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 backbookeditor Change image and share on social
I don't write for an auditorium full of people. I don't write for the microphone; I write for the page. Billy Collins auditoriumfullmicrophone Change image and share on social
Poems are perfect for something to listen to while you're walking around because they don't take very long. Billy Collins listenlongperfect Change image and share on social
I'm pretty much all for poetry in public places - poetry on buses, poetry on subways, on billboards, on cereal boxes. Billy Collins billboardboxbuse Change image and share on social
When you put a poem on a Kindle, the lines are broken in order to fit on the screen. And so instead of being the poet's decision, it becomes the device's decision. Billy Collins breakdecisiondevice Change image and share on social
I'm happy to stick with my persona. There are themes of love lost and love regained, but the main themes of all poems are basically love and death, and that seems to be the message of poetry. Billy Collins basicallydeathhappy Change image and share on social
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 backblackbook share on social
I have my Poetry 180 project, which I've made my main project. We encourage high schools, because that's really where, for most people, poetry dies off and gets buried under other adolescent pursuits. Billy Collins adolescentburyencourage Change image and share on social
To a poet, it's quite ruinous to have a poem distorted, out of shape, or squeezed, shall we say, into this tiny screen. But I'm not sure big digital companies are sensitive to the needs of poets. Billy Collins bigcompanydigital Change image and share on social
In the long revolt against inherited forms that has by now become the narrative of 20th-century poetry in English, no poet was more flamboyant or more recognizable in his iconoclasm than Cummings. Billy Collins 20thcenturycumming Change image and share on social
