What kind of poet is Billy Collins?
Billy Collins, in full William James Collins, (born March 22, 1941, New York, New York, U.S.), American poet whose uncommonly accessible verse—characterized by plain language, gentle humour, and an alert appreciation for the mundane—made him one of the most popular poets in the United States.
How does Billy Collins feel about poetry?
Billy Collins and a Summary of 'Introduction to Poetry' Billy Collins wrote it in the hope that it would encourage readers and students to look, listen and react to a poem in subtle imaginative ways, rather than ride roughshod over it.
What are characteristics of Billy Collins poems?
Billy Collins's 6 Elements Of A PoemShape Of The Poem/Building. Let's start with the first thing we notice about a poem: its shape. ... Title/Marquis. ... First Lines/Welcome-mat. ... Stanzas/Rooms. ... Turning Toward The Abstract: The Discovered Subject. ... The Final Exhibit.
What is Billy Collins best poetry book?
The Rain in Portugal: Poems (2016): Also named a bestseller by the New York Times, this insightful and humorous collection takes a look at loneliness, beauty, travel, and animals, with titles like “Lucky Cat,” “The Night of the Fallen Limb,” and “Only Child.”
What was Billy Collins most famous poem?
Top 10 Billy Collins Poems The Afterlife. Aristotle. The Revenant. The Birds of America. Introduction to Poetry. Afternoon with Irish Cows. The Art of Drowning. The Best Cigarette.More items...
What does drop a mouse into a poem mean?
He says, “I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem's room and feel the walls for a light switch.” When the mouse looks for a light switch, one can imagine that it is dark inside the “poem's room” and that there is a sense of being lost, like in a labyrinth.
How do you write like Billy Collins?
Billy Collins's 6 Tips for Writing PoetryFind your persona. Billy says, “I think when we write poems, we put a lot of ourselves in the closet, and we put on a better self—more sensitive, more in tune with emotions. ... Write uncensored. ... Make a mess. ... Read poetry. ... Start small. ... Be yourself.
What is the irony in Introduction to poetry Billy Collins?
To bring home his idea, the poet uses the image of water skiing “across the surface of a poem”. Ironically, the element of enjoyment is present on the surface of a poem. The poet wants to say that if one really wants to enjoy a poem he/she has to dive deeper into a poetic work.
What are the 5 elements of a poem?
No matter if you're writing sonnets or lyrics to your next mixtape, these five things are essential to any poem.Imagery. The only thing that will make your poetry powerful and enticing is great imagery. ... Rhythm. Yes, rhythm can include rhyme. ... Sound. ... Density. ... Line.
Who are Billy Collins favorite poets?
The nation's most popular poet recommends works by William Wordsworth, Vladimir Nabokov, and more. New and Selected Poems by Charles Simic (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30).
Why is Billy Collins so popular?
One reason for Collins's popularity is simply that readers have encountered his work. Collins places his poems in the public eye, on the New York City subway or the backs of Metro cards. “I'm a great believer in poetry out of the classroom, in public places, on subways, trains, on cocktail napkins.
How do you read a poem by Billy Collins?
0:0311:24Reading, Summary, and Analysis of "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy CollinsYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipI say drop a mouse into a poem. And watch him probe his way out or walk inside the poem's room andMoreI say drop a mouse into a poem. And watch him probe his way out or walk inside the poem's room and feel the walls for a light switch.
Who is Billy Collins?
Billy Collins. For other people named Billy Collins, see Billy Collins (disambiguation). For other people named William Collins, see William Collins (disambiguation). William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College ...
Who is the most popular poet in America?
Collins has been called "The most popular poet in America" by the New York Times. When he moved from the University of Pittsburgh Press to Random House, the advance he received shocked the poetry world—a six-figure sum for a three-book deal, virtually unheard of in poetry.
Who was the first recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry?
In 2005 Collins was the first annual recipient of its Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and in 1993, from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation .
Who is Billy Collins?
Full Article. Billy Collins, in full William James Collins, (born March 22, 1941, New York, New York, U.S.), American poet whose uncommonly accessible verse—characterized by plain language, gentle humour, and an alert appreciation for the mundane—made him one of the most popular poets in the United States. Collins grew up mainly in Queens, New York.
What is the purpose of Poetry 180?
In that capacity he devised and promoted an initiative called Poetry 180, intended to help high-school students connect with and find pleasure in poetry.
Who is the most popular poet in the United States?
It’s not surprising that Billy Collins is among the select few who have made it to the front of the paper. Collins, two-time poet laureate of the United States, has often been called America’s most popular poet. His books sell in numbers unheard of in the poetry world, and his readings are consistently jam-packed.
What does Collins say at the end of Grand Central?
Just as Collins writes at the end of his poem “Grand Central,” (one that’s displayed on subways around New York City) you always know “just when and where you are.” “There is no radical development once one has a persona ,” Collins tells me. “I’m happy to stick with my persona.
Is it rare to see a poet on the front page of the New York Times?
In fact, there are only a handful of instances. The death of Adrienne Rich was one example. A publishers’ dispute over the poems of Billy Collins was another. It’s not surprising that Billy Collins is among the select few who have made it to the front of the paper.
Is Billy Collins a pejorative poem?
Other readers, however, are less enthusiastic about Collins’s poems, claiming that they lack a heft and substance that people seek in poetry. “A Billy Collins poem” has even been used as a pejorative term in certain workshop settings. But perhaps an academic setting is just not where they belong.
How many times has Billy Collins been a poet?
He has served two terms as the US poet laureate. Some of his books of verse include The Trouble with Poetry, Aimless Love, and the Rain in Portugal. In recent years Billy Collins has done readings of his poetry at The White House, hosted a radio program for NPR, toured alongside singer Aimee Mann, and presented two TED talks in 2012 and 2014.
What is Billy Collins' satirical poem?
This is another one of Billy Collins’ satirical poems that takes a look at how poetry is used. Along with that, this poem shows how it appears in the most mundane of places. In this case, he is taking a look at “the picture postcard”. It is “a poem on vacation”. The speaker examines the act of writing a postcard.
What is the afterlife in Billy Collins?
The Afterlife. This piece was first published in Poetry magazine and then later included in Billy Collins’ collection Questions about Angels, in 1991. As the title suggests, this piece is about the afterlife. Specifically, everyone’s individual conceptions of what the afterlife is. Using humor, Collins confronts the topic ...
What does Billy Collins conclude about animals?
The animal returns to surprise the speaker by telling him that he never liked him in the first place. By the end of the poem the speaker, who is perhaps Billy Collins himself, concludes that animals have an inherent worth that is all their own, making the act of buying and owning living creatures all the more absurd.
How does Collins confront the topic of death?
Using humor, Collins confronts the topic of death by lightheartedly describing the various ways religions depict death. Such as “squeezing into the bodies of animals” and being inspected by a female god in her “forties with short wiry hair”.
What does Billy Collin mean by "inside me"?
Then, Billy Collin uses it to describe a revelation about love. It is only “inside me,” his speaker states. Besides, he realizes, quite painfully that “All that sweetness, the love and desire— / it’s just been me dialing myself”. Therefore, the two telephones belong to him, and he is the only one on the other line.
When a stranger calls, what does Billy Collin say?
Specifically, the famous line from When A Stranger Calls in which the main character realizes that the “call is coming from inside the house”. This revelation changes the entire nature of the movie. Then, Billy Collin uses it to describe a revelation about love. It is only “inside me,” his speaker states.
Reviews
Education and career
- Collins was born in 1941 in New York City. He earned a BA from the College of the Holy Cross, and both an MA and PhD from the University of California-Riverside. In 1975 he co-founded the Mid-Atlantic Review with Michael Shannon. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts and has tau…
Recognition
- Collinss level of fame is almost unprecedented in the world of contemporary poetry: his readings regularly sell out, and he received a six-figure advance when he moved publishers in the late 1990s. He served two terms as the US Poet Laureate, from 2001-2003, was New York State Poet Laureate from 2004-2006, and is a regular guest on National Public Radio programs. In 2002, as …
Critical reception
- Though Collins published throughout the 1980s, it was his fourth book, Questions about Angels (1991), that propelled him into the literary spotlight. The collection was selected by poet Ed Hirsch for the 1990 National Poetry Series. A Publishers Weekly critic applauded the collections strange and wonderful [images] but believed that the poemswhich are often constricted by the novelty o…
Style
- Poet Richard Howard has said of Collins: He has a remarkably American voicethat one recognizes immediately as being of the moment and yet has real validity besides, reaching very far into what verse can do. Collins has described himself as reader conscious: I have one reader in mind, someone who is in the room with me, and who Im talking to, and I want to make sure I dont talk t…
Overview
William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York (retired, 2016). Collins was recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004 through 2006. In 2016, Colli…
Career
Collins is a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College in the Bronx, where he joined the faculty in 1968. He is a founding Advisory Board member of the CUNY Institute for Irish-American Studies at Lehman College. Collins has taught and served as a visiting writer at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York as well as teaching workshops across the U.S. and in Ireland. Collin…
Early life and education
Collins was born in Manhattan to William and Katherine Collins and grew up in Queens and White Plains. William was born to a large family from Ireland and Katherine was from Canada. His mother, Katherine Collins was a nurse who stopped working to raise the couple's only child. Mrs. Collins had the ability to recite verses on almost any subject, which she often did, and cultivated in her young son the love of words, both written and spoken.
Personal life
In 1977 Collins married Diane Olbright, and later settled in Westchester County, New York. The couple have since divorced. Collins moved in 2007 from New York to Winter Park, Florida to be with Suzannah Gilman, his fiancée, an attorney. Collins and Suzannah Gilman married on July 21, 2019, in Southampton, New York.
Awards and honors
• 1983 Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts
• 1986 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
• 1991 National Poetry Series publication prize. Winner for Questions About Angels
Bibliography
• Pokerface. (Pasadena, Ca.: Kenmore Press, 1977).
• Video poems. (Long Beach, Ca.: Applezaba Press, 1980).
• The apple that astonished Paris: poems. (Fayetteville, Ark.: University of Arkansas Press, 1988).
External links
• Collins online resources at the Library of Congress
• Billy Collins profile at PoetryFoundation.org
• Billy Collins profile at poets.org
• George Plimpton (Fall 2001). "Billy Collins, The Art of Poetry No. 83". Paris Review. Fall 2001 (159).