Kay McKenzie Cooke (born 1953) is a poet from New Zealand.
Kay McKenzie Cooke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable works | Feeding the Dogs |
| Notable awards | NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry |
Background
Cooke was born in 1953 in Tuatapere, Southland, New Zealand.[1] She is of Kai Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, English, Scottish, and Irish descent. She attended the Dunedin Teachers' College and worked in the Early Childhood Sector.[2] Cooke currently lives in Dunedin.[3][4]
Career
Cooke has published four collections of poems:
- Feeding the Dogs (2002, Otago University Press)
- Made for Weather: Poems by Kay McKenzie Cooke (2007, Otago University Press)
- Born to a Red-Headed Woman (2014, Otago University Press)
- "Upturned" (2020, The Cuba Press)
Cooke has been published in the 2020 & 2014 Best New Zealand Poems series and her work was praised in the 2007 edition.[5][6] She was included in The Second New Zealand Haiku Anthology[7] and Cordite Poetry Review.[8] Her work has also appeared in a number of literary journals and magazines including: Takahe, "Landfall", New Zealand Listener, Sport, JAAM, Southern Ocean Review, Trout, Glottis, and Poetry New Zealand.[2]
Cooke has published two novels: "Craggan Dhu (Time Will Tell)" Fiction. Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC – KDP Print U.S.A.ISBN 9798630145512"Quick Blue Fire"Fiction.Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print U.S.A.ISBN 979-8357633552
Cooke was awarded the 2006, Dan Davin Foundation Award for her short story, ‘Where The Trees Lean Sideways’.
Cooke has collaborated with fellow poet Jenny Powell to create 'J&K On The Road Again', a project to discover and promote poetry in the rural areas of New Zealand.[9]
Awards
In 2003 Cooke's collection, Feeding the Dogs won the NZSA Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry at the New Zealand Book Awards.[10]