New US poet laureate announced

Nebraska poet Ted Kooser will be the next poet laureate of the United States.

Librarian of Congress James Billington, who will officially announce the appointment today, said: “Ted Kooser is a major poetic voice for rural and small-town America and the first poet laureate chosen from the Great Plains.

"His verse reaches beyond his native region to touch on universal themes in accessible ways.”

Kooser, 65, replaces Pulitzer Prize-winner Louise Gluck in the one-year position. He has written 10 collections of poetry, most recently Delights & Shadows, published this year.