Customer Reviews

The Blizzard Voices

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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.

"...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.

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.

This poet continues to write about ordinary days in an extraordinary way. An inspiration for this fiction writer.

I've been a Ted Kooser fan for 8 years. When I saw this in a bookstore on a recent trip to Lincoln, Nebraska I couldn't pass it up. The Blizzard of 1888 must have been a doozie! One can't help but feel the elements penetrating the body- Metaphorically, of course.

With only a few minutes warning the hammer of nature struck. Living in a really cold part of the Northeast I felt myself trying to encourage the storm-bound victims to safety but many didn't make it.

A vivid portrayal.

The title is a little misleading. After listening to my grandfather's reminiscences of the Blizzard of '88, years ago, I had the impression that the blizzard happened in March of 1888 in New York City. I was a little disappointed to discover that it happened in January over the entire midwest.

The three copies arrived in great time and are as expected. Plan to use two for Christmas gifts. Thanks, Jane