Spell of the Pelicans

James Cooper, my father, passed away before he could write this foreword. He had been terminally ill for the entirety of his published writing career, but wrote and created tirelessly. It was his wish for his poems and stories to survive him, to leave us with great, enduring beauty in the wake of such pain.

Though this book is not about him, strictly speaking, there is so much of him in it. The story draws inspiration from his experiences: as a clinical psychologist, son, father, husband, aquatic adventurer and lifeguard, seeker of ancient wisdom, and keen student of the human condition. But beyond his experiences, my father's qualities and the essence of who he was flows through his writing. He appears to me as a river, winding and playful, bubbling with a whimsical curiosity, a tributary feeding into a deep and patient lagoon that feeds into the ocean, a place to which he had great love and connection. From somewhere beneath the surface of what we know, secrets, insights, mysteries and truths drift elegantly to the surface, bringing forth hidden meaning and an inquisitive smile.

One of the last things my father said to me before he died was this: "Always remember, I am with you in so many ways." This book is one of those ways. May you know and appreciate him more through his stories and poems. For truly, in the simple joy of perfectly buttered popcorn, in the wonder of fireworks blooming overhead, as well as in life's most enduring, transcendent truths: Always remember, he is with us, in so many ways, now and forever.



Cameron Cooper
October 14, 2018