Last night I was fortunate to hear Ted Kooser read his poetry in Concord. Hearing the poet read his or her work is like having them invite you inside their art. They swing the door open wide.Ted Kooser was the first recipient of the Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon award. Donald Hall was in attendance as was Maxine Kumin.
Ted Kooser makes poetry look easy. He exhorted the audience to write about their relatives, to lift up the lives of those who have gone before. He also explained that he writes what he sees, vignettes that pass before him.
I think he and I share the same opinion about tattoos. He read a poem about a faded tattoo on an older man. It is called Tattoo and is found in Delights and Shadows.
I have read some of his works and they are interesting and exciting, the imagery he uses is brilliant. A poem I like very much by Kooser:
ReplyDelete"Today, from a distance, I saw you
walking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer's retina
as he stood on the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell. "
If you have other poems that are in electric text please send them to me: jaypost2@gmail.com.
Or better kindly give me your top list of poems, poems that you would have read or wished you read when you were say 21 years of age.