Ted Kooser Quote

Here is a lovely quote by Ted Kooser (See earlier video post) Poet Laureate of the United States from 2004 to 2006. While several of us have written poems reprimanding angst ridden poets, Ted explains in a clear way why he writes what he writes and how he thinks about the reader first with his poems:


"Every stranger's tolerance for poetry is compromised by much more important demands on his or her time. Therefore, I try to honor my reader's patience and generosity by presenting what I have to say as clearly and succinctly as possible .... Also, I try not to insult the reader's good sense by talking down; I don't see anything to gain by alluding to intellectual experiences that the reader may not have had. I do what I can to avoid being rude or offensive; most strangers, understandably, have a very low tolerance for displays of pique or anger or hysteria. Being harangued by a poet rarely endears a reader. I am also extremely wary of over cleverness; there is a definite limit to how much intellectual showing off a stranger can tolerate."- Midwest Quarterly, 1999