<![CDATA[The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems]]>

false <![CDATA[The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167521993m/24400.jpg 24400 6 Playfulness, spare elegance, and wit epitomize the poetry of Billy Collins. With his distinct voice and accessible language, America’s two-term Poet Laureate has opened the door to poetry for countless people for whom it might otherwise remain closed. Like the present book’s title, Collins’s poems are filled with mischief, humor, and irony, “Poetry speaks to all people, it is said, but here I would like to address / only those in my own time zone”–but also with quiet observation, intense wonder, and a reverence for the everyday: “The birds are in their trees, / the toast is in the toaster, / and the poets are at their windows. / They are at their windows in every section of the tangerine of earth–the Chinese poets looking up at the moon, / the American poets gazing out / at the pink and blue ribbons of sunrise.” Through simple language, Collins shows that good poetry doesn’t have to be obscure or incomprehensible, qualities that are perhaps the real trouble with most “serious” poetry: “By now, it should go without saying / that what the oven is to the baker / and the berry-stained blouse to the drycleaner / so the window is to the poet.” In this dazzling new collection, his first in three years, Collins explores boyhood, jazz, love, the passage of time, and, of course, writing–themes familiar to Collins’s fans but made new here. Gorgeous, funny, and deeply empathetic, Billy Collins’s poetry is a window through which we see our lives as if for the first time. From the Hardcover edition. 1170001 2005 The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems total:880|5:381|4:344|3:112|2:32|1:11| 880 3692 1137 111 3 2 false false Wed Nov 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Oct 21 22:37:40 -0700 2008 Mon May 18 22:37:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Nov 24 10:12:03 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 08:39:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Jan 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 14:06:59 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 11:23:57 -0800 2009 1 It was a lot like reading a modern Robert Frost (and I think that is a great compliment).
I like that this collection seemed to highlight the creative process throughout.
Favorites:
Drawing Class
I Ask You
Special Glasses
The Lanyard (a mu...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 13:58:25 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 05:08:51 -0800 2009
On the other hand, The Lanyard is a pure delight, and universal in ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Feb 08 17:37:40 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 17:37:40 -0800 2009 5 1 false false Tue Dec 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 12:30:07 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 12:36:43 -0800 2008
From "Carry"
I want to carry you
and for you to carry me
the way voices are said to carry over water.

"Flock"
It has been calculated that each copy of the
Gutenberg Bible required the skins of 300 sheep.

I ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Jan 07 22:43:51 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 22:43:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue May 01 07:29:02 -0700 2007 Tue May 01 07:32:26 -0700 2007
Oh! Collins's poetry is great. I wish I knew how Collins writes so artlessly and artfully at the same time. It's like he gets you to trust hi...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 17 19:14:50 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 17:06:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Apr 12 04:34:42 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 07 18:51:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Dec 28 17:10:00 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 14 17:34:15 -0800 2009 4 1 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Oct 20 09:31:47 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 14 08:41:55 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Fri May 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 05:58:25 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 18:54:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 01 07:03:06 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 07 07:09:17 -0700 2007 #1. read The lanyard by Billy Collins
#2. read You, Reader by Billy Collins
#3. Eat a grapefruit
#4. drink 5 cups of coffee
]]> 1 1 false false Sat Sep 01 09:07:11 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 16 15:37:10 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 22:47:44 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 22:51:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 08:54:10 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 13:42:59 -0800 2008
I...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 01:18:36 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 01:26:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 06 08:10:40 -0800 2008 Thu Aug 28 15:05:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 20:20:08 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 20:39:40 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=24400