Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek's co-authored children's book, Marshmallow Clouds: Two Poets at Play Among Figures of Speech, received the 2023 Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA). The CLiPPA is the only award solely presented for published poetry for children in the UK. “Marshmallow Clouds impressed all the judges with the sheer quality of the poetry,” said Chris Riddell, former Children’s Laureate and chair of the judges. “The illustrations are in sympathy with the poems and the quality of the design and production is outstanding. It is a thing of beauty.” Read the full story from the Poetry Society.
Passing Through: Ted Kooser
Bill Frakes and Laura Heald of Straw Hat Visuals spent a morning with Ted in his home in Garland, NE, and talked with him about his writing and routine. It’s a wonderful story of excellence, dedication and perseverance. This video is part of the The Nebraska Project, a multimedia project that seeks to explore and preserve stories from the land of the Good Life.
Dick Cavett reads So This is Nebraska
In honor of the University of Nebraska's 150th anniversary, Nebraska native Dick Cavett read Ted’s poem So This is Nebraska at the N|150 Charter Day Celebration on February 15, 2019.
Screech Owl
All night each reedy whinny
from a bird no bigger than a heart
flies out of a tall black pine
and, in a breath, is taken away
by the stars. Yet, with small hope
from the center of darkness,
it calls out again and again.
From Delights & Shadows
About Ted
Ted Kooser is a poet and essayist, a Presidential Professor of English at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He served as the U. S. Poet Laureate from 2004-2006, and his book Delights & Shadows won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. His writing is known for its clarity, precision and accessibility. He worked for many years in the life insurance business, retiring in 1999 as a vice president. He and his wife, Kathleen Rutledge, the retired editor of The Lincoln Journal Star, live on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska. He has a son, Jeff, and two granddaughters, Margaret and Penelope. (More)
