Flying At Night: Poems 1965-1985 (Pitt Poetry Series) [Paperback]

Ted Kooser (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pitt Poetry Series | Publication Date: March 11, 2005

Named U.S. Poet Laureate for 2004-2005, Ted Kooser is one of America's masters of the short metaphorical poem. Dana Gioia has remarked that Kooser has written more perfect poems than any poet of his generation.

In Flying at Night: Poems 1965-1985, Kooser has selected poems from two of his earlier works, Sure Signs (1980) and One World at a Time (1985). Taken together or read one at a time, these poems clearly show why William Cole, writing in the Saturday Review, called Ted Kooser "a wonderful poet," and why Peter Stitt, writing in the Georgia Review, proclaimed him "a skilled and cunning writer. . . . An authentic 'poet of the American people.'"

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Will one day rank alongside of Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost, and William Carlos Williams."--Minneapolis Tribune

"Ted Kooser is a poet whose company will always be welcome, whether in Nebraska or in East Anglia."--Hudson Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Ted Kooser, retired vice president of Lincoln Benefit Life Company in Lincoln, Nebraska, is the author of ten books of poetry and two works of nonfiction. He has twice been awarded fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts. Sure Signs was awarded the Society of Midland Authors Prize in 1980. Kooser has also won the Pushcart Prize, the Stanley Kunitz Prize, the James Boatwright Prize, two Prairie Schooner Awards, the Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003, and a Merit Award from the Nebraska Arts Council. Ted Kooser is the 13th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (March 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822958775
• ISBN-13: 978-0822958772
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,761 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

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, August 13, 2005

By 

Angelo Giambra (Largo, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flying At Night: Poems 1965-1985 (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

Ted Kooser is the poet for the rest of us. Mr. Kooser shuns intellectual poetry, the kind that makes you feel you need an interpreter to understand it. His poems are down-to-earth, rooted in an intense love for the simple pleasures of life. He lives on a farm in Nebraska and his work resonates with images from this rural lifestyle. This was the first book of poetry I willfully sought out and bought since college; reading it has been pure delight.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plain language, striking metaphors, January 30, 2006

By 

Gay D. F. Kelly (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flying At Night: Poems 1965-1985 (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

My daughter's high school has an acronym for certain literature assignments: DHM, deep hidden meaning. If you are weary of DHM, then read Mr. Kooser. DM, no H. He uses Saxon-rooted vocabulary for metaphors so apt, yet stunning, that they stop you short. I will give this book as presents to my best friends.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll go back to it from time to time...or at least you should., December 16, 2006

By 

Kirk Irwin (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flying At Night: Poems 1965-1985 (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

As I have read poetry in the last six years I have gotten in the habit (not always the best) of either marking the corner of or 'dog-earing' a page with a poem that I like. I've found that I've marked alot of corners in Mr. Kooser's book. I have especially liked his poems that contemplate the somber side of life. I've gone back to "After My Grandmother's Funeral" multiple times to wrestle again, as Kooser does, with the tension between youth and aging...and the realities of death. You'll find yourself doing the same when you read these poems.