Last summer I attended a writing workshop at Idyllwild Arts while Ted Kooser was leading a Poetry Festival. Every night I crashed the poetry readings under the stars. I always envisioned myself as someone who liked poetry, but it was listening to Ted Kooser read his own work that caused me to finally, truly fall in love with it (attending a Mary Oliver reading last winter was a pretty remarkable experience also). Mr. Kooser worked at an insurance agency for decades and woke up every morning at 4AM to write poetry. Can you imagine writing at 4AM? When I wake up at 4AM, the only thing I’m doing is praying I’ll get back to sleep. He is the quintessential nice Mid-America guy with a sharp wit and sense of observation. He writes poetry I understand without referencing Wikipedia, but that I’ve thought about over and over again. Mr. Kooser served as U.S. poet laureate from 2004 to 2006, won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2004 and currently is promoting poetry through American Life in Poetry.
Several years ago, he started writing an annual Valentine poem for friends, Read the rest of this entry »
Claire
Kim
