Cotton Candy: Poems Dipped Out of the Air

by Ted Kooser

Overview

“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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496231291
Publisher:	Nebraska
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	228,735
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Ted Kooser, U.S. poet laureate (2004–6) and winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, is an emeritus presidential professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of dozens of books, including Kindest Regards: New and Selected Poems, The Wheeling Year: A Poet’s Field Book (Nebraska, 2014), and Delights and Shadows.
 

Hometown:

Garland, Nebraska

Date of Birth:

1939

Place of Birth:

Ames, Iowa

Education:

B.S., Iowa State University, 1962; M.A., University of Nebraska, 1968

Read an Excerpt

Cotton Candy

The vendor, wearing a white cotton apron,
would select one paper cone from a big bouquet
of identical cones kept ready in a bucket
at hand, and, with a grand flourish, dip it
and sweep it deep in the whirling pink strands
of warm sugar, and twirl it, this with the fingers
of just one of his hands, his other hand held
out of sight, its back pressed to a bow in the ties
of his apron, and while we looked on with
delight, he would assemble a cloud, one cloud
for each of us standing in line with our quarters,
one quarter per puff of sticky, spun sweetness,
something to carry away up the midway, held
by its cone, as if we were pinching the strings
of small pink balloons that were carrying us.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
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

Editorial Reviews

08/15/2022

Kooser explains his process for his unusual latest in an author’s note: “a daily routine of getting up long before dawn, sitting with coffee, pen, and notebook, and writing whatever drifts into my mind.” Appropriately, many of the poems refer to the time of year and weather conditions under which they were composed; “Wind in the Chimney” opens “The wind turns and turns in the chimney,/ wearing her long black gown, her shawl/ of February chill,” while “A Light Snow in Late March” opens “There is a kind of light, thin snow/ that the wind can’t pick back up/ once it has put it down.” In keeping with the collection’s thematic playfulness and interest in loosely following the mind’s associations, these pages are rife with references to the animal world, “little goldfish spots of sunlight,” and in “Harpist,” the musician’s instrument is transformed: “She has taken a great golden moth/ into her arms, and with both hands/ she keeps its wings pressed closed/ to keep it from flying away.” Though some of these poems read like early drafts, there is much to be admired in Kooser’s improvisational approach to composition. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"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-Intelligencer

From the Publisher

09/01/2022

Kooser is a contested figure in contemporary American poetry. Without question he is competent and laureled (U.S. Poet Laureate, 2004–06; Pulitzer Prize winner for 2005's Delights & Shadows; and winner of the Pushcart Prize no fewer than four times), yet his proudly worn aesthetic is so folksy and accessible that he tends to dissatisfy or alienate many traditional readers of poetry while at the same time reassuring new readers of poetry's merits. His latest volume will do very little to alter his reputation, and his prefatory note seems determined to evade or defy critical reaction, saying that "these poems were written in play and meant to be played with." As such, these brief and proselike poems are not without their charm but scarcely rise above the level of a journal in lyrics, rarely lifting into the realm of deep image or complex idea. Kooser's poems are like an afternoon with a sharp-eyed, kindhearted grandfather who is satisfied that "it feels righ / too be able to look at a world far away,/ yet to be part of it, both feet on the ground." VERDICT More of the sweet stuff Kooser's dedicated readers have come to expect from him.—Graham Christian

Library Journal