I think it's good not to make demands on the reader too early. But as the poem goes on, I want the journey of the poem to lead into some interesting places. Billy Collins demandearlygood Change image and share on social
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 bookcardhotel Change image and share on social
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 beginchapterend share on social
Radio is such a perfect medium for the transmission of poetry, primarily because there just is the voice, there's no visual distraction. Billy Collins distractionmediumperfect Change image and share on social
The pen is an instrument of discovery rather than just a recording implement. If you write a letter of resignation or something with an agenda, you're simply using a pen to record what you have thought out. Billy Collins agendumdiscoveryimplement share on social
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 americanascribeconsider share on social
Very few people have actually read Freud, but everyone seems prepared to talk about him in that Woody Allen way. To read Freud is not as much fun. Billy Collins allenfreudfun Change image and share on social
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 accommodatebroaddramatic share on social
I don't think I've ever written a poem whose intention was just to be funny. I've written poems that start out funny and often shift into something more serious. Billy Collins funnyhaveintention Change image and share on social
I learned snails don't have ears. They live in silence. They go slowly. Slowly, slowly in silence. Billy Collins earlearnlive Change image and share on social
