), is a graphic designer, printer, musician and writer. He is the son of poet Robert Graves

Robert Graves

Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...

 and Beryl Graves (née Hodge).

In 1964, he began at Bedales boarding school in England. In 1972 he began studying typographic design at the London College of Printing

London College of Communication

The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, located in Elephant and Castle. It has about 5,000 students on 60 courses in media and design courses preparing students for careers in the creative industries...

. In 1975, he returned to Majorca and began working as a designer, photographer and musician. In 1979, he travelled to Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 for six months to observe and document the Sandinista revolution in recordings and photographs, and playing with the Teatro Popular Sandinista.

He joined the Mallorca

Mallorca

Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...

n band, Pa Amb Oli (Bread and Olive Oil) in 1980. The same year, he met his future wife, Carmen. In 1983, Graves and Carmen established the New Seizin Press in Deià

Deià

Deià is a small coastal village on the northern ridge of the Spanish island of Majorca. It is located about ten miles north of Valldemossa, and it is known for its literary and musical residents...

, producing entirely hand-made books until 2000. Their daughter, Rocío, was born in 1987, and Tomás and Carmen married in 1996.

He began writing and translating in 1996. His first translation was of Beloved Majorcans into English, followed by his own work in Spanish, Un Hogar en Mallorca (A Home in Majorca). Volem Pa Amb Oli was translated as Bread and Oil and has also appeared in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 (Brood en Olie). His first book written in English was Tuning Up at Dawn.

Books

A Home in Majorca Graves' first book, co-written with Pere Joan and published in Spain, is a handbook for people who have settled in rural Majorca. It covers all aspects of Mediterranean life including traditional architecture, rights of way, flora and fauna, water management and village politics.

Bread and Oil is a collection of recipes and insights centred on the bread and oil that form the staple ingredients of the Majorcan diet. The book concerns not just food but also social history and culture.

Tuning Up at Dawn combines Graves' reminiscences of growing up with his father and family in Majorca and England, his career as a musician and printer, Spanish culture and politics and his affection for Spain and particularly Majorca. Tuning Up at Dawn was a BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

 Book of the Week

Book of the Week

Book of the Week is a BBC Radio 4 series broadcast daily on week days. Each week the selected book, always a non-fiction work, is read in five episodes; each fifteen-minute episode is broadcast in the morning and repeated overnight . The Act of Worship replaces the morning broadcast on...

in 2005.

Published works

• Tuning up at Dawn: A Memoir of Music and Majorca (2004)
• Bread and Oil: Majorcan Culture's Last Stand (2006)

With Pere Joan

• A Home in Majorca (1998)

Contributions to:

• Time Out Guide to Mallorca & Menorca
• Rough Guide
  Rough Guides
  Rough Guides Ltd is a travel guidebook and reference publisher, owned by Pearson PLC. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group...
  
  to the Balearics