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About
Jack Cooper is a poet and science communicator with six years' experience in biomedical research.
His poems have been discussed on BBC Radio 4, commissioned by the Science Museum, translated into Czech and Romanian, taught in British schools, and performed at the V&A.
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He is the first poet-in-residence of Greenwich Park (with Friends of Greenwich Park).
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He won the Society of Authors' Eric Gregory Award for 'Break the Nose of Every Beautiful Thing', which can be ordered from Doomsday Press and the Poetry Book Society.
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Jack is keen to use poetry and prose for science communication. The Poetry Society's educational resource 'We Are Cellular' uses his poetry to explore cell biology and metaphor.
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Jack has developed and delivered workshops and other poetic projects for the Science Museum, Imperial College London, BBC, V&A, Czech Centre London, and Oxford City Council, amongst others.
He is always open for creative collaborations, having previously worked with classical musicians, graphic designers, and other poets.
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Jack lives in London.
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Photo credit: Olivia Da Costa
Break the Nose
of Every Beautiful Thing
Curiosity drives Jack Cooper’s debut pamphlet. Drawing from his experience in biomedical research, Cooper finds severe beauty at a cellular level. A maggot is ‘a white wave without water’; mould in a student flat is ‘a firework display exploding in slow motion’. The joy of discovery is a common thread that ties queer desire and dissection to Gilgamesh and genetically-engineered squids. Just as an egg becomes a fly and a boy becomes a man, we witness a metamorphosis of the scientific to the abstract. In these poems, a body is never finished.
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Break the Nose of Every Beautiful Thing won an Eric Gregory Award in 2022.
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Available now from Doomsday Press
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"The words are elegant and precise; Break the Nose of Every Beautiful Thing is as joyful in its imagery as it is thought-provoking in its abstractions. Cooper takes us on a voyage of life and love, leaving us contemplating our own journeys of self-discovery."
- Dr Helen Sharman, Britain's first astronaut
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"Poetry and Science meet in the practice of close observation... Cooper treats us to thrilling poetry describing scientific subjects and procedures, and then turns his sharp eye and enchanting language to romantic, sexual, and familial relationships. Love, art, life: there is much waiting to be discovered in this illuminating work"
- The Poetry Book Society Bulletin
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"The precision and perseverance of Cooper's descriptive eye are as particular as a microscope and further enriched with charges of emotion that strike at unexpected moments. The author's dissecting glare creates a condition of uncertainty; with each poem acting as a linguistic autopsy."
- Lily McDermott for The Poetry Review
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"These are poems of learning, about both the self and the world around us, aglow with the bioluminescence of curiosity. Cooper's words have 'bloomed sleek and excessive / as an orchid's corolla'' on the page and in my mind, a heady scent that will tint the way I look at even the most everyday things - from Blu Tack to hoverflies - for a long time to come."
- Ellora Sutton, author of Antonyms for Burial
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"It can be said that the power of poetry can be in its clashing of two unlike things and finding ways to connect the likenesses between them. In the case of Jack Cooper's Break the Nose of Every Beautiful Thing, this idea of poetry is constantly put to the test."
- Roger Robinson, author of A Portable Paradise
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Selected Poems
Publications
Break the Nose of Every Beautiful Thing (Doomsday Press)
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Jack's individual poems have been featured by the following platforms, magazines, and anthologies.
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Platforms:
BBC Radio 4 (The Language Exchange), BBC Hereford & Worcester,
BBC CWR, Young Poets Network, Hour of Writes, Poetry Pea podcast,
Science Museum Group Research Repository
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Magazines:
Magma, Ambit, Poetry News, Southword, revue Prostor, fourteen poems, Propel, Popshot, Under the Radar, Acumen, Poetry Birmingham, Stand, Tomis, The Alchemy Spoon, Interpreter's House, The Adriatic, The Oxford Magazine, Queer Grief Zine, Bright Brains, Right Hand Pointing, Salon of the Refused, Chatterbox, Unhomely, Hugh’s News, Poetry Kit, Fragmented Voices, HCE Magazine, époque press e-zine, bluebee magazine, Seen Zine #2, The ISIS, ASH, Cobalt, Kamena, Phenotype, The Swan, Cherwell, The Oxford Student, Seven Voices, notes, Blueprint zine, Two Play zine, Pharos, Are You Lost Yet
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Anthologies:
HE SHE THEY US: Queer Poems, Re·creation, Hippocrates Awards 2021 Anthology, Doth Drip Make the Man, Ode to Code: Bletchley Park, Places of Poetry: Mapping the Nation in Verse, The Verve Anthology of Diversity Poems, Spirit of Fire and Dust, Alternative Truths, Life Plus 2 Metres, Forward Poetry: Mind Matters 2, Forward Poetry: Darkness Falls, Marsden the Poetry Village Anthology 2019, Human Rights: Poems from the Positive Images Peace Festival Poetry Competition 2019, Geopoetry 2020, ECHT anthology
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Competitions
Winner, Eric Gregory Award 2022
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Shortlisted, Bridport Poetry Prize 2023
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Finalist, SFPA Rhysling Award 2024
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Winner, The Poetry Society Members' Poems competition (Spring 2024)
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Finalist, Gregory O'Donoghue Competition 2023
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Official Selection, Ó Bhéal Poetry Film Competition 2022
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Longlisted, National Poetry Competition 2017
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Inaugural winner, Middleton-Miller Award for most Promising Young Writer.
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1st Place, Shout Out for the Covered Market competition (18-24 category).
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1st Place, Young Poets Network White Space Challenge.
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Joint 2nd Place, Hippocrates Prize 2021 Open Category.
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2nd Place, Young Poets Network 10th Anniversary Challenge.
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3rd Place, Pre-Raphaelite Society Competition 2020/21.
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3rd Place, streetcake experimental poetry prize 2020 (18-23 category).
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Commended, Verve Poetry Festival Competition 2019.
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Projects
Proud to have worked with
Projects
London Arts-Based Research Centre
Keynote lecture
Jack gave an hour long keynote talk at the 'Science and Sensibility' conference, which explored the intersections between science and the arts. His talk was titled 'Curiosity is a dividing cell: The reciprocal use of poetry and science in public engagement'
Science communications
The Zero Pressure podcast is a relaxing conversation with those on the cutting edge of science and technology, hosted by Dr Helen Sharman, Britain's first astronaut.
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Jack was Imperial College London's lead on the podcast for seasons one and two, and season three pre-production:
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Proposing episode topics and guests
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Co-writing scripts (lead or support depending on topic)
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Live events founder and lead
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Promotion co-lead
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Booking guests co-lead
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Studio recording lead
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Episodes and events that Jack had creative control over include:​
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Turning the Tide - Seabeds and the Future of Security (Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
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Endurance: How Can We Protect the Polar Regions? (Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
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20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Revealing Earth's Final Frontier - live at the Great Exhibition Road Festival (YouTube)
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Protecting our poles: The fight to preserve Antarctica and the Arctic - live at the Great Exhibition Road Festival (YouTube)
Other projects include:
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Uni-verses Space Poetry Workshops
Jack conceptualised and organised 12 hours of poetry workshops for the Great Exhibition Road Festival, creating all resources and delivering them alongside volunteer scientists and poets.
In total, around 700 poems were written by attendees.
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Jack wrote two poems that engaged with the life and work of
Czech poet and immunologist Miroslav Holub, culminating in four performances at the Science Museum Late and a preceding panel talk. Jack accompanied his and Miroslav's poems with
explanations of their scientific context.
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ScienceWrite
The ScienceWrite programme, supported by The Royal Society, aims to help early-stage science writers from minoritised backgrounds advance their professional development. Jack is a member of the 2024 cohort.
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Print - Selected Articles:
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Educational resource produced for the Poetry Society
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Science Museum Group, Research & Public History Annual Review
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Making space for poetry in science engagement
SWIPE SciComm​
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The festival merging science and art - and liberating them both
Jack was interviewed for this I, Science article
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Nuclear solutions to a nucleic problem
Bang!
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Colour perception: Do you see the same shade of red as I do?
Bang!
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Bang! talks to... Dr Gavin Schmidt
Bang!
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Bright Brains, the British Neuroscience Association newsletter
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Print - Editorial:
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Phenotype (Editor-in-Chief)
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Phenotype (Editor-in-Chief)
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Bang! (Editor-in-Chief)
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Upcoming
Now​
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Two of Jack's poems feature in the Macmillan poetry anthology 'HE, SHE, THEY, US', available to purchase here.​​
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Jack's poem Deadweight is a finalist for the SFPA's Rhysling Award. Winners to be announced in due course.
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Four of Jack's poems were translated into Romanian by Iustin Butnariuc for Tomis magazine, available to read online now.
Reading group
Oct 12th, Dec 14th, Feb 8th, April 12th
Greenwich Park Learning Centre, 12-1pm
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As poet-in-residence of Greenwich Park, Jack will lead a reading group where attendees will read and discuss poems written about the park in a friendly, no-pressure environment.
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Free to attend, but RSVP via this website's Contact form.
Science Museum Group poetry competition
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Jack is on the judging panel for the Science Museum Group's National Poetry Day competition: everyone is welcome to submit a poem inspired by the objects in their collection!
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Find your object muse by using online tools. Dive in with the Random Object Generator or let the Never Been Seen tool select an object from the Science Museum Group's archives.
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Writing workshops
Nov 9th, Jan 11th, March 8th, May 10th​
Greenwich Park Learning Centre, 12-1pm
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As poet-in-residence of Greenwich Park, Jack will lead workshops that inspire attendees to write their own poems inspired by the past, present, and future of the park.
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Free to attend, but RSVP via this website's Contact form.
Contact
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Jack is particularly interested in hearing from other artists who want to collaborate.