• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Friday Poem

The Friday Poem

A poem every Friday

  • About
    • Masthead
    • Contributors
  • Archive
    • Search the archive
    • Friday Poems
    • Reviews
    • Features
  • Subscribe

Contributor page

Bruno Cooke

is The Friday Poem’s Spoken Word Poetry Editor. He recently launched a Substack publication called My Special Interest, and has written one novel (Reveries, available from You Know Where), four plays and two feature screenplays. Besides writing about poetry for The Friday Poem, Bruno writes poetry of his own and runs On Our Bicycles, a repository of bicycle touring guides. He has lived in China, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and cycled in 50+ countries. In April2023, Bruno set off round the world; receive updates via his personal blog.

    A fancy proscenium arch on a stage in gold and red. Underneath on the stage are a man and a woman in Arabic dress.

    Poetry for the people

    Bruno Cooke investigates Million's Poet, a reality television show in the UAE
    A pink square-shaped speech bubble on a dark blue background.

    The hairier I am, the sexier I feel

    Bruno Cooke ranks the five poems shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed 2024
    Close up black and white photograph of a woman's face. She is looking down.

    Reminiscing and joking and putting the world to rights

    Bruno Cooke talks to Georgie Jones, the poet who found success via Instagram and TikTok
    A photograph of a bearded man with wild greying hair. The words 'LIFE'S ALWAYS BEEN A BATTLE BETWEEN DEAD POETS AND LIVING' are superimposed in white text.

    Making sense of an often-meaningless world

    Bruno Cooke talks to Darby Hudson, the bearded Australian poet in the cuddly jumper
    A photograph of Taylor Swift taking a vinyl disc from its sleeve. the album is hers, the cover shows the normal rock'n'roll stuff, you know, woman in underwear lying on a bed etc.

    Lunar valleys in my mind

    Is Taylor Swift a 'tortured poet'? Bruno Cooke listens to her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, to find out
    Collage made up of pictures from the instagram feed of the poets mentioned in the article. There are images of the poets looking direct to camera and also some words such as 'compassion must prevail'. Also a cat sitting on a table.

    Poetry on social media: riding the wave

    Bruno Cooke looks at three poets who successfully integrate social media into their poetic method
    A young man with a small beard is reading poetry into a microphone, reading from a mobile phone and waving a clenched fist.

    The air is full of love

    Bruno Cooke checks out a Lyrical Lunacy poetry open mic night in Bangkok
    Graphic with a green background showing a repeating motif of drawn black and white bicycles. It would make excellent wallpaper for a keen cyclist.

    The Joy of Cycling

    Our Spoken Word Editor Bruno Cooke is off round the world on two wheels. He considers the joy of cycling, in poetry.
    Photo of Vanessa Kisuule standing in front of a green and purple wall. She is looking to her right and smiling.

    punk ballet. Act 1. / there is more to come

    Bruno Cooke profiles Bristol-based poet, writer, performer, and slam champion, Vanessa Kisuule


    Photograph of Vanessa Kisuule by Jon Aitken
    A collage showing many images — a clenched fist, a skull and crossbones, a pair of handcuffs, a tortoise? and others, you get the idea. There is also scrawled text, such as 'Use your voice' and 'Stop the attacks'

    Strength in symbols – and silence

    Bruno Cooke meets Santo Niña, the Filipino poet, journalist and activist who uses poetry and social media to give voice to the voiceless
    A woman holding a microphone. She is on stage with some funky purple and blue lighting.

    This is for the poets

    Bruno Cooke says the new Forward Prize category for Best Single Poem – Performed shows that the literary establishment is finally starting to take an interest in Spoken Word Poetry
    Portion of a book cover showing an abstract image (I know , another one, but this one is quite good). The background is horizontal thick blue and red wavy lines. On top of this are some flat yellow graphics representing wooden signposts.

    Haunted, haunting, cursed and cursing

    Bruno Cooke reviews Farewell Tour by Stefan Mohamed (Verve, 2022)
    Photograph of what looks like a goalpost at dusk. Its hard to tell though, it could be a large staple superimposed on a landscape background.

    A good flow is like a fossil / it preserves the time

    Bruno Cooke reviews The Lost Chronicle by Polarbear (Bloomsbury, 2022) 
    A red background has a repeating pattern on it, the pattern comprises two open hands with stigmata, a syringe with a needle and some figs, halved and whole.

    The wasp in the fig’s tissue, sharp as a slice of paper

    Bruno Cooke reviews Stephen the Phlebotomist by Nadia Lines (Nine Pens, 2022)
    The word Orlam in black script on a parchment background. The "O" is enormous and is surrounded by small line drawings of birds and insects in red. White lines like trees are in the background, and a black line-drawn lamb hangs in the centre.

    Your death opens gates to the dark world

    Bruno Cooke reviews Orlam by PJ Harvey (Picador, 2022)
    Tom is dressed in, I dunno, cellophane maybe? the background is broadly pink and they have a hat that resembles a chicken carcasse

    Sky blue pink

    Bruno Cooke on the many faces of artist, poet and social worker Tom Stockley


    Photo by Will Thomas
    three book covers in a fan shape, one has blue and grey vertical stripes, one has a pattern of hexagonal cells a bit like a hive with a black and white bee on it, one is green with a painting of a mother and daughter

    Three pamphlets: Erica Gillingham, Stephen Payne and Khadija Rouf

    Rachael Matthews reviews The Human Body is a Hive by Erica Gillingham, Richie McCaffery reviews The Wax Argument by Steven Payne, and Bruno Cooke reviews House Work by Khadija Rouf
    What does Bruno Cooke say?

    What does Bruno Cooke say?

    While studying Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London I regularly performed on the spoken word circuit in London, competed in poetry slams ...
    Kind ofd abstract blocky design in blue and grey with a pause icon in a orange circle in the centre.

    Selected Ambient Works

    Bruno Cooke reviews You've got so many machines, Richard: an anthology of Aphex Twin poetry, edited by Rishi Dastidar and Aaron Kent (Broken Sleep, 2022)
    a black handprint on a white background with a yellow stripe down the left hand side

    Prizes prised from the perished

    Bruno Cooke reviews Please Do Not Touch by Casey Bailey (Burning Eye, 2021)
    Bad Betties written in black curly script on a white background there are some footprints and nude female silhouettes a candle and a broomstick.

    Do girls not have fangs?

    Bruno Cooke reviews The Book of Bad Betties (Bad Betty, 2021) edited by Vanessa Kisuule and Anja Konig
    The word C+nto in white text on a gold background, underneath is the text "& othered poems" in black. Both fonts are serif.

    Her fear is a dress she can no longer fit into

    Bruno Cooke reviews C+nto: & Othered Poems by Joelle Taylor (Saqi Books, 2021)
    Slug by Hollie McNish, orange text on a purple background

    Slug snog

    Bruno Cooke reviews Slug by Hollie McNish (Little, Brown, 2021)
    photo of Kae Tempest, short hair, black polo shirt

    ‘I did my one little verse and the place just went nuts’

    Bruno Cooke traces the development of Kae Tempest
    Close up of the two book covers, the Hit Points Anthologies, one red one green

    I don’t think Death has used a PlayStation before

    Bruno Cooke reviews Hit Points — an anthology of video game poetry, edited by Aaron Kent and Matthew Haigh (Broken Sleep, 2021)
    family photo of six people plus cat from the 1918 flu pandemic

    By golly, I’ve got it

    Bruno Cooke explores how the poetry of the 1918 Spanish flu compares with the poetry of the present Covid-19 pandemic
    photo of Joelle Taylor with very short blonde hair in a flowery shirt speaking into a mic

    You who found your dream but could not spell it

    Bruno Cooke meets Spoken Word poet Joelle Taylor and discusses activism, education and the power of poetry
    Share on X (Twitter) Share on Facebook Share on Email
    31/01/2022

    Read this next

    Khadija Rouf

    Khadija Rouf

    This page shows the features and reviews that Khadija Rouf has contributed to The Friday Poem.

    Site Footer

    If you like what you see and want to help us continue in our quest to brighten the online poetry landscape, you can donate a few quid to The Friday Poem.
    Oh look – here’s a button that will take you straight to our donation page on Ko-Fi !

    .

    • About us
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Mentions Légales

    Copyright © 2025 · The Friday Poem · All Rights Reserved · follow the Friday Poem on Twitter · follow the Friday Poem on Facebook · ISSN  2968-7675 follow the Friday Poem follow the Friday Poem on

    Websites need cookies, it's quite the thing nowadays. We use as few as possible. Okay