote “Southerly Exposure,” the weekly fine arts column of the Rutland (Vt.) Herald, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning daily. Clara Rose counts Facebook (Meta), Harvard University, and Ancestry among brand journalism clients.
Clara Rose is a multiple poetry slam champion, including the 2014/15/16 Dublin Slam Poetry Champion. Following her first Dublin win, the hallowed Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan honored her with a featured artist set. Fall 2014 saw a tour of Ireland as the headlining performer for the nation's inaugural Black History Month, which she was instrumental in founding. Around this time, she toured Europe as Vice & Verses, an InkBlot Complex creation and site-specific performance involving her spoken word set to live music, co-composed with native musicians in the countries in which the shows were performed [Denmark, Croatia, France, Ireland]. She has taught the InkBlot Complex Poetry Workshop in South Korea, Bosnia, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, and judged two Poetry Out Loud competitions [US].
InkBlot Complex has produced events for Soho House Chicago, Western Balkans Information and Media Literacy Conference, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Zagreb, and a plethora of other educational institutions. In Ireland, prominent performances and engagements include Electric Picnic, All Together Now, Body & Soul, International Literature Festival Dublin, Dalkey Book Festival, and Project Arts Centre. A consistently touring performer, her provocative musical poetry may be experienced in countries around the world. Clara Rose is remotely attending Harvard University, earning her Master of Liberal Arts degree in Journalism, class of 2026.
⚫️ Bio for media use is here.
