'American Life' from Its Poet Laureate

Poet Laureate Ted Kooser has created American Life In Poetry, a free weekly column for newspapers and websites that provides a brief poem and description as a way to bring verse to the masses. His poems often include the details of everyday life. It was announced Monday that Kooser's Delights and Shadows won the Pultzer Prize.

For 25 years, Kooser worked in the insurance business, waking up early to write verse. He retired from insurance work in 1999. He is now a professor in the English department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His many awards for writing include two NEA fellowships, the Pushcart Prize and Columbia University’s Stanley Kunitz Prize. He has published many books of poetry; his latest is Flying at Night.

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