Local Wonders

Ted Kooser describes with exquisite detail, humour, and savvy the place he calls home in the Bohemian Alps of southeastern Nebraska. Like others in rural areas, he has what he calls 'wolf vision,' and 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 Ted Kooser are the ways 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. When others have become acclimated to change, the writer reminds all of us that the closing of local schools, thoughtless county weed control, and irresponsible housing development destroy more than just the view. Communities are at stake, as are families, our health, and arguably our very souls. Ted Kooser is an adjunct professor of English at the University of Nebraska. A retired insurance executive, his poetry has appeared in nine special collections and eight books including "Winter Morning Walks: 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison" and "Weather Central."