Steven Cooke Biography

Profile
Coming from an inner city estate in Sheffield I never went to school as I was always a bit of a rebel. It wasn’t until I was 36 years that I accidentally went into education. I was lucky enough to have a mentor called Malcolm Simms who channelled my rebellious nature, and taught me to write at an academic level. This culminated in me graduating from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree. It was here that I first picked up my inspiration for poetry, from the War poets. In particular Siegfried Sassoon. His description of the First World War really shows the power of the pen. His works always haunted me and it wasn’t until I was in my 50s that I decided to have a go at writing meaningful poetry.
My work focuses on short story poems depicting subjects such as forgotten history, War, love, and the human condition. I have a particular fascination with World War one. Being published gives me a chance to leave something for my grandson to remember me by.