HAWKESBURY UPTON pensioner Ronald Cook had always known he had a published poet for a relative. But when Mr Cook while going through his father's belongings following his death he found a book of Eliza Cook's poems. This discovery ignited an interest which has become a passion for the poetry of his great-great-great-aunt. Gazette feature writer KIRSTY RAMSDEN met Mr Cook and found out more about his much-admired ancestor.
IN her day, Ronald Cook proudly explains about his great-great-great-aunt Eliza, her poetry was compared to the likes of Burns and Shelley.
In fact Eliza Cook's work is still studied in institutions such as Toronto University's department of English and her words can be found in books of quotations.
After inheriting a family copy of one of her poetry books, Mr Cook grew more interested in his great-great-great-aunt.
More recently he has begun to delve deeply into the history surrounding his relative and her works.
He has obtained original copies of her works including a prized first edition which was given to Miss Cook by her uncle.
Mr Cook, 75, has also obtained information from his 19th century aunt by using such modern methods as the internet.
But for him it is a labour of love.
He said: "I enjoy her poetry. It is wonderful stuff. She wrote different types of work, including political works.
"I find her works to be as true today as they were in the days when she wrote them."
Her poems include Don't Tell the World that You're Waiting for Me, The Old Armchair and Song of the Worm.
As well as poetry, Miss Cook contributed to magazines and wrote a journal.
She was born in London in 1819 and was one of 11 brothers and sisters.
Mr Cook's describes his great-great-great-aunt's family as "ordinary" and Miss Cook was largely self-educated.
She began writing verse at an early age and her first volume was published when she was 17.
Mr Cook said: "She had done most of her works by the age of 15."
Encouraged by her early success, she began contributing to periodicals including the Weekly Dispatch, in which one her most popular poems, The Old Armchair, first appeared in 1837.
She edited Eliza Cook's Journal from 1849 but her failing health caused its demise in 1854.
Her complete poetical works were published in 1870. She died in 1889.
Mr Cook said his relative was very well known in her day and she travelled extensively. He said: "She was a very modern woman for her time."
Literary leanings continued through the Cook family and Mr Cook's policeman father, Lawrence, was the author of crime stories.
The poems of Eliza Cook have become well-known in Hawkesbury Upton now thanks to her great-great-great-nephew.
When Mr Cook moved to Hawkesbury Upton from London less than two years ago, he put a letter into the parish newsletter thanking villagers for the warm welcome they had given him and his wife.
With the letter he submitted one of Miss Cook's poems, Thanksgiving, which was printed. The poem received a positive response, with several readers saying how much they liked Miss Cook's works.
From then on Cook's Corner, featuring one of Eliza Cook's poems, has been a regular in the magazine.
Mr Cook added that living in Hawkesbury Upton had made her works more relevant to him. He said: "I'd lived in the city for more than 70 years. I came here and began to see nature and the countryside so differently.
"Her words mean even more to me now."
Pictured: Ronald Cook with Eliza Cook's poems GKH395V02
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