He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006. Hailed by Dana Gioia as a writer "who has written more perfect poems than any poet of his generation," Kooser is widely praised for his plainspoken style, his gift for metaphor, and his quiet discoveries of beauty in ordinary things. In announcing his appointment as Poet Laureate, Librarian of Congress James Billington 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." Pocket Poem