First, we stop at the shop/studio/writing haven in Dwight where Nebraska’s own highly respected and past U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, works, paints, writes, and naps. Dwight also has a historic catholic church that has been elegantly restored.
From Dwight, we head to David City which is home to an art museum called Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art which is dedicated to the work of artists whose work depicts the life and hardships of America’s farmers. Afterward, we make a stop for lunch at a quaintly authentic Czech restaurant in Abie then a visit to Concordia College in Seward which houses the Center for Liturgical Art and the Marxhausen Gallery of Art, and a final stop at a winery outside of Seward called Junto Winery. It was an action-packed tour that proved stimulating and profoundly worthwhile.
One comment about our fellow day-trippers and hosts, Margaret Berry and JoAnne Kissel. They should be commended for organizing the entire day’s experiences and for entertaining the 50+ fun-loving and knowledgeable travelers along the way. Well done, Sheldon Museum of Art docents!!
Our first stop was in Dwight, Nebraska. In Dwight, we visit the studio of Mr. Ted Kooser. You know you’re in the right place when you see ‘Poetry Created and Repaired’ painted on the storefront window.
Ted Kooser served as our nation’s U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004-2006. As a poet and writer (after his 25-year career in the insurance business), aside from his notoriety as a U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted has published many books of his poetry, several children’s books and several non-fiction books on subjects such as poetry writing and local lore. He also writes a weekly column for An American Life in Poetry that you can subscribe online and have sent to your inbox, free of charge!!
Ted currently lives in Garland, Nebraska, and still commutes daily to his studio and office in Dwight. Aside from writing, Ted is also an artist. He works in mediums of oil, pastel, and watercolor. At 80 years old, he continues to engage his creativity through writing and painting. We should all be so fortunate to have his energy and lust for creative expression!
Ted was very generous of his time during our visit and told many stories of what it was like to serve as the U.S. Poet Laureate among other delightful tales of being a poet. After hundreds of readings, interviews and thousands of miles on the road traveling around the country introducing poetry to the young and old, suffice it to say, for a shy guy, he successfully represented our state to all disbelievers with concerns that Nebraska wasn’t a suitable place from which to select our nation’s Poet Laureate. He told us the highest compliment he recalls ever receiving was hearing that once-naysayers were eventually taking credit for being so wise as to select him as the U.S. Poet Laureate!
Ted also gave our group a gift beyond our expectations. He wrote a poem just for us. You can read it here. Thank you, Ted, for taking Nebraska upward into the highest levels of poetry.