Ted Kooser is a poet and essayist, a professor of English at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and most recently, the United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 - 2006. His writing is known for its clarity, precision and accessibility. He worked for many years in the life insurance business, retiring in 1999 as a vice president. He and his wife, Kathleen Rutledge, editor of The Lincoln Journal Star, live on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska. He has a son, Jeff, and a granddaughter, Margaret.

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• Weekly Column: American Life in Poetry