The Blizzard Voices [Hardcover]

Ted Kooser (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0931460174 | ISBN-13: 978-0931460173 | Publication Date: 1986

A dramatized poetic narrative of the devastation unleashed on Nebraska Territory by the great blizzard of January 12, 1888. Drawn from the reminiscences of the survivors: the men and women who were teaching school, working the land, tending the house... when the storm arrived and changed their lives forever. Illustrated with twelve line drawings by Tom Pohrt.

Editorial Reviews

Review

According To Weather Reports
As The News Of The Storm Got Out
Corn Was At Twelve Cents A Bushel
Depending Where On The Plains
Early In The Evening
Eighteen Eighty-eight, A Thursday
Father And I Had Pulled The Pump Up
Father Had Plowed A Fire-guard
Father Turned Over The Wagon
Father Was Ill With The Mumps
The First Thing We Noticed That Day
How The Good Lord, In His
I Didn't Like Our Teacher
I Don't Remember The Name
I Had Been To The Schoolhouse
I Remember How In That Wind
I Spent That Night In A Shed
I Was An Ohio Girl
I Was Embarrassed All Right
I Was Teaching In Kansas
In All My Years I Never Saw
The Indians Were Too Smart
Lois Mae Royce Was Teaching
My Henry Was Cutting Ice
My Maiden Name Was Hanna
One Man Who Was Lost That Day
One Of The Holverson Boys
One Of The Older Boys Dared
The Searching Parties Started Out
So Go The Old Stories
That Morning, The Sun Had Been Out
That Spring, When The Weather Warmed
We Lived In Looking-glass Valley
We Older Students Went Home
We Were Out Of Flour For Bread
When The Wind And Snowstorm Struck
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

From the Publisher

Issued in a letterpress printed edition of 200 numbered copies signed by the author and the illustrator.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 55 pages
• Publisher: Bieler Pr (1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931460174
• ISBN-13: 978-0931460173
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,639,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ted Kooser was the United States Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006 and won a Pulitzer Prize for his book of poems DELIGHTS AND SHADOWS. He is the author of twelve full-length volumes of poetry and several books of nonfiction, and his work has appeared in many periodicals. This is his first children's book. He lives in Garland, Nebraska.Barry Root has illustrated many books for children, including THE CAT WHO LIKED POTATO SOUP by Terry Farish and THE BIRTHDAY TREE by Paul Fleischman. He lives in Quarryville, Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voices from the Storm, October 14, 2003

By 

P. J. Moran "Witch of an Editor" (Florida Panhandle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blizzard Voices (Paperback)

This book introduces us to some of the people affected by one of Nebraska's huge snowstorms. With Kooser's permission, I presented a readers' theatre version of "Blizzard Voices" before he published the book. The AAUW audience in Florida had trouble suspending their disbelief, but the voices were so strong they were moved in spite of themselves. I've visited the Plainview, Nebraska, cemetery where some of the victims of this storm are buried. As a teacher, of course, I was most affected by the vignette of the young schoolteacher who tried to save her little students. As a Nebraska native, I fumed because so many of these people elected to try to get home instead of staying put--in shelter. Kooser's work is a Nebraska lode.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story telling through poetry!, March 13, 2007

By 

Connie S. Carson-Rourke - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blizzard Voices (Paperback)

"...He wandered/ahead of the wind and was found/that spring when it thawed, twelve miles/southeast of his home..."The Blizzard of 1888 that slammed into the Great Plains January 12-13 was one of the most devastating weather events in history. Former Poet Laureate and 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner Ted Kooser skillfully tells the story. From historic records and eye witness accounts, Kooser uses the voices of men and women to tell the chilling tale. The event was also called the Schoolchildren's Blizzard because of the many children and teachers who were trapped in rural schools during the bitterly cold days of the blizzard.Here are the haunting voices of the men and women who were teaching school, working the land and tending the house when the storm arrived and changed their lives forever.A woman's voice: "...The wind/was so bad the men took turns/at the driving [mules] while others/laid in the wagon boxes./None of them died, but some lost/fingers and toes that day..."
These are the remembrances of a hearty people who faced a terrible winter storm that seemed to come from nowhere. The Blizzard Voices is good story telling presented in a unique way.Anyone who says they don't like poetry never read Ted Kooser (or Billy Collins). Kooser is a master of communicating through poetry. His clarity of structure and word choices makes poetry enjoyable and readable.Twelve line drawings by Tom Pohrt give graphic renditions of the people and conditions during the blizzard.
The Blizzard Voices is a re issue from the University of Nebraska Press with a new introduction by Kooser.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Account of History, July 13, 2009

By 

David J. Gluck "Author Life's Pages and Paper... (Shenandoah, Ia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blizzard Voices (Paperback)

Kooser takes a natural disaster and personalizes it. The Blizzard Voices recalls the blizzard of 1888 and all of its chaos making it as real as if it happened just yesterday. Being from the midwest, I was actually more interested in the historical aspect the book offered, however, the poetry set everything in motion. Kooser has a way of creating an image that makes an impact. His poetry is somewhat simple, something anyone can read and enjoy, yet at the same time it is abuntantly descriptive. Great poetry and an interesting story; you won't be disappointed with the read.