Hie
Friday, June 28, 1985
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 84 No. 162
3
Li QluJjsQ
v-,
Weather: Unseasonably cool weather will continue today
and into the first part of the weekend. Expect mostly sunny
skies and pleasant today with a high of 75 (24C). Clear and
cool tonight with a low of 54 (12C). For the weekend expect
pleasant and mild conditions to continue with highs in the
lower to mid 80s (29C).
Barb BrandaThe Nebraskan
UNO student regent,
lail On the job?...Page3
Ethnic polka hits a
nuclear age.. .Page 7
, .
-A
(4 W
I
!
I
-VS.-,
' "X. i .J-V
3
2n
i i
I
v
,.-5 - ,
I
1"
' J t ' "
Mark DavisThe Nebraskan
usmessman,
poet,
wri
By Scott Harrah
Staff Reporter
Banks loan money and libraries loan
books, but do businesses loan their
own personal poets?
Lincoln Benefit Life, a local insu
rance company, has done just that.
Nationally known poet Ted Kooser
has been "loaned" by the company to
UNL's English department for the first
five-week summer session.
The company donated the services of
their second vice president-marketing
administration as part of a commit
ment to Nebraska humanities, Kooser
said.
Kooser, a 1969 UNL graduate, is cur
rently teaching a creative writing course
with his old friend, English professor
Warren L. Fine.
According to English department
chairman Fred Link, Kooser was asked
to teach the class because he is both an
acclaimed regional poet and a "good
teacher." :
In the class Kooser and Fine listen
to students' poems and short stories,
then offer criticism and professional
advice afterwards.
Dealing with the transition from
boardroom to classroom has been easy
for Kooser because, he said there is no
great separation between the two life
styles.
"There's no reason a businessman
can't be a poet or an artist, too," he
said.
Kooser started working in life insu
rance in 1884, and has been equally
successful in both his business and
literary endeavors.
Re has written numerous books of
poetry and fiction, and his works have
appeared in such eminent publications
as "New Yorker," "American Poetry
Review," and "The Nation."
Other achievements include two Cre
ative Writing Fellowships from the
National Endowment for the Arts, being
appointed to the Nebraska Arts Coun-
artis
cil, and becoming editor and publisher
of Windflower Press, a local publishing
house.
Kooser feels that experience is the
cause of his many successes.
"You learn a lot about the process of
writing by just writing," he said.
He has been writing for so long, he
said, that it is impossible for him to
remember when he first picked up his
poetic pen or why.
Kooser is also a visual artist whose
paintings have graced the covers of
many magazines and on all of the books
published by Windflower Press.
But poetry still remains his first love,
he said.
ooser
"Painting and drawing is fun for me.
Poetry's fun, but it's also hard work,"
he said.
Unlike many poets, Kooser doesn't
write about ideas. He said most of his
poetry consists of life experiences or
what is presently on his mind.
"When I write," he said, "I never
think I'm writing about something."
Now in his mid 40s, Kooser plans to
experiment with other literary genres.
He said he would like to write more
fiction and be remembered for writing
"two or three good poems" alter his
death.
. "As a writer," he said, "I just want to
keep getting better."