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   from the issue of April 7, 2005

     
 
Kooser wins 2005 Pulitzer for poetry

 BY KELLY BARTLING, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Ted Kooser, professor of English and the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, was awarded the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry April 4 for his book Delights & Shadows.

 
Professor and Poet Laureate Ted Kooser is the seventh UNL alum to win a Pulitzer. Photo by University Publications and...
 Professor and Poet Laureate Ted Kooser is the seventh UNL alum to win a Pulitzer. Photo by University Publications and Photography.

The 89th annual prizes in Journalism, Letters, Drama and Music were announced by Columbia University. The poetry award honors a "distinguished volume of original verse by an American author." Finalists were The Orchard by Brigit Pegeen Kelly and Collected Poems by the late William Matthews.

"I'm thrilled by this," Kooser said. "It's something every poet dreams of. There are so many gifted poets in this country, and so many marvelous collections published each year. That mine has been selected is a great honor."

Kooser is the first UNL faculty member to win a Pulitzer while on staff, and one of seven alumni.

In addition to Delights & Shadows, Kooser has authored 10 collections of poetry and prose including Local Wonders, Seasons in the Bohemian Alps (2002) and The Poetry Home Repair Manual (2005) published by University of Nebraska Press. Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa, in 1939 and attended public school there before earning his bachelor's degree at Iowa State University (1962). He received his master's degree at the University of Nebraska in 1968. He has lived all of his life in Nebraska and Iowa, teaching English at UNL since 1972.

Winners of the Pulitzer Prize receive a $10,000 award.

The award came on the same day as Kooser's interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air," and days following a March 31 feature in USA Today.

UNL officials and colleagues were excited about the news.

"This is a great honor for Ted and for the university," James Milliken, NU president, said. "And it is wonderful recognition for a man who has done as much as anyone to make poetry accessible and enjoyable for lots of people. Ted is a state treasure, and I'm delighted that students and many other Nebraskans and Americans have the opportunity to learn from him."

UNL English department chairwoman Linda Pratt said: "I think it's absolutely wonderful. One of the things that winning the Pulitzer shows us is that being named Poet Laureate was not a fluke...we have a poet here whose work is winning all kinds of national attention. The delightul thing is to see someone who has worked so hard on his poetry for so long without a lot of public accolades finally becoming a national poetic hero.

"I am sure that the people of Nebraska are every bit as proud of him as his colleagues and friends here in the department."



Pulitzer winning alumni

• Harvey Newbranch (1896), Editor of Omaha World Herald for 56 years, won for 1919 editorial.

• Willa Cather (1895), won in 1923 for her novel, One of Ours.

• James V. Risser Jr. (1959), two-time winner: National reporting in 1976 exposing corruption in grain exporting industry; 1979 for articles showing destructive impact of modern agriculture on the environment (Des Moines Register, Washington bureau chief).

• Charles H. Mohr (1941), won 1985 Prize for nine-part series on the strategic defense initiative. One of five New York Times reporters on the series.

• Karen Blessen (1973), won in 1989 for explanatory journalism, Dallas Morning News, report on 1986 airplane crash.

• Marjie Lundstrom (1978), 1991 winner, national reporting on child abuse-related deaths that go undetected as a result of errors made by examiners and coroners, writing for Gannett.

• Ted Kooser (master's 1968), 2005 winner for Delights & Shadows.


GO TO: ISSUE OF APRIL 7

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Kooser wins 2005 Pulitzer for poetry
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