<DIV>For Valentine's Day 1986, Ted Kooser wrote “Pocket Poem” and sent the tender, thoughtful composition to fifty women friends, starting an annual tradition that would persist for the next twenty-one years. Printed on postcards, the poems were mailed to a list of recipients that eventually grew to more than 2,500 women all over the United States. <I>Valentines</I> collects Kooser's twenty-two years of Valentine's Day poems, complemented with illustrations by Robert Hanna and a new poem appearing for the first time.</div><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Kooser's valentine poems encompass all the facets of the holiday: the traditional hearts and candy, the brilliance and purity of love, the quiet beauty of friendship, and the bittersweetness of longing. Some of the poems use the word <I>valentine</I>, others do not, but there is never any doubt as to the purpose of Kooser's creations.</DIV>