Born in London, England, Michael Cook began writing plays during the 50s while serving in the British army in Europe and the Far East. He studied teaching and drama at Nottingham University in the early 60s and emigrated to St. John’s, Newfoundland in 1965 where he began directing plays and teaching at Memorial University. He wrote over fifty plays, many of them exploring Newfoundland’s history and culture—the most notable of which, Jacob’s Wake, was published in 1975. The following year, after moving to the remote outport of Random Island, Cook wrote the dramas collected in Tiln & Other Plays (1976). In the 1980s Cook divided his time between Newfoundland and Stratford, Ontario, where he was playwright-in-residence in 1987. Michael Cook moved back to St. John’s shortly before his death at the age of 61.