{"id":3324,"date":"2014-11-13T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/unfundamentalistchristians\/?p=3324"},"modified":"2014-11-13T18:21:30","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T02:21:30","slug":"splitting-an-order-by-ted-kooser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unfundamentalistchristians\/2014\/11\/splitting-an-order-by-ted-kooser\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiseling away: Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser’s “Splitting an Order”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"splitting-an-order-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it,\u201d says a quote attributed to Michelangelo. Translated for the task of writing poetry, it might say, \u201cEvery detail of life contains a poem, it is the task of the poet to discover it.\u201c<\/p>\n

This is the work of Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate\u00a0Ted Kooser<\/a>: to chisel away at the stone of everyday life and discover the poetry already hiding inside. Kooser\u2019s new collection, Splitting an Order<\/a><\/em> (Copper Canyon Press, $23), does just that: Kooser\u2019s careful observations of objects, animals, people and places reveal the beauty that exists everywhere around us.<\/p>\n

Kooser\u2019s credentials are imposing, but his poetry is not. His verses are soft, gentle and sometimes melancholy descriptions of the minutiae of life. These poems aren\u2019t merely descriptive, they\u2019re also quiet ruminations on change, longing, and the bittersweet passage of time.<\/p>\n

The poem from which the collection draws its title is about a man sharing a roast beef sandwich with his wife: \u201cI like to watch an old man cutting a sandwich in half, \/ maybe an ordinary cold roast beef on whole wheat bread.\u201d But this entire collection of poems also functions as an extended invitation to split an order. Kooser carefully divides up the moments of life and asks us to partake in their restrained beauty.<\/p>\n

\n\u2026 Today, on a bench
\nin a dark garage it\u2019s upside down,
\na miniature galvanized tub adrift
\non time, and in it two survivors,
\na bolt that once held everything
\ntogether, season in and season out,
\nand a wing nut resting its wings.<\/p>\n

from \u201cZinc Lid\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is a testament to his craft that Kooser\u2019s poetry appears so effortless, so transparent. This simplicity is deceptive, for his words act as gateways to a different way of seeing, full of subtle signposts that guide us through the commonplace, almost banal subject matter.<\/p>\n

A dead fly, a lunch at Arby\u2019s, driving through a pile of leaves, a father and son descending a staircase, an approaching rollerblader, an uncleaned fishtank: these are all chances to see and feel the world in a fresh way. In the commonplace Kooser finds exquisite beauty, inviting us to open our eyes, to look at the tiniest details for the first time.<\/p>\n

\nWhat can be read in the open book
\nof an old brass door hinge? Here are two
\nin a coffee can, one of them coated
\nwith cream-colored paint and one brown,
\nthe first from a door that once swung
\ninto the kitchen and out, fanning
\nthe fragrance of pot roast, its paint
\nworried and chipped; the other from
\nthe cold brown door to the attic stairs
\nthat was rarely opened, behind which stood
\nwinter, wearing an old woolen coat
\nwith mothballs loose in his pockets.
\nThe first hinge swung smooth on a film
\nof black oil from bacon and chops;
\nthe other cried out through the frost.<\/p>\n

from \u201cEstate Sale\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Emily Dickinson wrote: \u201cIf I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ted Kooser shows us another way. His poetry is warming, reassuring and refreshing. It doesn\u2019t take the top of your head off, it sidles up alongside you, keeping a steady pace as it walks with you through life.<\/p>\n

\nAt A Kitchen Table<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not a flock of stories,
\nnot usually,
\nbut a few that arrive at dusk,
\nin pairs, quietly
\ncreating themselves
\nin the feathery light.
\nAnd rarely with fancy plumage
\nof blue or green or red
\nbut plain, as of clay or wood,
\nwith a plain little song.
\nTheirs are the open wings
\nwe light our table by.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\"DanDan Wilkinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dan is a writer, graphic designer and IT specialist. He lives in Montana, is married and has two cats. He blogs at CoolingTwilight.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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