Selecting a Reader

Ted Kooser’s “Selecting a Reader” is made up of 13 lines. The poem has no identifiable meter, and it features no rhymes. It is short and expresses the personal imaginings of the poet. The poem is also an example of free verse. Free verse allows the poet to write lines in any length and to adopt any or no rhyme scheme. In this poem, each of the lines is relatively balanced, as they each contain between six and 13 syllables.

The neat and simple form of the poem reflects Kooser’s belief that poetry should invite readers and welcome them rather than intimidate or scare them off with a complex structure. The poem’s simple structure appears accessible, and the words contained in the stanza are the kind of words that most people use in their everyday lives.

Kooser uses a distinctive narrative voice to relay the action in the poem. The poem is clear and precise, containing enough mystery to keep the reader intrigued. The word “beautiful” (Line 1) and the phrase “the loneliest moment of an afternoon” (Line 3) are somewhat ambiguous, but they are not overly complex or abstract.