Billy Collins (1 Viewer)

I am sure that some (if not all) of you know about Billy Collins. Hell, some of you may know Billy Collins.

However, I am somewhat ashamed yet glad in some way, that I have just discovered him. A friend of mine put a clip of him reading Flames in a play lis, and I loved it. He then introduced me to Litany. I love both of them.

Does anyone else have a favorite of his that I might pursue, or any other information regarding a book I might dive into, or a warning against doing so?
 
He spoke at my sons graduation and was an interesting speaker. I looked him up and liked some of his poems. It seems like someone on here may have blasted him once a couple of years ago though.
 
I guess, we're not talking about THIS Bill Collins, are we?

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btw - though I guess, most of you HATE this song due to being too kitschy and sentimental, you sure will love that part of the intro (in the extended video ), where they have a dialogue like this at (1:20): "Can't someone else sing it? - How about Billy? - Who's this? - Well he was the drummer in a really good band and when the singer left, he took over."


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Hi, Rob!

My first Billy Collins book was Sailing Alone Around the Room. I just picked up his latest, Ballistics. Nine Horses is also very nice. I like Collins' stuff very much. He's like a modern Robert Frost, in a way. I don't think you can go wrong with any of his books.
 
Rob, there was recently a re-release of his book The Apple That Astonished Paris with a new intro. You might want to check that out.
 
Does anyone else have a favorite of his that I might pursue, or any other information regarding a book I might dive into, or a warning against doing so?

Hey, I would suggest the poem "Bermuda" from Nine Horses. Just beautiful, lures you in with a tranquil, lazy beginning that makes you feel that you are half asleep on the beach, then brings down the hammer with an incredible, sad, thoughtful ending. At his best, he is one of the best around.

I noted in a poem about his poetry, though, that he does have a tendency to go on a bit too long ... I wrote a poem about it that says:

But sometimes you turn
to the second page of the poem
and sigh as again it's a stanza
too long.

But if that's the only knock on him, I'm happy. Keep reading Collins, he's one of my favorites too. And like Bukowski, he has a sense of humor, pretty rare in poetry these days.
 
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Didn't Billy Collins edit The MidAtlantic Review (which I think published Bukowski)?

Also, he always has nice things to say / blurb about Ron Koertge.

I saw Collins read at the James Wright Festival many years ago and he did a great job. Then went to the bar and had drinks and talked to his readers.

I like the early books a little better than the later stuff, but he's always solid and entertaining.
 

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