Steven R. Cope
Steven R. Cope’s last two books were both significant collections of his poetry released in 2005:
First, Crow!, a mammoth collection of his complete children’s poems, complete with lively illustrations of both dancing and pensive crows. Of that book Anne Shelby, children’s writer, writes, “If Wordsworth met up with Dr. Seuss somewhere in eastern Kentucky, and setting out to write poems together, they ran smack dab into James Still and Ogden Nash, you might end up with something as funny, surprising, and generally delightful as Crow!” John Maruskin, Clark Co. Adult Services Librarian, writes, “Heirlooms are things that have a history, that have given pleasure and meaning to those who own them and so they get passed on to continue that tradition. I think Steven Cope’s “Crow!” is an heirloom book. Get it, read it to yourself, your family and your friends. Pass on the joy.”
Cope’s second collection out in 2005, The Furrbawl Poems, was also a landmark work, collecting all of his poetry written over a period of 20 years (1973-1993) that had not been previously collected. Harry Brown writes, “Steven R. Cope is a poet in the tradition of Homer, Whitman, and Yeats. Committed above all to write even at the expense of creature comfort and in contempt of convention in art and life, he owns a cosmic
vision . . . Within The Furrbawl Poems is a rich and entertaining world of humor, wit, wisdom, and the myriad mysteries within existence.” James Baker Hall writes, “I’m delighted, and relieved, to see Steve Cope’s work getting the long-overdue attention it deserves. He’s among our deepest, most eloquent and versatile writers . . .”
Cope is also the author of the sometimes dark and earthy poetry collections In Killdeer’s Field and Clover’s Log, the mysterious novel of eastern Kentucky Sassafras, and The Book of Saws, an illustrated collection of fables and tales. His latest CD is Standin’ Right Here (Cope & Kennon). Steven R. Cope is originally from Menifee County in eastern Kentucky.