Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/04/07/A_Selection_of_Poems_by_Billy_Collins
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins discusses stealing material from other writers, and reads his poem, “Litany.”
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Poet Billy Collins is a unique literary figure – a widely read contemporary poet. The former US Poet Laureate and New York State Poet has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, though his most dramatic honors come from a wide and appreciative readership. Collins’s poetry collections, including The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems, Nine Horses, Sailing Alone Around the Room, and Picnic, Lightening, have broken records for poetry sales. His writing is marked by inventiveness beyond traditional poetry forms with ironic twists and lyrical turns of phrase that resonate powerfully. An advocate for integrating poetry into everyday life, Collins compiled the anthologies Poetry 180 and 180 More with poems for every day of a typical school year. Billy Collins has been a professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York since 1968 – City Arts & Lectures
Billy Collins is the author of several books of poetry and two anthologies of contemporary poetry, including The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems; The Arts of Drowning, which was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall prize; and Questions About Angels, which won the National Poetry Series in 1990. He is also a distinguished professor of English at Lehman College (CUNY). Collins served as US Poet Laureate (2001-2003) and as New York State Poet Laureate (2004-2006). Collins’ poetry has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Harper’s, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among many other journals and periodicals. He has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has won several awards and prizes.
Duration : 0:4:11
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January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
lmaoooo too good
lmaoooo too good
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
it’s funny because …
it’s funny because most poets are never successful in life, if you mean by methods of money or fame.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
No I don’t!
No I don’t!
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
I know. It’s a …
I know. It’s a problem if you require that much set up.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
And my sides are …
And my sides are hurting too. ; )
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Success at what? …
Success at what? Readings? The general public? Money? Women? Or success at writing poetry. Which shall it be?
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
I wish I could be …
I wish I could be so successful, but then I am a poet. It just bugs me that I’m not the successful one.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
I don’t think poets …
I don’t think poets should be so successful in life.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
He looks like Mr. …
He looks like Mr. Magoo in his last hair days.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
He may be the most …
He may be the most cynical and cranky old man I have ever met, but his poetry sure is something else.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Very good poet, …
Very good poet, he’s one of my favourites.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
very cute and funny
very cute and funny
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
FAIL.
FAIL.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
ROFL.
ROFL.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
If you don’t get it …
If you don’t get it, I am not sure it’s palpable.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
I see. It makes …
I see. It makes alot more sense now. Thanks.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
He’s poking fun at …
He’s poking fun at how amateur poet’s often use metaphors that make no sense. He came across a cliche’d love poem and used its ridiculous first line as the beginning of a parody.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
can someone please …
can someone please explain the humor in this poem. I would really like to know.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
wow. wow.
wow. wow.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
me too, sunshiney! …
me too, sunshiney! now i’m completely rethinking the poem
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
And we say …
And we say Americans can’t do dry humour. How wrong we are.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
LOL!
LOL!
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Interesting. I’d …
Interesting. I’d always read and heard this poem in my head quite seriously, without the laughter and comical nature present in this video.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
What a tremendous …
What a tremendous poet he is . I also love the lanyard .
January 29th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Curious how the …
Curious how the word litany has moved in meaning from a prayer of supplication to a comical list. So the English language moves on….