Valentines

I am a bit stunned. I just found out that these valentines, addressed to me, all these years, are in fact part of a vast network of hearts, laced together by one mans words, a starburst compass pointing in all directions, an indescribable bon-bon-mot served every February 14th, now a complete feast, between these covers. What a gift.Debra Winger Each poem is a unique snapshot of love. The poet says it best himself: all my life, I have wanted nothing so much as the love of women.Publishers Weekly Because Kooser is a master of such unpretentious scene-painting, these are poems of rich, Wordsworthian common feeling. . . . Theyve nearly all appeared in Koosers previous collections, but especially as accompanied by Robert Hannas drawings . . . theyve never seemed more like godsendsor valentines!Booklist The writing in this book is classic Kooser: simple images, down-to-earth language, insight, and uncommonly good sense, all of which combine to produce memorable, resonant endings. . . . The artwork, like the verse, is inviting, warm, and unpretentious.Elizabeth Lund, Christian Science Monitor Over 22 years, Kooser has discovered a startling variety of ways to invert and enliven the vocabulary of romance, finding tender implications in even the mustiest Valentines symbols. . . . When it comes to his beloved(s), Kooser has generous eyes, offering always to keep her young. . . . Koosers poems do build a frisson, making the most of small moments of intimacy.Emily Nussbaum, New York Times Book Review Forget about any Valentine youve seen in a grocery store aisle. These poemstouching, funny, ironic, and with the startling and always-fresh use of metaphor for which Kooser is knownare something else entirely. Nebraska Life People who werent fortunate enough to make it onto Koosers Valentines listwhich included such recipients as the novelist Louise Erdrich and the actress Debra Winterdo not have to sit home alone with an empty Valentine shoebox any longer. Ted Koosers Valentines will fill any shoebox to the brim with romance and wry insight.NewWest.net

Ted Kooser, Presidential Professor of the University of Nebraska, is former U.S. poet laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. In addition to his many volumes of poetry, he is the author of The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets and coauthor (with Steve Cox) of Writing Brave and Free: Encouraging Words for People Who Want to Start Writing, both available in Bison Books editions. Robert Hanna is a retired architect who spends his time painting, illustrating, and teaching art workshops throughout the Great Plains region.

[no toc - 23 poems]