“Ted Kooser is a major poetic voice for rural and small-town America and the first poet laureate chosen from the Great Plains,” Billington said. “His verse reaches beyond his native region to touch on universal theme in accessible ways.”
Kooser, who was born in Ames, Iowa, is the author of 10 collections of poetry, most recently Delights and Shadows (Copper Canyon, 2004). Other works include Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry (Copper Canyon, 2003), a joint work with his longtime friend Jim Harrison, which received the 2003 Award for Poetry from the Society of Midland Authors; and a collection of essays, Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps (University of Nebraska, 2002), which won several awards, including the Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003.
Posted August 13, 2004.