Description
Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2023 Midwest Book Award Finalist for the 2023 Heartland Booksellers Award Poems dipped out of the air describes the manner in which Ted Kooser composed the poems in Cotton Candy, the result of his daily routine of getting up long before dawn, sitting with coffee, pen, and notebook, and writing whatever drifts into his mind. Whether those words and images are serious or just plain silly, Kooser tries not to censor himself. His objective is to catch whatever comes to him, to snatch it out of the air in words, rhythms, and cadences, the way a cotton candy vendor dips an airy puff out of a cloud of spun sugar and hands it to his customer. Poems written in fun and now shared with the reader, Kooser's playful and magical confections charm and delight.
Trade Review"There is much to be admired in Kooser's improvisational approach to composition."—
Publishers Weekly“That Kooser often sees things we do not would be delight enough, but more amazing is exactly what he sees. Nothing escapes him. Everything is illuminated.”—
Library Journal“There is a sense of quiet amazement at the core of all Kooser’s work.”—
Washington Post“[Kooser] brushes poems over ordinary objects, revealing metaphysical themes the way an investigator dusts for fingerprints. His language is so controlled and convincing that one can’t help but feel significant truths behind his lines.”—
Philadelphia Inquirer“Kooser’s ability to discover the smallest detail and render it remarkable is a rare gift.”—
Bloomsbury Review“Kooser is straightforward, possesses an American essence, is humble, gritty, ironic, and has a gift for detail and deceptive simplicity.”—
Seattle Post-IntelligencerTable of ContentsAcknowledgements
A Word from the Author
I
Cotton Candy
Spider
A Windy January Morning
Wind in the Chimney
A Light Snow in Late March
Spring
Turtles
Handoff
Culvert
Shadows at Sunset
Clouds and Moon
Toad
Easter Morning
Burning the Prairie
Raindrop
Bucket
In a Glade
In Light from a Single Lamp
II
Following the Weather
Rowboat
In May
Harpist
Dandelion
Yellowjacket
A Brief Shower
The Candle’s Butterfly
A Kitchen Drawer
A Breezy Summer Morning
A Thump
A Lake of Starlight
Bicycles on Top of Cars
Two Horses
A New Moon
A Sudden Storm
A Walk with my Shadow
In Midsummer
One Cloud
III
Birdhouse
A Sighting
A Sound in the Night
In a Shed
A Cloudy Sunrise
A Novelty
In a Cold Late-Afternoon Rain
A Fluttering
Melon
A Falling Feather
A Few Things in Their Places
A Light in a Farmyard
A Seascape
Full Moon
A Dervish of Leaves
IV
A Windy Monday
Egg Carton
Cornshucks
A Winter Landscape
A Leaf in Wind
On a Dark Winter Morning
Pleasures of Snow
An Oriole Nest in Winter
November Snow
After an Ice Storm
A Falling Branch
Fresh Snow, with Deer Tracks
A Man Walking in Deep Snow
Icicle
A Stand of Ornamental Grass
A Special Kind of Sunset
