U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser to Read From His Work Monday, February 20, 2006

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — United States Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Ted Kooser will read from his poetry on Monday, February 20, at 5:30 p.m. in Sanders Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

The Library of Congress appointed Ted Kooser to a second term as Poet Laureate in the same week that he received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, for his book Delights and Shadows. Among the highlights of his first term, Kooser launched "American Life in Poetry," which syndicates a weekly poem by a living American to local newspapers around the country. Kooser writes a brief introduction to each poem, and the program has already reached tens of thousands of readers.

A professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kooser is the author of eleven full-length collections of poetry, including Weather Central and The Poetry Home Repair Manual. The online anthology Poetry Daily has said of his work "…throughout a long and distinguished writing career, he has worked toward clarity and accessibility, making poetry as fresh and spontaneous as a good watercolor."

Kooser has also authored plays, fiction, personal essays, and literary criticism, including works published in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The Nation. His first book of prose, Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps, earned him the Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction, and third place in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers competition in nonfiction. Among his other honors, Kooser has received the Pushcart, Stanley Kunitz, and James Boatwright prizes, two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships in poetry, and a Merit Award from the Nebraska Arts Council. For more information, please call Tyrone Simpson, assistant professor of English at (845) 437-5650. Support for this program is provided by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, the Helen Forster Novy '28 Fund for Visiting Scholars, and the Department of English. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should call the Office of Campus Activities, at (845) 437-5370.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Friday, February 3rd, 2006.