Biography
Michael Cooper was born in 1952 in New York City to an artist father and a poet mother. Emerging onto the Avant-Garde art scene of the late 1960's and 70's, Michael was a student of John Cage, and was active in the Fluxus group of experimental artists. He served as personal assistant to Geoff Hendricks, artist, Dick Higgins, writer and publisher of the Something Else Press, and the poet Jackson Mac Low. He was known especially of his “Spoon Dance”, performed at the kitchen and filmed by Nam June Paik, the video artist. Michael also served as an assistant to the director and as poetry coordinator for the Annual New York Avant-Garde Festivals. Cooper was co-editor of EAR Magazine (experimental music and literary journal) and The Poetry Mailing List. He co-directed the New York Reading Series, which hosted such writers as John Cage, John Asbery, and where Cooper read with Gerard Malanga , He was a frequent reader at The Poetry Project at St. Marks Church-In-The- Bouwerie. His work was published in EAR, Telephone, Poetry Mailing List and other literary journals, Also, in three anthologies; Assemblings, Bear Poems, and Text-Sound Texts. Cooper is the author of the collection “Fresh Window”, edited by Gerard Malanga and Ron Padgett, awaiting publication, as well as the very, very long “Poem about the Paint that is Peeling.”, for which he had become well-known for in New York City. Pursuing a vocation as a mystic, he is an ordained Episcopal (Anglican) priest, now retired. Michael is also a cellist, performing with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra (in Pennsylvania) for almost twenty years. He was founder and director of the School of Contemplative Prayer St. James Church in Muncy, PA, until his retirement in 2001. Cooper has amassed a voluminous body of poetry, currently being edited his literary assistant, Demien Furrian, and awaiting publication. In recent years he had written a cycle of poems of the Seven Last Words from the Cross which were performed with The Fitzwilliam String Quartet in St. James Church. Michael had attended the H.S of Music and Art in New York City, NY University (studying poetry, ancient near eastern studies, and French literature. Hunter College in NYC, double major in English and classical studies. BA,magna cum laude. Also Union Theological Seminary (NYC, Master of Divinity, biblical and apocryphal literature). He resides in Hughesville, PA.
Samples
RIPENESS Your balls, like plums, fill the mouth of my mind.
All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.
Blog entries by michael cooper
Parousia (26/02/2016)
Eleison (26/02/2016)
Doxa (26/02/2016)
Dry Ankles (26/02/2016)
Dormition (26/02/2016)
Lethe (26/02/2016)
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