Poet Laureate to Read at Rockhurst University May 19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2005

Contact: Amy Zoe Schonhoff,
Coordinator, New Ventures
(816) 421-1388, ext. 227

Poet Laureate to Read at Rockhurst University May 19
Ted Kooser known for his sophisticated, yet accessible style

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Four days before he formally accepts this year’s Pulitzer Prize in poetry, U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser will read from his work at Rockhurst University. The free reading will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 19, in the Convocation Center.

Kooser, visiting professor of English at the University of Nebraska and native Iowan, is the first poet laureate from the Great Plains and is known for writing poetry that is both sophisticated and accessible. He is author of 10 full-length poetry collections, including Delights and Shadows (2004), for which he will receive the Pulitzer May 23 at Columbia University.

In addition to earning honors for his poetry, Kooser has received accolades for his first book of prose, Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps (2002), which won the Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003. His most recent book, The Poetry Home Repair Manual (2005), is a textbook for readers of poetry and would-be poets. It has received favorable reviews from The Wall Street Journal and The Bloomsbury Review.

Among Kooser’s many awards are two National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowships, the Pushcart Prize, the Stanley Kunitz Prize, the James Boatwright Prize and a merit award from the Nebraska Arts Council.

Kooser’s appearance at Rockhurst is sponsored by Mid-America Arts Alliance, Rockhurst University’s Center for Arts and Letters and DST Systems Inc. Books will be available for purchase courtesy of Rainy Day Books, and a book signing and reception will follow the reading.

Attendees are asked to register for this free event by calling (816) 501-4828.