Wyn Cooper (born January 2, 1957) is an American poet. He is best known for his 1987 poem "Fun",[1] which was adapted by Sheryl Crow and Bill Bottrell into the lyrics of Crow's 1994 breakthrough single "All I Wanna Do".

Early life

Cooper was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Maree Edith Cooper, a teacher's aide, and William Wendell Cooper, a tool-and-die machinist.[2] Cooper was raised in Michigan and attended the University of Utah (B.A., 1979),[2] Hollins College (M.A., 1981),[2] and later, the creative writing doctoral program at University of Utah.[3][2]

Career

He has taught at the University of Utah, Bennington College, Marlboro College, and at The Frost Place Festival of Poetry.

Cooper has served as editor of Quarterly West and recently worked for the Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, a think tank run by the Poetry Foundation. He currently works as a freelance editor of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and memoir.

Books

His novel Way Out West was released in 2022. His earlier books are Mars Poetica (White Pine Press, 2018), Chaos is the New Calm (BOA Editions, 2010), Postcards from the Interior (BOA Editions, 2005), The Way Back (White Pine Press, 2000), and The Country of Here Below (Ahsahta Press, 1987).

Poems

Cooper's poems, stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in Slate Magazine,[4] Poetry, Orion, Gander Press Review,[5] Blackbird,[6] AGNI,[7] Crazyhorse, and Ploughshares[8] and are included in 25 anthologies of contemporary poetry.

Songs

One of his poems, Fun,[1] was used for the lyrics of the Sheryl Crow song, "All I Wanna Do".

"But in January 1993, Bill Bottrell and Kevin Gilbert, Sheryl Crow's producer and keyboard player, took a break from recording her first CD, Tuesday Night Music Club, for want of better lyrics to a tune they already had in mind. They went around the corner to Cliff's Books in Pasadena,[9] where they found a used copy of my book." — Wyn Cooper[10]

Crow's producer Bill Bottrell discovered Cooper's poetry book The Country of Here Below in Cliff's Books, a Pasadena, California used bookstore. Bottrell adapted Fun into the lyrics for her song when Crow could not come up with usable lyrics, earning Cooper considerable royalties, and helping to publicise his book, originally published in a run of only 500 copies in 1987, into multiple reprints.[1][11]

In 2002, Cooper's lyrics for a fictional band, appeared in, ex-college friend,[12] Madison Smartt Bell's novel, Anything Goes. In 2003, the songs were put to music by Bell,[13] recorded[14] and produced by bassist Don Dixon, with Mitch Easter,[15] and percussionist Jim Brock[12] and released as Madison Smartt Bell and Wyn Cooper: 40 Words for Fear.[16][11][17][18][19][15] The second CD, with percussionist Jim Brock and bassist/producer Don Dixon, from Bell & Cooper:[20]Postcards Out of the Blue,[21] was based in part on Cooper's book Postcards from the Interior, a suggestion by Dixon.[12] Their songs have been used on five television shows.[12]

Cooper has also written and recorded songs with David Broza, David Baerwald, and Jody Redhage.

Works

Personal life

Cooper resides in Boston, Massachusetts.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Cooper, Wyn (1987). "Fun". Ahsahta Press. Archived from the original on 2001-08-31. Retrieved 2015-01-21. extracted from 'The Country of Here Below' (Contemporary Poetry of the West Series)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Cooper, Wyn (1957— )". Encyclopedia.com.
  3. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (2000). The Way Back. Buffalo, NY: White Pine Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-893996-03-8. Retrieved 8 May 2022 – via google books.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (2009-11-10). "Daily Threads". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Poem : A weekly poem, read by the author.... Click the arrow on the audio player to hear Wyn Cooper read this poem. You can also download the recording or subscribe to Slate's Poetry Podcast on iTunes.
  5. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (Fall 2008). Goble, Brant; Goble, Faith (eds.). "Poems". Gander Press Review. Loosey Goosey Press. ISBN 9780982099100 – via google books.
  6. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (Spring 2008). "Like My Friend". Blackbird. Virginia Commonwealth University. 7 (1). Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (May 5, 2006). "Euronymous". AGNI. Boston: Boston University. Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Wyn Cooper". Ploughshares. Boston: Emerson College. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Pasadena's Cliff's Books closes up shop". Los Angeles Times. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (2012). "Words and Music: Three Stories". poets.org. Academy of American Poets. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Wyn Cooper: A Serendipitous Career". Academy of American Poets. October 26, 2004. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Madeloni, Dave (June 26, 2008). "Between a rock and a bard place". Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  13. ↑ Kettmann, Steve. "Renaissance Man". Book. No. 27. Archived from the original on 8 April 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Forty Words For Fear". Sterling Sound. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Madison Smartt Bell & Wyn Cooper". Gaff Music. Archived from the original on 3 May 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Bell, Madison Smartt; Cooper, Wyn. "Forty Words for Fear". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  17. ↑ Kettmann, Steve (January 8, 2003). "Anything Goes". Indy Week. Archived from the original on 23 March 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2022 – via Madison Smartt Bell.
  18. ↑ Bell, Madison (March 1, 2003). "Live Show: Anything Goes* Benefit for Link: A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore, featuring Ruffian". Faculty Web Pages. Goucher College. Archived from the original on 30 March 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "Madison Smartt Bell". Faculty Web Page. Goucher College. Archived from the original on 2003-08-01. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Bell & Cooper". MySpace. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2022. Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos
  21. ↑ Bell & Cooper. "Postcards out of the Blue". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  22. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (1987). The Country of Here Below (1 ed.). Boise, Idaho: Ahsahta Press. ISBN 978-0-916272-34-0. OCLC 18272513. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  23. ↑ Cooper, Wyn (1987). "The Country of Here Below" (1 ed.). Boise, Idaho: Ahsahta Press. Retrieved 8 May 2022 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
  24. ↑ "Contributors". Ducts.org. Sundress Publications. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
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