“Kooser, who was born in Ames, Iowa, received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State and his master’s in English from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is the author of 10 collections of poetry, including Delights & Shadows, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. His other honors include two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, a Pushcart Prize and the Stanley Kunitz Prize from Columbia. He is a professor in the English department at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.”

–Library of Congress Poets Laureate page