Ted Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa, an area within the great plains of America. He credits his influences to both his mother and his father. His father worked as a store manager while his mother stayed home to raise him and his sister. During an interview he was asked how his parents influenced his poetry, he replied, "My Father was a storekeeper, loved the public, and was a marvelous storyteller. I remember a women once said to me that she'd rather hear my dad describe a person than see the person herself." (Meats, 335). One can tell from reading Kooser's poetry that his father influenced him greatly. Ted Kooser also attained a strong work ethic from his father, which in his formative years allowed him to prosper and become the poet he is today. His mother influenced his appreciation for the natural wonders in life. Kooser attended Iowa State University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in 1962. Upon graduating, he held a teaching job as an English teacher in Madrid, Iowa during the 1962-1963 school year. He soon moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where he was accepted into the University of Nebraska's at Lincoln graduate program for creative writing. He would not immediately graduate from the program, but take a job in the insurance industry where during his tenure, he would become the Vice President for Lincoln Benefit Life.
Ted Kooser is an American poet that draws readers for his simplicity and accessibility written within his poems. His use of metaphors within his verse describes images to the readers that normally wouldn't been seen. His simplicity, not the type that has no substance but simplicity where readers can understand what he is trying to say within the poem due to the realism Kooser writes with. The dicti...
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...long career provides a lighthouse of hope to all artists who labor in the dark, uncertain of their efforts but determined to express their voice." (Schneider, 129).
Works Cited
De Grave, Kathleen. "Delights & Shadows: Poems." Midwest Quarterly 46.4 (2005):
439-440. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Evans, David Allan. "Ted Kooser—An Appreciation." Midwest Quarterly 46.4 (2005):
356-359. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Meats, Stephen. "A Tribute To Ted Kooser: An Interview With Ted Kooser.(Interview)."
The Midwest Quarterly 4 (2005): 335. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Schneider, Steven P. "Kooser, Ted (1939—)." American Writers: A Collection of
Literary Biographies, Supplement 19. Ed. Jay Parini. Detroit: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 2010. 115-130. Scribner Writers on GVRL. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In the poem, “The Was of Things,” (P 14) by Willie Perdomo, the poem is a free verse, no rhyme scheme, has 10 lines, and one stanza. The poem includes different techniques such as symbolism, personification, imagery, alliteration and so forth to illustrate different themes in the poem. The speaker uses enjambment in the poem to make readers think of what comes next. The beginning word of the poem is capitalized, the speaker trying to emphasize the first word in the poem or just followed a pattern. The purpose of the poem is to identify one theme in the poem, hence, what can be a theme captured in the poem “The Was of Things?” In this essay, I discuss the theme speculation and use structure, word usage, imagery, alliteration and symbolism to demonstrate the speculation throughout.
The former Poet Laureate of the US, Ted Kooser, has a straightforward sort of writing style that holds layers of ambiguity and is deeper than it appears on the surface. He is a gifted poet and is praised for his intriguing poetry.
Collins uses metaphors to teach the audience that with patience, poetry can be understanded easily. For instance, he tells the audience to “walk inside the poem’s
In this poem called “Creatures” by the author Billy Collins there are three examples of figurative language helps convey the meaning that the author Billy Collins is conveying. The three examples of figurative language that the author Billy Collins uses are a metaphor, enjambment, and imagery. These three examples of figurative language help illustrate Billy Collins” theme in this poem called “Creatures” that he is writing because these three examples of figurative language help emphasize the theme of the poem. These three examples help emphasize this poem called “Creatures” meaning because it makes the theme of this poem have a deeper meaning. The theme of the author Billy Collins poem called “Creatures” is that the reader has to imagine
Ferguson, Margaret W., Salter, Mary J., and Stallworthy, Jon. The Norton Anthology of Poetry. fifth ed. N.p.: W.W. Norton, 2005. 2120-2121. 2 Print.
He uses powerful imagery and onomatopoeia to achieve the desired effects that make the poem more realistic. All this combined together produces effective thought provoking ideas and with each read, I gradually get an improved understanding and appreciation of the poem.
Strand, Mark and Evan Boland. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. New
The American poet Ted Kooser has written hundreds of poems about anything from his family to the rural landscapes in the Midwest. Many of his poems can be easily understood by the entire population because of their simple metaphors and Kooser’s strength of being able to communicate with readers. While Kooser’s poetry can be understood without knowledge of his personal life, it is beneficial to know more about his personal life; this allows the readers make deeper connections and develop a better understanding. Ted Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa in 1939. As a teenager, Kooser enjoyed writing, and it was then when he decided he would become a famous poet.
This marked the beginning of his inspiration to form a personal, expressive, and religious stance on his art values and style. He has found his process and content that will be apparent in his future work.
Billy Collins has used a specific metaphor, simile, rhyme and personification in his poem ‘Introduction to poetry’ in order to show how one should better understand a poem. This poem focused on what the poem actually mean and how a poem should be clearly understood. Throughout the poem, Billy Collins has presented a clear way of understanding the poem by using a very interesting imagery, symbolism, metaphor and a very sensitive sound. The words used in this poem are so powerful that the readers are convinced to think about the issue presented in the poem.
Now the reader will be ready to tackle the poem again in order to notice and drink in its subtle nuances. Bishop's artistry will lie plain, particularly her capacity to impart life to a rather unnerving redundancy of objects and to project a lofty poetic vision from a humble, prosaic incident.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. An Introduction to Poetry. 13th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 21. Print.
In “A Rainy Morning” by Ted Kooser, we get a lot of imagery, as well as figures of speech, specifically metaphors. This poem through the use of an extended metaphor helps us to see life and our everyday actions into a new perspective. Here we will examine the poem’s language and imagery to help understand what the theme of “A Rainy Morning” is.
The arts have influenced my life in amazing ways. Throughout my life, art has been the place I run to and my escape from the world. As I’ve grown older, art has become so much more than that. Every piece of art I create is a journey into my soul. It’s a priceless way to deal with my emotions and my struggles. I create art not only because I enjoy it and because I want to, but because I have to. Somewhere deep inside there is a driving force, urging me to put my heart down on paper. I become emotionally attached to each of my pieces because they are like dashes on the wall marking my growth. Each one is the solution to a problem I have dealt with and overcome.
The time to breathe before advancing further in my future projects, the difficult moments instead of discouraging me, these moments give me motivation and the necessary energy to move forward. I am optimist but realistic. My parents taught me that we live in a world that is constantly changing and to succeed we need a smart plan and the ability to adapt and adjust to the changing world environment but more importantly one need to prepare one’s self to succeed. We need discipline and above all an unshakable will to resist difficulties when they happen. “An ongoing work of art” would probably be one of the best ways to describe my life. From very early on in life, I have learn that I can be the artist of my own life through guidance and hard work, I learned that we are the architecture of our life, the artist of our own destiny through work, commitment and determination. Every route taken or not taken will somehow impact our existence and leave a trail like a shooting star in the night sky, the beauty of the trail depends entirely on the nature of our actions in life. This is the first time in my existence I have had the opportunity to write the story of my life in detail. This exercise