Local Wonders

Ted Kooser describes with exquisite detail and humour the place he calls home in the Bohemian Alps of southeastern Nebraska. Like many other people in this rural area, he has what he calls "wolf vision"-he sees every change in the landscape around him. Nothing is too big or too small for his attention. Memories of his grandmother's cooking are juxtaposed with reflections about the old-fashioned outhouse on his property. In the end, what makes life meaningful for Kooser are the ways in which his neighbours care for one another and how an afternoon walking with an old dog, or baking a pie, or decorating the house for Christmas can summon memories of his Iowa childhood. This writer is a seer in the truest sense of the word, discovering the extraordinary within the ordinary, the deep beneath the shallow, the abiding wisdom in the pithy Bohemian proverbs that are woven into his essays. And when casting his eye on social progress, Kooser reminds us that the closing of local schools, thoughtless county weed control, and irresponsible housing development destroy more than just the view. At stake are communities, as well as families, our health, and arguably our very souls. Ted Kooser is a visiting professor of English at the University of Nebraska and a retired insurance executive. His poetry has appeared in nine special collections and eight books, includingWinter Morning Walks: 100 Postcards to Jim HarrisonandWeather Central.

Ted Kooser is a visiting professor of English at the University of Nebraska.