Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Tuesday Tome - Splitting an Order

Splitting an Order
by Ted Kooser

I have long been a fan of Ted Kooser's poetry. Maybe it's because he his writing references typical midwestern life. Maybe it's a Nebraska roots connection. Most likely, it's because I so love the way he manages to sparkle with life and truth and human empathy through simple and straightforward descriptions of the everyday things slip by most of us.

My wife gave me this little book of Kooser poems as a Christmas gift a couple years ago. She knows me well.

"Ted Kooser must be the most accessible and enjoyable major poet in America. His lines are so clear and simple."
—Michael Dirda,The Washington Post

“Readers [of Splitting an Order] will find ‘characters’ both strange and wonderful, animal or human. There is a sense that time is passing quickly and that everything worthy must be captured and savored, from an old couple lovingly sharing a sandwich to another sowing seed potatoes to a tribute to an old dog who waits as age and winter approach… Master of the single-metaphor poem, Kooser offers images that evolve, fluid and unforced.”
Library Journal, starred review

"Kooser's ability to discover the smallest detail and render it remarkable is a rare gift."
Bloomsbury Review

Pulitzer Prize winner and best selling poet Ted Kooser calls attention to the intimacies of life through commonplace objects and occurrences: an elderly couple sharing a sandwich is a study in transcendent love, while a tattered packet of spinach seeds calls forth innate human potential. This long-awaited collection from the former U.S. Poet Laureate—ten years in the making—is rich with quiet and profound magnificence.
– From the Publisher

Ted Kooser is the author of numerous books of poetry and prose, including Delights and Shadows (Copper Canyon Press), which won the Pulitzer Prize. A former US Poet Laureate, Kooser serves as editor for "American Life in Poetry," a nationally syndicated weekly newspaper column.

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