Synopsis
Two days of an icy prairie fog and every blade of grass, and twig, and branch, and every stretch of wire, barb, post and staple, is a knot or a thread in a lace of the purest white. To walk is like finding your way through a wedding dress, the sky inside it cold and satiny; no past, no future, just the now all breathless. Then a red bird, like a pinprick, changes everything. Book jacket., "Kooser . . . must be the most accessible and enjoyable major poet in America. His lines are so clear and simple." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post "Nothing escapes him; everything is illuminated." --Library Journal "Will one day rank alongside of Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost, and William Carlos Williams." --Minneapolis Tribune "Kooser's ability to discover the smallest detail and render it remarkable is a rare gift." --The Bloomsbury Review Four decades of poetry--and a generous selection of new work--make up this extraordinary collection by Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser. Firmly rooted in the landscapes of the Midwest, Kooser's poetry succeeds in finding the emotional resonances within the ordinary. Kooser's language of quiet intensity trains itself on the intricacies of human relationships, as well as the animals and objects that make up our days. As Poetry magazine said of his work, "Kooser documents the dignities, habits, and small griefs of daily life, our hunger for connection, our struggle to find balance." From "March 2": Patchy clouds and windy. All morning our house has been flashing in and out of shade like a signal, and far across the waves of grass a neighbor's house has answered, offering help. Ted Kooser is the author of eleven collections of poetry, including Delights & Shadows, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He served as the Poet Laureate of the United States, and is a visiting professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln., "Kooser . . . must be the most accessible and enjoyable major poet in America. His lines are so clear and simple." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post "Nothing escapes him; everything is illuminated." -- Library Journal "Will one day rank alongside of Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost, and William Carlos Williams." -- Minneapolis Tribune "Kooser's ability to discover the smallest detail and render it remarkable is a rare gift." -- The Bloomsbury Review Four decades of poetry--and a generous selection of new work--make up this extraordinary collection by Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser. Firmly rooted in the landscapes of the Midwest, Kooser's poetry succeeds in finding the emotional resonances within the ordinary. Kooser's language of quiet intensity trains itself on the intricacies of human relationships, as well as the animals and objects that make up our days. As Poetry magazine said of his work, "Kooser documents the dignities, habits, and small griefs of daily life, our hunger for connection, our struggle to find balance." From "March 2" Patchy clouds and windy. All morning our house has been flashing in and out of shade like a signal, and far across the waves of grass a neighbor's house has answered, offering help. Ted Kooser is the author of eleven collections of poetry, including Delights & Shadows , which won the Pulitzer Prize. He served as the Poet Laureate of the United States, and is a visiting professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln., This selection from five decades of Kooser's work illustrates his intense and intimate vision of everyday American life.