Here We Were Happy
Winner of the Homebound Poetry Prize by Wayfarer Books
Cooper Young’s poems possess a captivating simplicity that hints at the profound depth of the human relationships they reveal.
Najwan Darwish, author of No One Will Know You Tomorrow
Young dares simplicity. To read these poems is to enter a walled garden… They travel light, they leave us lighter and clearer.
James Richardson, author of By the Numbers
Inspired by generations of wandering poets, Cooper Young’s debut book lets the environment kindle and direct his work. The travel-rooted collection follows the poet’s journeys across Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Hawaii, and California, where Young explores the poetry of place: stories overheard, meals shared with strangers, and landscapes admired. These poems celebrate the beauty and wisdom of the natural world and the human experiences intertwined within it.
