Theodore J. Kooser (born April 25, 1939)^[1] is an American poet. He won thePulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2005. He served asPoet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006.^[2] Kooser was one of the first poets laureate selected from theGreat Plains,^[3] and is known for his conversational style of poetry.^[4]

Ted Kooser was born inAmes, Iowa, on April 25, 1939. Growing up, Kooser attended Ames Public Schools for elementary and middle school. When Kooser arrived atAmes High School, his interest diverted from the library, and it went to cars. He joined the Nightcrawlers Car Club and became secretary of the group in 1956. His motivation for writing in high school can be in part credited to one of his teachers, Mary McNally, who encouraged him to continue writing essays and poems that reflected his life.

Kooser graduated from Ames High School with a class of 175 students and enrolled atIowa State University, the alma mater of his uncles. He began writing short nonfiction stories for the Iowa State student literary magazine. He also joined the Iowa State Writer's Round Table, which he credits for fine-tuning his writing skills; Iowa SenatorTom Harkin was also a part of the group. In 1961, Kooser moved toMarshalltown, Iowa, to student teach English classes. The following year he graduated with a BS in English education from Iowa State University and moved toCedar Rapids, Iowa, to live with his parents.^[5] He was offered a graduate readership opportunity at theUniversity of Nebraska and in 1963, he and his wife moved toLincoln, Nebraska.^[6] After winning the Vreeland Award for poetry in 1964, he soon after lost his graduate readership from the University for his poor GPA. In 1967, he received his MA from Nebraska.^[7]

After earning his MA, Kooser worked at Bankers Life Nebraska.^[8] He eventually went on to work for Lincoln Benefit Life (a subsidiary of Allstate), an insurance company, for 35 years before retiring as vice president at the age of 60.^[9] He wrote for an hour and a half before work every morning, and by the time he retired, Kooser had published seven books of poetry.^[3] Kooser taught as a Presidential Professor in the English department of theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln and is currently a Professor Emeritus.^[10]

On August 12, 2004, he was namedPoet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by theLibrarian of Congress to serve a term from October 2004 through May 2005.

In April 2005, Theodore J. Kooser was appointed to serve a second term as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. During that same week, Kooser received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his bookDelights & Shadows^[11] (Copper Canyon Press, 2004).Edward Hirsch wrote: "There is a sense of quiet amazement at the core of all Kooser's work, but it especially seems to animate his new collection of poems,Delights & Shadows."

Kooser's most recent books areKindest Regards: New and Selected Poems andRed Stilts (2020).

He founded and hosted the newspaper project "American Life in Poetry".^[12] In 2020, Kooser choseKwame Dawes, a chancellor of theAcademy of American Poets, to be his successor as of January 1, 2021.^[13] Kooser also edits the Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry series published by theUniversity of Nebraska Press.

Ted Kooser was part of the Midwest Poetry Renaissance in the 1960s and 1970s. The Midwest Poetry Renaissance drew on elements ofRural America through a five-state swath of theGreat Plains region. Poets of the Midwest were respected among artists throughout the country due to being informed of larger societal forces, such as the distrust of a media-driven culture.^[14]

More small presses opened up in that time, and Midwestern poets began publishing more work.Warren Woessner regards the catalyst of the MPR to be the anthologyHeartland in 1967. The movement began to develop after that point, along with the works of Ted and other poets such asVictor Contoski, Mak Vinz, David Steinglass, Gary Gildner, James Hazard,Greg Kuzma, Judith Minty, and Kathy Weigner (as well as many others) who exemplified the rural subject matter and conversational tone. Most of the poets were in their twenties or early thirties and published their first books.

Ted was in his late twenties and thirties during the decade the Midwest Poetry Renaissance occurred. He published his first book through theUniversity of Nebraska Press at age 30, titled "Official Entry Blank." Ted's first full-length book was already out of print by the early 1970s, at which time he became more of asmall press poet like many other poets in the Midwest. Ted continued to receive publication of individual poems within anthologies and published several more books in small presses. He also began to editThe New Salt Creek Reader, which had six anthologies by 1974.

According to Warren Woessner, a poet during the Midwest Poetry Renaissance, the movement ended in 1975 with the publication of Heartland II.^[14]

Ted Kooser is known for his conversational style of poetry that is accessible to a nonliterary public.^[4] Critic Dana Gioia, in his bookCan Poetry Matter?, describes Kooser's style as "drawn from common speech, with subject matter common to the Midwest."^[4] Kooser's early and contemporary work involves both troubles for Midwesterners, and observations from everyday life.^[15] Recurring themes include love, family, place, and time, but he does not consider himself a regional poet.^[15]

Kooser lives on an acreage near the village ofGarland, Nebraska.^[16] Kooser has served on the Lincoln Library Board. He was founding president of The Nebraska Literary Heritage Association.^[17]

Kooser is married to Kathleen Rutledge, former editor of theLincoln Journal Star. They have one son and two grandchildren.^[18][5][19]

• Kooser, Ted (1969).Official Entry Blank.
• —— (1971).Grass County.
• —— (1973).Twenty Poems.
• —— (1974).A Local Habitation and a Name.
• —— (1976).Not Coming to Be Barked At.
• —— (1980).Sure Signs: New and Selected Poems.
• —— (1985).One World at a Time.
• —— (1986).The Blizzard Voices.
• —— (1994).Weather Central.
• —— (1995).A Book of Things.
• —— (1999).Riding with Colonel Carter.
• —— (2001).Winter Morning Walks: One Hundred Postcards to Jim Harrison.
• —— (2003).Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry.Copper Canyon Press.
• —— (2004).Delights and Shadows.Copper Canyon Press.
• —— (2004).Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps.
• —— (2005).Flying at Night: Poems 1965–1985.
• —— (2005).Lights on a Ground of Darkness: An Evocation of Place and Time.
• —— (2007).The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets.
• —— (2008).Valentines.University of Nebraska Press.
• —— (2010).Bag in the Wind.
• —— (2012).Pursuing Blackhawk.Cedar Creek Press, Mason City.
• —— (2012).House Held Up by Trees.
• —— (2014).Splitting an Order.Copper Canyon Press.
• —— (2016).The Bell in the Bridge.
• —— (2018).Kindest Regards: New and Selected Poems.Copper Canyon Press.
• —— (2020).Red Stilts.Copper Canyon Press.
• —— (2022).Cotton Candy: Poems Dipped Out of the Air.University of Nebraska Press.
• —— (2024).Raft.Copper Canyon Press.

• Official website
• Ted Kooser: Online Resources from the Library of Congress
• American Life in Poetry, Kooser's syndicated newspaper feature
• Author interview in Guernica Magazine (Guernicamag.com)
• Ted Kooser biographical summary
• Linton Weeks,Washington Post, "Poet Laureate's Prized Words", April 5, 2005, page C1
• A review ofDelights & Shadows by Ted Kooser.
• Fresh Air radio interview – 4 April 2005
• Television Profile of Ted Kooser – NET Television
• John Cusatis, CharlestonPost & Courier, Q & A with Ted Kooser, January 5, 2025

• 1939 births
• Living people
• American male poets
• American poets laureate
• Poets from Iowa
• Poets from Nebraska
• Artists from Ames, Iowa
• Writers from Lincoln, Nebraska
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty
• People from Seward County, Nebraska
• Iowa State University alumni
• Ames High School alumni

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