User:Chuxter007/Edmund Vance Cooke

Edmund Vance Cooke (1866–1932) was a Canadian writer and poet. At age 13, he begun his first job at a factory in Cleveland, Ohio called the White Sewing Machine Company. He stayed at that job for almost fourteen years until 1893, when he became a self-employed poet, writer, and public speaker. His first book of poems, A Patch of Pansies, came out the next year. Four years later, he married Lilith Castleberry and they had five children. He published at least sixteen books of poetry and numerous children's books, but he is best known for his poem "How Did You Die?"

In 1920, the Detroit news launched its radio station, WWJ. Cooke was immediately offered a chance to broadcast his poems live over the radio to thousands of listeners. With this, he paved the path for future poet, Edgar Guest, who was responsible for producing nationwide popularity of poetry hours on the radio in the 1930's. It would be Cooke's last contribution to this world; he died in Cleveland, Ohio on December 18th, 1932.