In this exclusive audio publishing event, Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate, shares an evening of his poetry in a benefit reading for WNYC, New York Public Radio. Often compared to Robert Frost, his poetry has been embraced by people of all ages and backgrounds, and his readings are most often standing room only.
Performed by the author at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City, Billy Collins reads 24 of his poems, including "Dharma" --a spiritual yet humbling ode to man's best friend, "The Lanyard--an amusing recollection about the popular, if not pointless, summer camp pastime, and "Consolation" --a tongue-in-cheek reflection of a cancelled European trip, and the benefits of staying home instead. In addition to the poetry readings, Collins also spends some time in a brief question and answer session where he reflects on what makes good poetry, his own process of reaching his audiences as a poet, the success of his Poetry 180 programs in schools nationwide, and an amusing sidebar on his memories growing up as an only child. At times pensive and sardonic, amusing and subtly sarcastic, Billy Collins Live celebrates both the simple and the complex in a language that appeals to all.
William James Collins is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 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, Collins was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. As of 2020, he is a teacher in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton.
If a prerequisite for a 5-star rating is "I want to read this again" (for me, it is) — this is as firm a five star as can be. Perhaps it was my sixth or seventh listen.
It's funny, it's charming, it's delightful. I chortled at Collins's answers to audience questions.
I adore The Lanyard which we traditionally read every Mother's Day.
I flew across the country yesterday after a family visit freighted with grief and fatigue (but also with the treat of being with my people). What comfort it was to put on my noise-canceling earphones (a gift from my husband; they really do make a difference), lean back, and listen to Billy Collins.
Since the audio is a little over an hour, I would try to find this at a library.
My friends who actually read and love poetry all conclusively think Billy Collins is a hack who has as much to do with honest poetry as Bobcat Goldthwait has to do with marine engineering. But what do they know (besides poetry)? Poetic minimalism or abstractitude (is that a word? is now) I agree are perhaps more respectable. I don't know. Someone who is smarter than me once said "poetry is for ideas which cannot be written as prose". Of course I knew another real smart fella who said that if it's not in rhyme and verse then it is not actual poetry. All these rules just smell to me of insecurity or atleast silly guyness (like dudes who get worked up when speed metal, thrash and grindcore are all lumped together) - ok, whatever! Like any good NPR listener I love Billy Collins. I am not put off by the perhaps over-accessibility of his ideas, or his cutesy metropolitan intellectuality (is that a word? I'm on a roll) or his capacity for unapologetic sentimentality. I find those very attributes to his favor. His work is comforting to me, like Star Trek reruns or biscuits-n-gravy. Despite that suggestion, his work propels my mind to thought and I find his words and images distinct, bright and inspiring. More academic poetry leads my mind to wander off and thus make me feel dumb (which maybe I am and maybe that's the point of Creeley or who ever; to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's not, but I like to think that because it's funny and vaguely clever). Anyhow, what particularly enamors me is Mr. Collins' performance style. He's cool, understated, a bit rye and his timing is impeccable. The introduction by Bill Murray is antagonistic and kinda chaotic; a nice counterpoint. ...okay, done typing.
~~~this delighted me, and i can't remember being so delighted ever.
Nightclub
You are so beautiful and I am a fool to be in love with you is a theme that keeps coming up in songs and poems. There seems to be no room for variation. I have never heard anyone sing I am so beautiful and you are a fool to be in love with me, even though this notion has surely crossed the minds of women and men alike. You are so beautiful, too bad you are a fool is another one you don't hear. Or, you are a fool to consider me beautiful. That one you will never hear, guaranteed.
For no particular reason this afternoon I am listening to Johnny Hartman whose dark voice can curl around the concepts on love, beauty, and foolishness like no one else's can. It feels like smoke curling up from a cigarette someone left burning on a baby grand piano around three o'clock in the morning; smoke that billows up into the bright lights while out there in the darkness some of the beautiful fools have gathered around little tables to listen, some with their eyes closed, others leaning forward into the music as if it were holding them up, or twirling the loose ice in a glass, slipping by degrees into a rhythmic dream.
Yes, there is all this foolish beauty, borne beyond midnight, that has no desire to go home, especially now when everyone in the room is watching the large man with the tenor sax that hangs from his neck like a golden fish. He moves forward to the edge of the stage and hands the instrument down to me and nods that I should play. So I put the mouthpiece to my lips and blow into it with all my living breath. We are all so foolish, my long bebop solo begins by saying, so damn foolish we have become beautiful without even knowing it.
~~~I was also listening to some other poems, classic, venerated ones, Robert Frost, et.al, read out loud, and cringing in pain as the readers tried to act out the words, and thereby crucifying them, so Billy Collins reading his own poems was just, well, delightful.
Nostalgia
Remember the 1340's? We were doing a dance called the Catapult. You always wore brown, the color craze of the decade, and I was draped in one of those capes that were popular, the ones with unicorns and pomegranates in needlework. Everyone would pause for beer and onions in the afternoon, and at night we would play a game called "Find the Cow." Everything was hand-lettered then, not like today.
Where has the summer of 1572 gone? Brocade and sonnet marathons were the rage. We used to dress up in the flags of rival baronies and conquer one another in cold rooms of stone. Out on the dance floor we were all doing the Struggle while your sister practiced the Daphne all alone in her room. We borrowed the jargon of farriers for our slang. These days language seems transparent a badly broken code.
The 1790's will never come again. Childhood was big. People would take walks to the very tops of hills and write down what they saw in their journals without speaking. Our collars were high and our hats were extremely soft. We would surprise each other with alphabets made of twigs. It was a wonderful time to be alive, or even dead.
I am very fond of the period between 1815 and 1821. Europe trembled while we sat still for our portraits. And I would love to return to 1901 if only for a moment, time enough to wind up a music box and do a few dance steps, or shoot me back to 1922 or 1941, or at least let me recapture the serenity of last month when we picked berries and glided through afternoons in a canoe.
Even this morning would be an improvement over the present. I was in the garden then, surrounded by the hum of bees and the Latin names of flowers, watching the early light flash off the slanted windows of the greenhouse and silver the limbs on the rows of dark hemlocks.
As usual, I was thinking about the moments of the past, letting my memory rush over them like water rushing over the stones on the bottom of a stream. I was even thinking a little about the future, that place where people are doing a dance we cannot imagine, a dance whose name we can only guess.
~~~Really, who laughs out loud, so often, at a poetry reading? It felt intimate and important, sweet and wise thoughts and teachings hidden amongst the witty and gentle observations of life.
Litany
You are the bread and the knife, The crystal goblet and the wine... -Jacques Crickillon
You are the bread and the knife, the crystal goblet and the wine. You are the dew on the morning grass and the burning wheel of the sun. You are the white apron of the baker, and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
However, you are not the wind in the orchard, the plums on the counter, or the house of cards. And you are certainly not the pine-scented air. There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge, maybe even the pigeon on the general's head, but you are not even close to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.
And a quick look in the mirror will show that you are neither the boots in the corner nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
It might interest you to know, speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world, that I am the sound of rain on the roof.
I also happen to be the shooting star, the evening paper blowing down an alley and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
I am also the moon in the trees and the blind woman's tea cup. But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife. You are still the bread and the knife. You will always be the bread and the knife, not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine
Ornithography
(The legendary Cang Jie was said to have invented writing after observing the tracks of birds.)
A light snow last night, and now the earth falls open to a fresh page.
A high wind is breaking up the clouds. Children wait for the yellow bus in a huddle,
and under the feeder, some birds are busy writing short stories,
poems, and letters to their mothers. A crow is working on an editorial.
That chickadee is etching a list, and a robin walks back and forth
composing the opening to her autobiography. All so prolific this morning,
these expressive little creatures, and each with an alphabet of only two letters.
A far cry from me watching in silence behind a window wondering
what just frightened them into flight — a dog's bark, a hawk overhead?
or had they simply finished saying whatever it was they had to say?
So this is not technically a book but a recording, but surely many people with a literary bent will be as delighted with this as I.
I'm amazed by people who dismiss Collins's poetry as, well, not poetry: for being too accessible, too prosaic, too common in subject. I would use him as an introduction to poetry over Shel Silverstein any day. He captures moments as deftly as anyone using bigger and more words, and he often layers others' famous lines into his own work. (See "Litany".)
He's an excellent reader. I had the fortune to listen to him live once, and this recording captures perfectly his dry humor. (He often pauses while the audience laughs.) He also provides introductions and explanations for his works which are often just as funny.
For all the sheer fun I get out of Collins's work, there's something resonant about it too. After listening to this I found some lines stuck in my head, not just for their chuckle value but because it was simply lovely how he chose those particular words, framed that particular sentiment.
Oh. My. Goodness! Why have I not heard of Billy Collins before!?! I've fallen quickly in love with his poetry and cannot get enough after hearing this performance. Billy is fun to listen to as he reads several of his poems, most of which are funny; all of the ones I heard here are thought provoking and creative. (Bill Murray's introduction of Billy was quite funny as well.) There is wit and emotion in each poem, and even when he writes on a weighty subject, it seems as though he's taken the heaviness out and left the listener/reader feeling lighter and better just to have experienced the subject through Billy's lens. I am certainly a fan now and encourage everyone to listen to this performance, or find a video of Billy reading a poem or few, or simply read some of his poems; I believe you will enjoy it all.
So far, a favorite poem is "The Lanyard." I'm off now to start and grow my collection of Billy Collins Poetry...
I think this is my 4th time listening to Billy Collins Live, and I can state with confidence I will never grow tired of it. Every time I slip it into the cd player, no matter how black my mood, as soon as Bill Murray starts his introduction, I begin to grin. From the time "Sweet Billy" begins his recitation 'til the last audience question is answered, I cannot stop smiling, even when I'm wiping away tears of joy or regret.
Thank you, Mr. Collins, for this timeless jewel of an audiobook.
"Read" is the wrong word, since this is a poetry performance where Billy is introduced by Bill Murray, and, I'm sorry, but can you get better than that?
I was in a bookstore recently when my wife showed me a poem from a book sitting out on a display table. I laughed. I admired the poetry of it. I admired its wit. I already had a stack of books in my arm so I didn't buy it, but I logged onto the library's Libby app and downloaded this live, hour-long performance to see if I should pursue more titles by the author.
It was a blast. I loved the background stories about the poems he read before a live audience — a fundraiser for NPR — and now I'm hooked. I found I'd bought a "new and selected" title from the author years ago that I'd never tried, so I'm working my way through that, and I checked out the book my wife had read from at the library. Call me a fan.
To be clear, this isn't "humor" poetry. It's poetry, much of which happens to inspire laughs. What I like most about it is its Zen quality — they aren't abstract poems but poems about specific moments, moments that can be universalized.
Bottom line: This recording is a good gateway to check if the author is one you'll like.
Since it's poetry month, I decided to online window shop my public library for a cool poetry book. I tried and failed with a couple authors and then Billy Collins hit my ears. I love him. When you listen to this, it feels like the days of getting to sit in a crowded audience listening and laughing while an author you fangirl over talks about anything. Word by Word is another book/author talk that gives you this same feel (without the poetry). Billy made me laugh and when I listened to a couple of my favorites again he made me laugh and get emotional all in a single poem.
Enjoyed hearing Collins read some of his poems on this audio recording of a live performance. His sense of humor shines through. His voice reminds me now and then of Jeff Goldbloom’s. There’s not much in the way of commentary about the poems, this was a reading. Bur he made me laugh several times. At the end, he did a Q&A with the audience.
To those who say that Billy Collins’ poetry is too accessible, I say get over yourself and spare me your pretensions. I found this recording to be both funny and thoughtful. Three cheers for Billy Collins.
I had no idea what to expect. Poetry is not really my thing (although I keep trying), but this was recommended by a colleague. Billy Collins is funny, quirky and oddly profound. He’s the type of person I’d love to have lunch with.
This is a fantastic cultural experience! The former Poet Laureate of the USA describes parts of his life and reads his poetry. The first third is hilariously funny! After that it becomes more serious but is never drab. Recommended for all!
This is the most delightful little snack of an audiobook (it’s an hour!) It’s a live reading of Billy Collins poems and it is so endearing and charming. H/t to my library for promoting it for National Poetry Month!
Quick and enjoyable. Collins is humorous and self-deprecating. "Ornithography" remains a favorite. Intro by Bill Murray is fun. Worth 75 minutes of your time, and mine again.
I listened to this recently my husband. It is so good. Billy Collins is accessible and funny and was already one of my favorite poets. It was delightful to hear him read his own work.
I initially was introduced to the work of Billy Collins when he was a guest on The Colbert Report promoting his book Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems. I enjoyed his quirky style and the lackadaisical, slightly sing-song tone his voice takes on as he performs his poems. This audiobook was a treat. From its Bill Murray introduction to the last answer in the short Q&A session included at the end, I was entertained. I actually paused and rewound to listen to a couple of the poems a second time in order to appreciate them more deeply. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for light poetical entertainment and don't mind a little weirdness.