Born on April 25, 1939, in Ames, Iowa, Ted Kooser is the son of Theodore, Sr., and Vera (nee Moser) Kooser. Raised in Iowa, Kooser began writing poetry at an early age and became serious about his poetry as a teenager. Kooser attended Iowa State University in Ames, earning his bachelor's degree in 1962 from Iowa State University. He then spent a year working as a high school teacher in Madrid, Iowa.

In the mid-1960s, Kooser moved to Nebraska to attend graduate school at the University of Nebraska, where he earned a master's degree in English in 1968. He wanted to be a poet but realized he could not support himself and his family by writing poetry. He began working in the insurance industry while a graduate student. Kooser was hired by Bankers Life Nebraska as a correspondent in 1964 and became an underwriter the following year. He held various...