mjh's blog

Ted Kooser, Poet Laureate of the United States

Poems by Ted Kooser

After Years

Today, from a distance, I saw you
walking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer’s retina
as he stood on the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell.

—
America’s new poet laureate is Ted Kooser, a retired vice president of Lincoln Benefit Life insurance company in Nebraska [since August 12, 2004]….

Kooser, says former poet laureate Billy Collins, “is a poet who has deserved to be better known. This appointment will at least take care of that problem.” … Kooser, he adds, “is a thoroughly American poet laureate.” As for the poetry, Collins says it is clear and openhanded. …

He replaces Louise Gluck as poet laureate.

[many thanks to johnny_mango for this.]

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