Kindest Regards: Poems, Selected and New

I have read a lot of poetry in my life. Ted Kooser ticks all the boxes. He has an authentic, singular voice that does not strain to sound poetic, while he manages to raise language to a higher level. It is like you are suddenly taking flight while reading as a multitude of images and associations erupt in your brain, even beyond what he has set on the page. He just takes you there. His poetry is accessible. You do not need commentary or a degree in literature to enter this world. He finds the sublime or spiritual in the ordinary. His metaphors are fresh and delightful. And he gives voice to the experience of the heartland—a somewhat rare but welcome subject. He is not self-absorbed, but is able to listen, absorb, and imagine what someone else might be feeling or thinking. He is clearly aware of the reader and not just mumbling to himself, as some poets do. He is concise and gets to the point without dragging on and on for too long. And he is able to deliver the goods in poem after poem. With other poets I often mark the ones I want to read again and again, but with Kooser, I would have to mark nearly every one. I love the complexity of T.S. Eliot, but I cannot say that I love everything he has written. Ted Kooser is the only poet I know of who delivers all the time. This is poetry.

Kooser's poems are about the joy and grief of human (and animal) connections, and reflections of such as he closely observes the natural world. He is widely regarded as a master of the metaphor, which brings sly humor, surprise, and empathy to his observations. Kooser is a diarist of the brilliance of our every-day experience and he generously champions fellow poets who offer the same gift to ordinary citizens (i.e., non-academicians). A testimony to this is his marvelous weekly column "American Life in Poetry" -- syndicated by hundreds of newspapers (and with free email delivery to subscribers) -- which features poems for the people, selected and briefly introduced by Kooser. As stated on his website, the column "seeks to create a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture".This collection brings his selection of earlier work (though many of my favorites are absent!) plus new poems as animated as the old. E.g., from "Hoarfrost": ...To walk / is like finding your way / through a wedding dress, the sky / inside it cold and satiny; / no past, no future, just the now / all breathless. Then a red bird, / like a pinprick, changes everything.

Astounding collection of the best poems of one of the best poets of the last half century. About 1/3 of the poems are new and not published in earlier collections, while the rest are some of the seminal poems of the past forty years of Kooser's career. Reading some of his earlier, already read poems, is like being tapped on the shoulder by an old friend, not seen in years--a moment of recognition yielding to a very fond hug. His new poems convince the reader of his magical powers to transform mundane and everyday moments into the transcendent moments they truly are, moments that are honest and true, that will uplift the reader above the ordinariness of our lives.

I have all of Kooser's books. This means that I have some of his poems more than once, but that is just fine with me. The lovely thing about good poetry is that it can be read and re-read, and each time it gets better. Kooser is "approachable," but that doesn't mean that he is shallow or easy. His use of metaphor is amazing. You won't regret purchasing and reading this book, or any of his books of poetry. In fact, you will be better for having done so.

Ted Kooser is a favorite author and poet of mine. I liked this book very much, was curious to see what poems he would pick from this other books to include as well as to read his new poems. It is an engaging and beautiful book with much in it to read, repeatedly. I also sent it to two friends who have enjoyed it and keep the book at their bedsides to re-read at will. It is a fine book, one to treasure and to keep.