The following essay was written for an online class. I thought I would share it with you all, so if you have never read about this man, perhaps this will encourage you to do so.
Ted Kooser, An Extraordinary Poet
One of my favorite poets
is Ted Kooser. He began writing in the
early 1960’s and served as the US Poet Laureate from 2004-2006, winning a
Pulitzer in 2005. He was born and raised
in the Midwest and worked an average job while creating above average
poetry. He used the simple things in
life and wrote them into captivating poetry.
The first thing that
captivates and reflects deeply in his poetry is Ted Kooser’s background. He grew up in a rural area, and still lives
in small-town USA. I grew up in a rural
area and attended high school in small-town USA. Even though I am currently living in the
suburbs of a larger metro area, I desire to someday return to my roots, or at
the very least live in an area similar to the rural life where I grew up.
Mr. Kooser’s subject
matter also drew me in as soon as I read it.
He writes about simple things, rural life, nature, and the various
aspects therein. Some of his thoughts
are exactly the same thoughts I have had, but never thought to put them down in
poetic form. For example, in a
collection of poems he wrote through the winter, one in particular hit me. It is titled “February 10 Cloudy, cool and
very still.” He talks about how his dog
barks at “nothing.” Then one night:
“I woke at three o’clock,
and nothing
Was standing there,
silently watching me,
Holding its breath at the
foot of the bed.”
I was
dumbfounded. My dog also barks at “nothing”
and I berate her often for protecting us from the vicious floating leaf or
dangerous baby carriage on the opposite side of the street. I have also woken up with the sense that
something is standing at the foot of my bed.
Yet when I turn on the light and check, there is nothing there. I knew the exact feeling he was expressing in
this poem and was amazed and impressed.
Lastly, Mr.
Kooser’s poetry brings me back to my days growing up in rural USA. Much of his writing reflects on the good ole
days and life in simpler times. Everything
I own is modern from my cell phone to my laptop to taking online poetry
courses. However, even today, where I
grew up, and where my mother lives to this day, everything still has a tinge of
that olden days. My mother only recently
got off the party line. And when I visit
her, I am off the grid. Even my wireless
cell phone won’t connect until I drive the twenty miles to town where the
nearest cell phone tower is located. In
Mr. Kooser’s poem “Sure Signs,” he talks about the old man who foretells the
winter weather based on signs in nature.
“A long hard winter ahead
For sure,” my neighbor says,
Reeling a cobweb onto
A broom in his garden.
“Crickets and cobwebs,” he says,
“Sure signs.”
Nearly everyone
in my hometown region does this exact thing.
They will examine the shapes inside the persimmon seed or the amount of
fruit on the wild fruit trees, or the colors of the Wooly Worm Caterpillars and predict winter harshness. They even tell daily weather from signs, such
as turtles going uphill and anthills building higher than normal is a sure sign
of rain later that day. Many of Mr.
Kooser’s poems bring me right back to my roots often reminding me of things I
have forgotten or things I knew but haven’t thought on for years.
Ted Kooser’s simple and ordinary
things expressed through his poetry has captured my imagination and my
heart. I believe his poetry is written
in plain terms that can be understood by anyone yet evokes emotions from
nostalgia to love to fear and all points in between. It does not surprise me that he has received
the many awards he has to his acclaim, including the US Poet Laureate. I continue to be amazed at his work, and
strive to make my work equally well written.
Comments
Post a Comment