U of M grad student's work recognized on radio show

The nationally syndicated public radio program "The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor" featured University of Memphis graduate student Matt Cook's poetry for the ninth time last week.

The program selected the poem "Where They Were and What They Were Doing," which is about the contents of the news the day John F. Kennedy was shot. The selection was taken from a 2002 book of his poems titled In the Small of My Backyard.

Garrison Keillor, the show's host, reads the program's featured poems aloud once a week on Minnesota Public Radio.

The show's selection of Cook's poem is one of many honors that he has garnered over the years.

Cook made his poetry debut at 16 when his mother enrolled him in a poetry workshop with famed poet Allen Ginsberg at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colo.

"Ginsberg's first assignment for us was to go home and have a dream and write it down," Cook said in an e-mail. "I never stopped following that advice."

Since then, Cook has had three books published, including The Eavesdrop Soup (2005) and his most recent publication, The Unreasonable Slug (2007).

Cook, who is now pursuing a master's degree in poetry, also appeared on Public Broadcasting Service's TV show "The United States of Poetry" in 1995 for his poem "James Joyce." One of his better-known works is a poem titled "Picabo Street," which aired in a Nike commercial during the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Cook said the inspiration for his poems comes "from listening to people talk and from getting to know a lot of great conversationalists."

"I carry them around in my mind, and their voices ring in my head," Cook said of the conversationalists he's known. "Maybe I was also lucky to grow up around people who talked funny."

Humor plays a hefty part in Cook's poetry, said Wesley Dunning, U of M graduate student and fan. Dunning said that Cook's outside experience is what gives him the unique ability to write and establish appealing elements of poetry.

"Cook establishes relationships between people and how to distinguish the world around them," said Dunning. "It's different from other forms of poetry because of the complexity. When you read it, you'll laugh out loud, even though it may be something that comprises serious subject matter."

U of M graduate student and fan Mike Petrik, who took a class with Cook, said that Cook's work was enjoyable for everyone, not just poetry buffs.

"His writing style alone is illuminating," Petrik said. "His work isn't frivolous, yet it possesses serious subject matter while being absolutely hilarious."

Cook's wife, Meredith Root, said she thought her husband's poetry was growing in popularity because it is clear to understand, and it strikes a resonant chord with people.

"It's interesting that 'The Writer's Almanac' chose such a profound poem from his first book in 2002 and how he is still being recognized for it today," Root said. "His works are a testament to how his literature is quickly emerging and that it is pertinent now." 

Cook, who is currently working on a compilation of his poems, eventually plans to become a professor of creative writing.

"I'm not one of those writers who doesn't like teaching. I probably like teaching more than writing," Cook said.