Not one thing, but many

 It’s hard to think about Ted Kooser just once. If I think of him, I usually find myself thinking again.

Yesterday’s note made me wonder why I like Kooser’s work so much.

The answer is there’s not just one thing to like but many. 

One is his sense of contentment. All of us are torn by anxiety, fear and anger at times. If we’re not careful, that turmoil can dominate all our conversations. It’s rare to run across someone who expresses a deep sense of satisfaction with life.

Another thing I like is his appreciation for ordinary things. Kooser wonders what to do with old cookie tins. He likes living in rural areas and chuckles that the beauty-shop operator and taxidermist share the same building. He knows where the good cafes are. He marvels that bois d’arc hedges are pig-tight, as good as a fence. (Being from Nebraska, Kooser calls the bois d’arc tree an Osage orange.)

Jim Harrison said Kooser’s Local Wonders was “the quietest magnificent book” he’d ever read.

I’d say that’s accurate, though Harrison was biased. Harrison and Kooser were friends.

When Kooser was treated for cancer, he found himself unable to write. As he began to heal, he found he could write a little, so he made a point of writing a poem each morning. Day by day, he pasted poems on postcards and sent them to his friend. Harrison received 130.

As I say, there are many things to like about Kooser.

• Source: Ted Kooser, Local Wonders; Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002.