Among the recently announced Pulitzer Prize winners was Ted Kooser, poet laureate of the United States and former vice president of Lincoln Benefit Life Insurance. The resident of Garland, Neb., was awarded the honor for his 2004 book of poetry, Delights & Shadows.

Kooser, who is 65, entered the insurance field while studying for his master’s degree at the University of Nebraska in the mid-60s. Before retiring from Lincoln in 1998, he arose every morning at 4:30 to compose poetry, before heading to the office, where he wrote advertising copy and oversaw legal affairs.