Cook
| Hugh Cook |
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| Biography | |
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Hugh Cook was born in the Hague, the Netherlands. His family emigrated to Canada in 1950 and settled in Burnaby, B.C. Cook did his undergraduate studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He then enrolled in a master’s program at Simon Fraser University, and graduated with an M.A. His first literary output consisted of poems published in Canadian literary journals such as Quarry, Canadian Poetry, The Canadian Forum, Folio, and The University of Windsor Review. In 1970 Cook accepted a position teaching English at Dordt College in Iowa. In 1976 he was accepted at the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa and graduated with an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing in 1978. His teachers at the Writers’ Workshop included Arturo Vivante, Frederick Busch, Mark Helprin, and Bharati Mukherjee. In 1982 Cook was offered a position to teach English at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, where he has taught Creative Writing, Canadian Literature, and American Literature. His first book, Cracked Wheat and Other Stories, appeared in 1985. Within a year and a half it went into a second printing. A number of the stories in Cracked Wheat first appeared in literary journals such as The Malahat Review, NeWest ReView, Wascana Review, Descant, Fiddlehead, and The Antgonish Review. Cook’s second book, a novel titled The Homecoming Man, appeared in 1989. Cook was awarded a major Ontario Arts Council grant to finish the book. The Homecoming Man has appeared in a Dutch translation under the title Een Man Komt Thuis (Mozaiek, 2007). In 1997 The Writers’ Guild awarded Cook the Leslie K. Tarr Award for outstanding contribution to the field of Christian writing. Cook’s third book, a book of linked stories titled Home In Alfalfa, appeared in 1998 to excellent reviews. It was awarded first prize in the Hamilton and Region Arts Council’s City of Hamilton Book Awards in the fiction category, and The Writers’ Guild named it co-winner of first prize in the fiction category for books published in 1998. Home In Alfalfa has been adapted for stage, and the play had its premiere as the mainstage production in November, 2007 in Redeemer University College’s 2007-2008 season. Theatre companies interested in staging the play should contact Hugh Cook at the email address below. He has also published several autobiographical essays. “Miss Morley’s Parrot” was published in Image. “An Overcoat of Clay” was published in Windhover and was awarded first prize by Write!Canada in 2003. In 2005 Cook took early retirement from full-time teaching in order to devote more time to his writing. In 2006 he was awarded another Ontario Arts Council grant to continue work on a novel he is currently writing. He and his wife Judy, a family and marriage therapist, reside in Hamilton, Ontario; they have three children, all married. For diversion, Cook does cryptic crossword puzzles, plays squash, and watches far too many Toronto Blue Jays’ baseball games.
Hugh Cook can be contacted at:
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| WORKS | |
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"An excellent collection of stories .. intense and unforgettable characters and Cook's terse, elegant style make Cracked Wheat one of the finest collections of the past years." Albert Manguel, The Globe and Mail
"The best stories find a poise among the demands of poetry, narrative and meaning ... It catches, as the best fiction does, the poetry of the real." David Helwig, The Toronto Star
"These stories display not only the painter's eye for the telling detail but also the poet's skill in rendering such detail vivid. . . .Such stories deserve wide reading among us." Henry Baron, The Banner
"These stories are as spare and as clean as a Dutch kitchen. They are concrete, visual, imagistic studies, infused with a sacramental understanding of art." Jill Baumgaertner, The Cresset
"These stories are excellent. Reserved, sensitive, they describe the fortunes of ordinary people in their extraordinary world." J.W. Schulte Nordholt, Trouw (Amsterdam) (trans.) |
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"Hugh Cook's first novel is a poignantly written tale of love, guilt and forgiveness. . . Like life, the book's resolution is a mixed blessing, a message Cook endows with a mature and winning wisdom." Cynthia Janzen, The Hamilton Spectator
"Readers of Hugh Cook's finely crafted stories in Cracked Wheat will not be disappointed by The Homecoming Man, a compelling and deeply moving novel." John Ferns, Reflections
"This is a masterful novel. . . .Readers will see that lying in the particular world Cook describes is the universal. . . .It is, in short, about all that is important." Jill Baumgaertner, Christian Century
"...a gentle and lucid exploration of the motions of grace in the lives of ordinary people. The writing is ... strong and clear, with a lyric edge. This novel is a sign of treasures to come." Mark Buchanan, Crux
"Cook skillfully develops the themes of pride that turns the heart to flint, of guilt that cripples communication, and of forgiveness that restores a broken life. The reader ... will gain a deeper understanding of the human need for grace." Henry Baron, The Banner |
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Oakville, ON: Mosaic Press, 1998. Home in Alfalfa has been named winner of the Hamilton and Region Arts Council’s City of Hamilton Book Awards for 1998 in the fiction category. The Writers’ Guild also named Home in Alfalfa co-winner of first prize in the fiction category for books published in 1998. The book has been adapted for stage, and the play had its premiere as the mainstage production in November, 2007 in Redeemer University College’s 2007-2008 season. |
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Here’s what the critics have said:
“You’d have to walk more than a country mile to find a book as quietly charming as Home In Alfalfa. Hugh Cook has imagined a southern Ontario farming community that seems so delightfully real you’ll find yourself looking for it on the map.” Jeanie MacFarlane, Hamilton Spectator
“The stories in Hugh Cook’s third book of fiction offer a funny, sharp, affectionate portrayal of Alfalfa, an imaginary Canadian town populated by decent folk. Humor, often sly but occasionally slap-your-knee funny à la Garrison Keillor, colors most of the twenty poignant stories.” William Fledderus, Christianity and Literature
“With grace, Cook brings out the poetic quality of everyday life, the ambiguity of the real, and the dream of the ideal...For readers who don’t mind laughing at themselves and who wish to see the luminous in the ordinary, Home In Alfalfa is an excellent read.” John Van Rys, Pro Rege
“Cook has done for Alfalfa what Stephen Leacock did for Mariposa and Garrison Keillor has done for Lake Wobegon. The characters are wonderfully human, wonderfully flawed—like us...In Alfalfa Hugh Cook has created a present-day Eden, a little piece of Paradise where the town’s people find healing, redemption, and rest.” Diane Klein, Christian Courier
“These stories leave the reader howling with laughter on one page and dabbing tears on the next...Forging extraordinary Grace from ordinary life is Cook’s specialty on Alfalfa’s menu.” James C. Dekker, Christian Week
Throughout the book you might shake your head ruefully or bust a gut laughing or sometimes you will cry and keep wiping away tears because you want to keep reading. Just because it’s true. It doesn’t cheat; it stays honest. How novel. Margaret D. Smith, amazon.com |
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Any of Hugh Cook's books can be ordered from: Mosaic Press, 1252 Speers Road, Units #1 & 2, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, L6L 5N9. Prices are as follows: CRACKED WHEAT AND OTHER STORIES THE HOMECOMING MAN HOME IN ALFALFA Please add $3.00 for shipping and handling. |
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| Writing Services | |
I'm a writer who also does freelance editing, so I understand the writing process from the inside. I’ve taught university-level Creative Writing for thirty-five years. My students have won national writing awards, have been accepted into prestigious writing programs in the U.S. and Canada, and have themselves gone on to become writers and editors. I’m frequently asked to offer workshops on various aspects of fiction writing at writers’ conferences. I’ve worked with young writers and older writers, beginning writers and experienced writers, fiction writers and non-fiction writers. Since my own writing consists of literary fiction, that also happens to be my primary area of interest, rather than genre fiction such as fantasy, romance, thrillers, or science fiction. I recognize, however, that the boundaries between literary fiction and genre fiction are not always fixed, and I’m open to working with any writer who wants his or her writing to be the best it can be, regardless of genre. I have also written and published poetry and personal essays, and work with writers on various forms of non-fiction such as poetry, autobiography, memoir, and the personal essay. I value an informal, personal working relationship with writers. You’ll find me congenial and encouraging in my approach, honest and forthright in my evaluation of your work, and sensitive in my critique. I enjoy helping writers develop their gifts. I have a passion for good writing, in whatever form.
MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUING SERVICE If you’re interested in working with me, contact me by email (jhcook@quickclic.net) or you can reach me by phone (905-388-1668). We can discuss the nature of your writing project and what it is you’d like me to do. If you’d like me to work on a longer writing project you can send me a sample of your writing, let’s say 10 to 15 pages, which will give me an indication of the nature and level of your writing and how extensive an editing it will require. If it’s a short story you’d like me to work on, just send the whole story. This initial contact will enable me to give you a rough estimate of the amount of time that will be required to edit/critique your work. And I will give you an indication of the turnaround time you can expect. If you feel confident that I can help you after our initial contact by email even before you send me a writing sample and you feel we seem to make a good fit, you can send me your manuscript as an email attachment if it’s a short piece, or by mail or courier if it’s a full-length manuscript. After I receive your manuscript I first read a good bit of it to get a sense of what it’s trying to do, and I make notes towards a written critique. Then I go through the manuscript again line by line and suggest whatever editing changes I feel would strengthen the project. I can make these editing suggestions either electronically if it’s shorter work or handwritten on the hard copy if it’s a longer manuscript. For that reason it’s important that you follow the standard procedure of double spacing your manuscript. After I’ve done the line by line editing I will prepare a written critique summarizing the work’s strengths, identifying areas that need strengthening, and suggesting where the work might go from here. This critique focuses on the craft aspect of the writing—in fiction, on plot, character, setting, dialogue, point of view, and so on. For a short story, you can expect a 2 - 3 page single-spaced critique; for a novel, 8 - 10 pages. After you’ve received my line by line editing and the written critique, we’ll have a follow-up conversation, either by phone or by email, and go over any aspect of the work you’d like to discuss.
RATES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE There is no charge for my reading of your initial writing sample. My fee, once I begin working with your manuscript, is $60 per hour. The amount of time I spend on a manuscript varies according to the level of the writing, and I will give you a rough estimate of the cost after I read your initial writing sample. If we decide to work together, one half of the estimated fee is due at this time. After you’ve received my written critique, the balance is due. Any additional costs such as photocopying, postage, or phone calls are also due at this time. The following will give you a rough estimate of the amount of time required for a manuscript: These are estimates only; writing projects may require more or less time depending on the quality of the writing, the writer’s stage of development, and the stage of the work itself. If you’re wondering whether spending what might appear to be a lot of money is necessary, remember that good writing takes a great deal of dedication and hard work. It takes time to learn the craft. Receiving helpful and insightful critique may save you a good bit of time. |
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ENDORSEMENTS Here are some responses from people I have worked with: Hugh Cook's teaching on the craft and his editorial work on my early manuscripts have shaped my writing in positive ways. His support and encouragement were crucial in giving me the courage to pursue a writing vocation. Alison Gresik, Hugh’s profound love of words and a knowledge and appreciation of the effect they can have when properly rendered results in the beauty of our language when Hugh is involved. His many years of writing, editing, and critiquing experience ensure that your manuscript is in practised hands—Hugh's questions are insightful and probing, his suggestions constructive and supportive, and his technical skills are exceptional. Through Hugh's expert guidance not only have I improved my writing but I am now able to live out in a professional capacity what invaluable things I've learned from him. Stephanie VanderMeulen Thank you for the outstanding critique of my novel. I was pleased with your detailed summary and with the abundant line-editing throughout the manuscript. This is a first novel. I was heartened by your hopeful, can-do tone. You didn’t shrink from mentioning hard truths. At the same time, you provided a roadmap for the task ahead. I would recommend you to fiction writers of all stripes. Harry Kelley Hugh Cook's editorial advice has been invaluable to me as a beginning writer. In editing my work he has gone beyond merely correcting grammar and spelling and has helped me strengthen my overall writing style. His critiques are honest and forthright and therefore extremely helpful for writers who are looking for someone to help them hone their craft. Samuel Martin Hugh Cook has instilled in me a sensitive way of appreciating my own and other people’s work. He believes in his students and strives to encourage them in their writing. I appreciated his guidance, feedback and support when I was attempting to find my own voice. He encouraged me to emulate other writers and to read. I remembered Hugh Cook saying, “Write everyday, write because you love it!" He’s very passionate about fine writing. Amy De Raaf I have taken two Creative Writing courses taught by Hugh Cook. In his critique of my written work, he has always offered accurate, constructive and sensitive insights. His thoughtful input has allowed me to develop my writing skills and, by his encouragement, I have gained the confidence to explore different genres of writing. Hugh Cook has been a positive influence and example to me over the years and I have appreciated the instruction and guidance he has given. Joyce Alblas Hugh Cook is thorough. He is a wonderful audience: attentive to detail, with an agile brain, and an encompassing scope. Cook approached each piece of writing I submitted with such care and wonder; I was overwhelmed by his involvement in my writing, the way he got right inside it and knew it. Hugh Cook is passionate about writing; he believes in writing. Working with him will improve your writing. Nathan Stretch
I've worked with Hugh Cook for about two years now. Being new to writing, I have been privileged enough to be taken under his wing. He has carefully guided me in the right directions, and has spent endless hours correcting my work and enriching it with his experience and vast knowledge of his trade. It isn't just the incredible quality of the work that he does which makes me confident in recommending him to others, it's the time he's willing to spend to help writers grow in their craft. I would highly recommend Hugh Cook's skills to any writer of any skill level. I know that for me, he's turned me from a bumbling beginner to confident writer. Rachel Baisi |
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