In Focus

Sue Cook has lived in the Adelaide Hills for over forty years, surrounded by gum trees, the occasional koala and raucous lorikeets and cockatoos. Married with two children and five grandchildren, she finds that one way of reaching out to family and friends is through poetry. She has been writing poetry for most of her life and was first published in Up from Below (1987). In her former career as a senior English teacher, she edited Spring Poetry Festival for the South Australian English Teachers Association from 1997 to 2002 and has a firm belief in the power of poetry to unleash students' creativity. Her subjects range from family to caravanning to sunflowers, and a more philosophical slant on outside events such as war and the demise of clowns. This collection is divided into four sections that reflect Sue's variety of interests.