U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser to speak at RUSA's “Literary Tastes Breakfast”

Contact: Eileen Hardy


Marketing Specialist


312-280-4398


ehardy@ala.org
For Immediate Release


March 3, 2005

U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser to speak at RUSA's “Literary Tastes Breakfast”

CHICAGO - The new Poet Laureate of the United States, Ted Kooser, will be one of five featured authors at the annual “Literary Tastes Breakfast” during the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Chicago. He is the author of “Delights and Shadows” and a Visiting Professor/English, University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

The Notable Books Council in the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA, is sponsoring the literary breakfast to be held from 7 to 10 a.m., June 26, 2005.

The other featured authors are Mark Kurlansky, foreign correspondent, recipient of numerous books awards, author of "1968: The Year that Rocked the World"; Nathaniel Philbrick, the acclaimed author of “Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery: The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842” and the director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies on Nantucket Island; noted poet and Langston Hughes Medal winner Nikki Giovanni, “The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998.” The authors have been selected from the 2005 Notable Book Council's “List for America's Readers,” an annual list of 25 outstanding fiction, nonfiction and poetry books for the adult reader. The Notable Books Council has been selecting the best books for adults since 1944. For information on the current list of Notable Books visit
http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/rusanotable/thelists/notablebooks.htm.

The writers will read from their work or talk about an aspect of the writing process while attendees enjoy breakfast. They will be available to sign books and for one-on-one discussions after the breakfast. Tickets for this event can be purchased in advance when registering for ALA Annual Conference (
http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/annual/2005a/registration.htm), or to add it to an existing registration, call ALA member and customer service at 1-800-545-2433, press option #5 and add event #RU5 to your existing registration.