Poetry Reading: Ted Kooser

[ThePanstory]

45:08

[jillval7]

Finally, I pity those who have neither the insight nor patience to gain something from readings like this. Why not go watch a music video instead? Some comments judge the very selection of a poet laureate. Yet, I want to wonder . . . where are their own laurels?

[jillval7]

As for those who just see an old man, with disdain for his age and unique wisdom, well. . .one day, if you're lucky, you'll be old and may have gained some well-earned wisdom of your own. In some worlds, people respect elder wisdom and do not expect nor desire every human manifestation to be young, dramatically flashy, hip, or without human flaws.

[jillval7]

I suppose the calls for “more passion” display a need for stimulation in short bursts of attention-grabbing soundbites, something to which we're all subjected today by a world that increasingly mostly wants to sell us something. He's not selling anything. He's observing and sharing by showing.

[jillval7]

I'm also concerned that people don't seem to have the patience to listen to the keenly observed world of ordinary people and objects Mr. Kooser's poetry is about, since that is the very world we all do live in, no matter where we are. But perhaps they are simply from other hurried worlds where there's no time for keen observation or appreciation of wry subtleties.

[jillval7]

I pity those who can't hear the poetry for the lip-smacking. I suppose they've never had anything go wrong with their own bodies. How else does intolerance arise? I've listened to people who've had strokes, people with accents, people with speech impediments. I never considered it my right to be rude about those persons' difficulties with speech. Instead, I made the effort to hear what they had to say. That's the humane response. (I have also been a teacher of speech communication).

[420conejo420]

he smoke crack

[warlockboyburns]

24:56 very funny

[mrmartinconte]

"Pearl" is one of the most beautiful and saddest poems I've ever heard from Kooser. How could people laugh when this poor woman is describing the phantoms? It makes me shiver and shake. He's beautiful. And there's even something about the smacking of his lips that complete the effect.

[arajan1]

go to 21:00

[KasperInABox]

he is so funny !! and very talented. but his constant smacking is driving me crazy!!! but he is so good that i can't stop watching !!!! so frustrating!

[Psychopathis]

he is seriously dehydrated

[HumanCondition50]

so much to quote here...

[cartycartier]

Vito Veii is an interesting Poet check him out on youtube and his work is available on itunes

[UnionKid15]

Thanks a lot for posting this video.

[donhonki1]

"Donhonki" "First ever crown court banned uk rap-poet" (2009-2014) #SuperInjunction

[cosg9531]

Free verse? Any damn fool can write that, and the vast majority of it it mediocre. Rhyme scheme is far more difficult, and also gives you the beauty of cadence accompanying imagery.

[Gregroix]

Ringing bitterness,

Go fuck yourself...

How's that for a rhyme?

[xXBronzedBalletXx]

@cosg9531 You sound very undereducated and idiotic.

[jldrue]

his lip smack is killing me...smackity smack yuck

[cosg9531]

@jldrue Disgusting, isn't it? How did this annoying asshole ever become Poet Laureate? Not only should you be able to write excellent poetry, you should be able to speak in a clear, articulate and pleasant manner; this guy does neither.

[DrNick1010]

Quite hilarious what he said about the Hobbit thing. I met him today and was thinking that as well.

[FrankieSpankie666]

I beleive he has the world record for most lip smacks per sentence on average.....he does it up to 4 times per sentence....WTF doesn't he realize that he sounds ridiculous?

[MDubBeezy]

@FrankieSpankie666 Oh really? Huh. Because I came here to listen to poetry.

[thinkverybig]

Do a search for "thinkverybig" on youtube for something inspirational.

[zomdru]

i hate his lip smack

[AndreasZimmerman]

I *lip smack* really like *lip smack* this guys poems *lip SMACK*

[15eisen]

can you check out my poetry? its nothing much, but its there. its on my newest video, so just check out my channel. thank you in advance.

[FrankieSpankie666]

Good poetry...but what is up with the lip smacking every 2 seconds....?

[williamsderrick98]

@FrankieSpankie666 I used to smack like that when I was smoking crack! :)

[FrankieSpankie666]

@williamsderrick98 are you saying he smokes crack?

[williamsderrick98]

@FrankieSpankie666 No, Im not saying he smokes crack. Im saying: I used to smack like that when I was smoking crack.

[ghodium]

man in a scrum with cum in his bum

[ubiquim]

To hear Newton Minow's actual voice on this clip is phenomenal for me. Thanks.

I have been trying to digress his speech for a few years now, and this puts it into perspective for me, decidedly I find it the most poetic of all...

[bertoflirt0]

STOP SMACKING YOUR FKIN LIPS!!!

[keylawk]

"...the tiny moth that lives on tears"....oh my

[josedodgers]

The visual imagery in ' A Rainy Morning' is striking. beautiful. amazing. whatever.

[fallingzeppelin69]

beautiful. i love listening to these

[panicinapie]

Truly wonderful to listen to; makes me stop, think, and look around at the beautiful, funny, common, wonderful, and ordinary things.

[youwhatnow]

Very good, but is there a name for that squelching sound Ted Kooser makes when he opens his mouth before speaking?

[scheetz2000]

@youwhatnow "cotton mouth" I can hardly stand it. I had a terrible 7th grade teacher with the same issue.

[UnionKid15]

An amazing contemporary poet, thanks for the post, great stuff..!!!

[LovingLifeandWords]

Fabulous....

[unmannedlab]

Handsome Poet,

I have written a poem...or more..and this is what I found: it is so easy for others to not see all the nuances of meaning in the poem. Or, even read the heart of the poet. They often see what their experience guides them toward. This is what happened when I read your poem. I'm so sorry that I was so sure that I could read a message that might not have been meant by you. Its not so easy to be a poet!

[ultramaria]

@unmannedlab

That is ok friend, my poems are deep.

[onikjohn3]

Last one is The best

[onikjohn3]

astounding

[yodeling4otters]

What a gem....so lucky to hear this!!!

[highonlife1294]

i live in lincoln :)

[yawalad]

Please watch my poetry vid.

[rimbaud100]

nathanfrost, if you'd done some research you'd know that Kooser recently recovered from mouth cancer and had his saliva glands removed, hence the little noises his mouth makes.

[atonofham]

"On this day each year you loved to relate

that the moment of your birth

your mother glanced out the window

and saw lilacs in bloom. Well, today

lilacs are blooming in side yards

all over Iowa, still welcoming you."

sheer genius

[cosg9531]

@atonofham Sheer mediocrity. How did this person ever become Poet Laureate? The position is a joke; not by intent, but, so far, by every person who has occupied it.

[mowgli123456789]

im with you. i like some of it. but everything he says sounds condesending

[ozarksboy]

Hey, some real poetry, not the usual ghetto or gay crap that passes for poems nowadays.

[ladydragon7777]

its like hes writeing a book not a poem

[turtlelakend]

Great poetry reading, extraordinary artist.

[unmannedlab]

Cruel, handsome poet. It is not the book she is touching, it is you she is caressing, but you want her down in the squalor; at your feet. You revel in the paradigm of wealth and power; it is your true aphrodisiac. She is beautiful, and she should have the world, instead she must hang her head in shame and make a vile choice. She walks away; nice for youyouve gotten what you wanted. But not all beauties just walk away, some are queens denied their kingdom and they are not so easily thwarted.

[unmannedlab]

So you callously observe people? So what! I was hopeful, because you do have some talent with language...but I can see that you want so badly to look down at the "unwashed masses" and think you are so above it all. Well, from what I've listened to, you really do lack a heart -that's like being a pharmacy that doesn't have any pills! Enjoy your fame and you fortune! And to the person that says, "forget about being artsy," bite me!!!

[scottsprunger]

I've been reading some of the comments below about how Ted has no soul, whether or not this is the best poetry wee have in a country of 300 million and so on.

What a shame that people do not see this poetry for what it truly is. It is America, the real America. The song of everyday, the white noise of our lives that many of us choose to ignore. It is the beauty of the people of the United States of America. Perhaps you should all really read his poetry and forget about being artsy.

[00Narayana00]

soul poets dance in flames burnt out by generations of arson cold petrol fumes heady intellectual dismuse we dont make up words from fire and water here

man of the hu still tho.

Live

[MilesMuhldoon]

Soul my ass...Spirit is his game. lol@Soul!. his Spirit is Alive with Eternity.

[SolitaryWarrior]

Yes, he's very talented. But where's the SOUL?

[xenakiddle]

Is this really among the best poetry we have in a country of three hundred million people? This is what teen angst poetry becomes when it becomes academically ordained....insipid geriatric poetry. Come on man,....do something that's even mildly compelling!

[germanvoodoo]

He's another clone of the internet age. Barely a poet. "He is, he does, she is doing, she walks," bah, I'd love it if the laureates put effort into their work.

[UnionKid15]

My favorite poet right now, I love his poetry.

[MrRancher02]

Publish A Book! This is good stuff,you have talent.

If you want to do a book, contact gurdonboybooks@yahoo

We seek good book ideas, we finance, our staff can write it

if you don't have time too, we do all publishing related work

to have YOUR IDEA on the market selling in 4 weeks.

[AlexiHolford]

He is a poet laureate. You don't think he has a book? He is the author of ten collections of poetry, including Delights & Shadows (Copper Canyon, 2004); Winter Morning Walks: One Hundred Postcards to Jim Harrison (2000); Weather Central

(1994); One World at a Time (1985); and Sure Signs (Pittsburgh, 1980).

[davethewebbuilder]

Balbriggan lighthouse without the dome is like having a house that isn't a home, like the old town clock with only one hand or our beach without any sand, To us that have reached that certain age when they stole the dome it sent us in rage, what were the old farthers about? They let the dome go without even a shout! Lets starn an appeal to have it restored, if we all stand together we carn't ignored. Starting today rebuild the dome without any delay.

[TheOasisSage]

i like the line about the horse fly, its a pet peeve of mine however when poets write about poetry

[KRONIKAKID]

lol i hear it .

kinda annoying, but that's what we'll all do when we're old....but i hope not.

[animalxfactor]

I love poetry, check out my poetry on utube under animalxfactor!

[annemccrady]

Ted Kooser reminds us that the poetic is the essence of our everyday lives. We just need to catch it in the net of our words.

[wildcomfort88]

wish i had more money i would have watched it all. cool poetry anyway, i might go out and buy the book.

[Ichigo2hollow]

Without even mention his poetry, his reading skills are exceptional. There's nothing more horrible than listening to a horrible speaker. xD!

Awesome Poet. < 3

[goodieinabadplace]

America, your poet laureate with his delightful subtlety, deep searching empathy gets 8,000 hits while a rapper chanting anti-white racism and boasting about how he got rich selling drugs gets 8,000,000. Who will read your future? Who will toast your long life?

[melodykentucky]

I'm amazed at the places where the audience doesn't clap. Each poem was a materpiece.

[weedhoppr]

Like a tear rolling down my face, the dream has faded away.

[lisag6]

Next time someone tells you they don't like poetry, give them this video! Deep humanity, kindness, a sense of wonder and breathtaking imagery. I have listened to this several times because it's enchanting.

[Ednitz18]

great poems.

[poet418]

I had no idea about the phantoms. This was excellent.

[missface504]

I love Ted Kooser!

[foreverforgiving]

Thanks so much for this. I meant to save it for later but couldn't help myself - seduced by it. Love Kooser.

[ineby42]

Butch

I could tell by your comment, let alone your moniker, that you are young man whose massive testerone levels have (temporarily) neutralised your capacity to appreciate subtlety. These poems are not 'vapid' and 'toothless'; they are testament to a deep humanism. When your angry-young-man gig is over, come back to them.

[Anointed7]

Nice gentle poems like sunlight falling on the fingers of the grass.

[lisag6]

Well, you are a poet too!

[Anointed7]

For some new poetry and literature experience read Dear Joseph,

[88seb888]

where the poetry?

[Wheelchair919]

boooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!­!

[ButchTVD96]

what a vapid and toothless representative of poetry in the United States. It is almost perfect.