John Barrie Pook
2nd February 1942 – 7th June 2021
John Barrie Pook was born in Neath on February 2nd, 1942 and died in Grasse on June 7th, 2021. He grew up in Gowerton, Swansea, South Wales and attended Gowerton Boys Grammar School.
He gained his Masters degree in English at Queens' College, (1964), and in Linguistics at Bangor University in North Wales.
John taught at a number of places in the UK and at the University of Yaoundé in West Africa. He returned to the UK and taught at Cartrefle Teacher Training College in Wrexham, where we met. He taught at Brynhyfryd School in Ruthin, before moving to France to teach at the Anglo American School in Mougins in Alpes-Maritimes.
John then obtained a post at Amadeus, the airline reservation Company. He worked there for many years as a writer and editor until he retired ten years ago.
In 1971, John won the Eric Gregory Award for Poetry. He contributed to many poetry magazines and anthologies, and published two collections of his verse - That Cornish Facing Door (1975) and Needing the Experience (2008).
John and I were married in Ruthin and have a son, David Martin Pook. David has four children, Maeva, Matis, Nathan and Nina who all live in France.
Rachel B. Pook
18th June 2021
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