Billy Collins Quotes

Billy Collins
Billy Collins
American Poet
Born: Mar 22, 1941
Because Me People Poet Think You
Related authors: Edgar Allan Poe Emily Dickinson Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Maya Angelou Ralph Waldo Emerson Robert Frost T. S. Eliot Walt Whitman
Emily Dickinson seems rather tame because she pretty much uses the same meter every time. It's called 'common meter.' It's a line of four beats that's followed by a line of three beats. Billy Collins
Time Three Every Every Time Pretty Followed Seems Rather Emily Emily Dickinson Beats She Because Tame Meter Line Same Common Much Uses Four
I don't think anybody reads a book of poetry front to back. Editors and reviewers only. I don't think anybody else does. Billy Collins
Book Think Else Back Only Poetry Reads Does Editors Reviewers Front Anybody Anybody Else
When you put a book together and arrange it, there's a lot of anxiety and turmoil about what order the poems should be in. Billy Collins
You Together Book Anxiety About Poems Put Arrange Lot Order Turmoil Should
My poems tend to have rhetorical structures; what I mean by that is they tend to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. There tends to be an opening, as if you were reading the opening chapter of a novel. They sound like I'm initiating something, or I'm making a move. Billy Collins
You Chapter Reading Beginning Something Poems Structures Tend Tends Opening Like Making Sound Were End Move Middle Rhetorical Mean Novel
Emily Dickinson never developed. She remained loyal to her persona and to that same little metrical song that stood her in such good stead. She is a striking example of complexity within a simple package. Her rhymes are like bows on the package. Billy Collins
Good Song Simple Example Striking Complexity Stead Emily Emily Dickinson Remained Never Developed Like She Bows Within Persona Same Stood Rhymes Package Little Loyal Her
I know my voice has a limited range of motion; I don't write dramatic monologues and pretend to be other people. But so far, my voice is broad enough to accommodate most of what I want to put into my poetry. I like my persona; I often wish I were him and not me. Billy Collins
Me People Wish Other Enough Dramatic Broad Range Pretend Voice Poetry Write Put Like Know Most Him Limited Motion Accommodate Were Persona Often Want Far Monologues
When I was a young man, I understood that poetry was two things - it was difficult to understand, but you could understand that the poet was miserable. So for a while there, I wrote poems that were hard to understand, even by me, but gave off whiffs of misery. Billy Collins
Me You Man Poet Miserable Young Difficult Gave Poems Poetry Could Misery Wrote Understand Understood Were Off While Young Man Hard Even Things Two
I am a nonparticipant of social media. I'm not much attracted to anything that involves the willing forfeiture of privacy and the foregrounding of insignificance. Billy Collins
Privacy Social Media Willing Insignificance Attracted Involves Am Anything Social Much Media
I have a stack of those plastic card hotel room keys that I picked up on this latest book tour. It's about a yard tall. Ah yes, a stack of lonely nights. Billy Collins
Book Lonely Nights Keys Book Tour Latest Those About Tour Picked Hotel Hotel Room Tall Yard Up Yes Stack Room Plastic Card
One of the disadvantages of poetry over popular music is that if you write a pop song, it naturally gets into people's heads as they listen in the car. You don't have to memorize a Paul Simon song; it's just in your head, and you can sing along. With a poem, you have to will yourself to memorize it. Billy Collins
Music You Yourself People Song Car Will Memorize Poem Simon Poetry Write Disadvantages Head Over Along Heads Sing Gets Listen Just Paul Paul Simon Pop Your Pop Song Naturally Popular Popular Music
I just reached the point where plot-driven novels don't hold my interest because I don't care about the fate of characters anymore - whether Emily marries Tom or not, that kind of thing. Billy Collins
Fate Care Characters Kind About Emily Point Reached Because dont Care Just Where Anymore Hold Whether Interest Tom Novels Thing
My persona is less miserable than a lot of contemporary poetry speakers are. Billy Collins
Miserable Poetry Contemporary Lot Than Persona Speakers Less
I find a lot of poetry very disappointing, but I do have poets that I go back to. One book of poetry that I'd like to mention is 'The Exchange' by Sophie Cabot Black. Her poems are difficult without being too difficult. Billy Collins
Book Black Difficult Too Back One Book Find Poems Poetry Poets Mention Exchange Disappointing Like Without Go Lot Very Being Her
I did try to write stories in college because I was interested in writing, and I was interested in the sound of language, but I was just no good at narrative and at fiction. Billy Collins
Good Writing Try Language College Write Because Narrative Sound Did Just Fiction Stories Interested
Some honor Cummings as the granddaddy of all American innovators in poetry and ascribe to him a diverse progeny that includes virtually any poet who considers the page a field and allows silence to be part of poetry's expressiveness. Billy Collins
Silence Honor Poet Field Virtually Innovators Considers All-American Some Diverse Poetry Part Him American Any Ascribe Granddaddy Page Who Progeny
Cummings' career as a writer - and a painter - was as wobbly as his love life. He tried his hand at playwriting, satirical essays, and even a dance scenario for Lincoln Kirsten. Billy Collins
Life Love Love Life Dance Playwriting Tried Scenario Writer He Lincoln Wobbly His Hand Essays Painter Even Satirical Career
The life of Edward Estlin Cummings began with a childhood in Cambridge, Mass., that he described as happy, but he struggled in both his artistic and romantic exploits against the piousness of his father, an esteemed Harvard professor. Billy Collins
Life Happy Father Harvard Struggled Both He Mass Cambridge His Edward Began Artistic Childhood Romantic Esteemed Against Exploits Professor
Besides the aesthetics, besides teaching an appreciation of T.S. Eliot, a basic need is fulfilled when you teach English at CUNY. Billy Collins
You Appreciation Besides Aesthetic Fulfilled Teach Teaching English Basic Need
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