A dazzling new anthology of 180 contemporary poems, selected and introduced by America’s Poet Laureate, Billy Collins.
Inspired by Bil... read full description
Inspired by Bil... read full description
reviews
Jun 03, 2008
CAConrad
rated it: 
The introduction to this book is such bullshit! Some friends say it's best to just ignore such nonsense that SPEWS out of Billy Collins, the Phil Collins of POETRY! And I say NO, DON'T IGNORE IT! How can we?
He makes an argument AGAINST experimentation in poetry in his introduction much like one would tell a child to NOT run barefoot through the field of broken glass down the street.
The truth is that Billy Collins IS THE REASON the very BIG and UGLY REASON I have found More...
He makes an argument AGAINST experimentation in poetry in his introduction much like one would tell a child to NOT run barefoot through the field of broken glass down the street.
The truth is that Billy Collins IS THE REASON the very BIG and UGLY REASON I have found More...
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Jan 19, 2009
Charles
rated it: 
I commend Billy Collins and the Library of Congress for this initiative. The whole goal of this book is to re-introduce ourselves to poetry as entertainment -- as a pastime rather than as a lesson plan.
Well, we've been reading one poem aloud at the beginning of every class, and I think the sheer practice is more important than anything else we've gotten from this collection.
Only about one in five poems really "moves" my honors class of sophomores.... and I More...
Well, we've been reading one poem aloud at the beginning of every class, and I think the sheer practice is more important than anything else we've gotten from this collection.
Only about one in five poems really "moves" my honors class of sophomores.... and I More...
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(3 people liked it)
Aug 30, 2011
My fiance and I are reading through this together, slowly -- we get to it before bed once a week or so, and then only for a handful of poems. I love reading new poetry aloud with someone, as it allows and forces me to go more slowly and reflect/discuss what I'm hearing. This particular anthology is perfect for this: it was edited by Billy Collins, who specifically went for poetry that is easy to access, heavy on imagery (unsurprising from him, as this tends to be the style he writes with as well
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 27, 2011
Victoria
rated it: 
Really great collection of poetry. I found I was inspired by quite a few of them. I even got a couple of story ideas from it. Who said poetry isn't relevant anymore?
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Sep 02, 2010
So far I only know Tom Wayman's contribution to this collection:
Did I miss anything?
Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours
Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent
Nothing. None of the content of this cours More...
Did I miss anything?
Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours
Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent
Nothing. None of the content of this cours More...
Jan 27, 2011
Ayaz
rated it:
On forgetting
I couldn’t find the book. Here I was in a hotel room past midnight. I should already have felt the lines of the pages that can cut or comfort you, or the reassurance of a spine of a book, even the slick of the cover page. So I dumped the duffle bag on the bed and in the midst of the ordinary (shirts, a tie, a bottle of red, underwear, etc.), I saw a book. It wasn't Cutting for Stone (I thought I had packed for my business trip). Instead, it was poetry 180 (billed as acc More...
I couldn’t find the book. Here I was in a hotel room past midnight. I should already have felt the lines of the pages that can cut or comfort you, or the reassurance of a spine of a book, even the slick of the cover page. So I dumped the duffle bag on the bed and in the midst of the ordinary (shirts, a tie, a bottle of red, underwear, etc.), I saw a book. It wasn't Cutting for Stone (I thought I had packed for my business trip). Instead, it was poetry 180 (billed as acc More...
Dec 03, 2009
Suzy
rated it:
This book was inspired by Billy Collins' desire to make contemporary poems less torturous for high school students. Billy Collins was the US Poet Laureate in 2001 who created a web site for administrators and teachers to have poems read daily to students without asking for a response from students. He just wanted to make poetry part of students daily lives as poems were read over PA systems each morning. http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/ The poems in the book are not exactly the same as the one
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Jul 25, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
rated it: 
Recent American Poet Laureates have been very focused on bringing
poetry to the people. Billy Collins, appointed Poet Laureate of the United States in 2001, created a list of
180 poems that were immediately accessible, reader friendly, designed to be read, one for each day of the
school year, at high schools across the country. This book is a compilation of those poems. Like Garrison
Keillor's book, Good Poems, this book is excellent for people who think poetry is too rem More...
poetry to the people. Billy Collins, appointed Poet Laureate of the United States in 2001, created a list of
180 poems that were immediately accessible, reader friendly, designed to be read, one for each day of the
school year, at high schools across the country. This book is a compilation of those poems. Like Garrison
Keillor's book, Good Poems, this book is excellent for people who think poetry is too rem More...
Nov 02, 2010
Katie
rated it:
I adored Billy Collins' introduction to this anthology, and am tempted to buy the book simply to have that on hand. As a graduate of a creating writing program, much of it is true to my experience. I remember fellow first year students who did not know how to read a poem out loud and students who loved to write poetry but read very little (or none) of it. I am also disappointed with the way high schools teach poetry - I'm disappointed by the lack of diverse and contemporary voices (many poems in
More...
Sep 18, 2010
Shawn
rated it:
I was hooked when one of Dorianne Laux's poems was near the front. A very un-Billy Collins type of poet. And I found in this collection deeper, more meaningful poems that what I would normally expect from Collins, a very readable and, dare I say - charming - writer.
Still, most of the poems were like Collins's work itself: free verse, conversational, descriptive and sympathetic but not all that poignant. Funny but slightly inane. Mainly centered around what seems to be his major More...
Still, most of the poems were like Collins's work itself: free verse, conversational, descriptive and sympathetic but not all that poignant. Funny but slightly inane. Mainly centered around what seems to be his major More...
Apr 20, 2011
Julie
rated it:
I am an English teacher. Poetry is not my favorite genre, nor is it in the top five. Come to think of it, I don't enjoy poetry in the least bit. So I read Poetry 180 at the suggestion of one of my colleagues, and I was definitely hooked. Billy Collins is amazing. The poetry is rich in figurative elements and poetry terms I teach to prepare seniors for the AP test, yet is accessible for even my struggling readers at the freshmen level. The poems are interesting and make for great class discu
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Dec 27, 2009
Nancy
rated it:
Collins is a master poet! I love his humor and imagination--how he takes ordinary every day happenings and objects and enhances them with poetic expression. In this volume he selects some of his favorite poets, including an old school mate of mine from Indiana University, Dean Young, an accomplished poet in his own right. I read this book cover to cover three years ago, but keep it on a handy shelf to refer to often.
May 05, 2010
Rob
rated it:
The "turning back to poetry" is a wonderful idea. I love that he targets the book toward high schoolers and encouraged them to read just one contemporary poem for each day of the school year. It's a little effort that can really go a long way. He features some great poets as well, i.e. Charles Simic, Lucille Clifton, Galway Kinnell, and Sharon Olds. Definitely recommend for high schoolers, or anyone interested in casually reading poetry.
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May 05, 2010
Taffnerd
rated it:
This is a great, easy-to-read, mostly modern collection curated by Collins with the express purpose of making poetry more accessible.
He succeeds but my favorite line from his introduction contradicts this: "If there is no room in poetry for difficulty, where is difficulty to go?"
Poems about poems and math and bugs and love and death and so much more. Don't be afraid.
He succeeds but my favorite line from his introduction contradicts this: "If there is no room in poetry for difficulty, where is difficulty to go?"
Poems about poems and math and bugs and love and death and so much more. Don't be afraid.
Jul 18, 2007
Carlyn
rated it:
Oodles of people think they hate poetry, and why not when school most often starts us chronologically, with the "classics--" Shakespeare, Byron, Shelly--what normal 9th-grader is going to relate to Byron??? They go cross-eyed trying to analyze something that looks like a foreign language and then avoid poetry for the rest of their lives.
Well, NO MORE! Poetry 180 is a perfect, accessible compilation of modern poetry in modern language filled with beautiful, creative simplic More...
Well, NO MORE! Poetry 180 is a perfect, accessible compilation of modern poetry in modern language filled with beautiful, creative simplic More...
Feb 05, 2011
Texx
rated it:
I lent my copy out and never got it back. Ten years ago I was teaching high school English and shared poems from this book most days. The kids who thought they hated poetry found day after day that there were a whole lot of poems they loved. This book also sent me on a search to buy the books of many of these poets.
Nov 03, 2011
Joshua
rated it:
Billy Collins is as good choosing great poetry as he is at writting it.
His choices are of the same kind as make his own poetry great:
Clear, everyday language
our American daily life as subject matter
a twist to bigger themes in that daily life
an overall light touch that doesn't burden readers, or depress
His choices are of the same kind as make his own poetry great:
Clear, everyday language
our American daily life as subject matter
a twist to bigger themes in that daily life
an overall light touch that doesn't burden readers, or depress
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 06, 2011
Finally, an anthology of truly understandable poetry. I love the idea of just reading a poem to just read a poem. Poor english teachers killed poetry for me. But finally this book helped me see the beauty is a good poem once again!! Thanks Collins!! Everyone shy of poetry should read this.
Feb 07, 2011
Margo
rated it:
While I did not like all the poems, I did find almost half a dozen that really appealed to me. Most of the ones I liked had more to do with experiences of us older folks I realized. One that amused me by Jane Yolen appealed because of my granddaughters' passions for princesses.
Oct 06, 2010
Mr.
rated it:
This collection of poems was selected by the (then) poet laureate of the US. The poems are amazing, and accessible to a wide range of readers. There are very few collections that offer such "open doors" to the art of poetry. I highly recommend both this volume and "More Poetry 180"
May 02, 2009
Davelowusa
rated it:
This is a great book of poetry to enjoy. Not to dissect and lose sleep over. To enjoy. To find something you relate to. To love the sound of a line. And then to move on from.
Wouldn't it be nice if English teachers taught poetry that way?
Wouldn't it be nice if English teachers taught poetry that way?
Dec 14, 2008
Michelle
rated it:
A nice collection of poems selected by one of my favorite poets, Billy Collins. The intention is to present contemporary, accessible poems for high school students to fall in love--or at least like--with poetry.
Feb 27, 2010
Chad
rated it:
This collection made poetry accessible to my high school students. Eclectic mix. Fun. Not intimidating, but not Chicken Soup for the soul.
We found some great new poets to explore. Thank you, Mr. Collins.
We found some great new poets to explore. Thank you, Mr. Collins.
Jan 08, 2009
Claire
rated it: 
I think I liked about two poems in this whole collection. Collin's idea for the project was good, but the poems he chose for this book were mediocre to awful.
Sep 10, 2009
BJ Rose
rated it:
When I saw that this anthology was put together by a former Poet Laureate of the U.S., I looked forward to reading, as the back cover promises, a collection of poems "by the most exciting poets at work today."
I love poetry of all kinds, free-verse or rhyming, serious or silly, realistic or fantastic, so I picked this up with high expectations, and I guess that was my problem. I expected some of them to be dark - and some are; I expected some to be silly - and some are; I More...
I love poetry of all kinds, free-verse or rhyming, serious or silly, realistic or fantastic, so I picked this up with high expectations, and I guess that was my problem. I expected some of them to be dark - and some are; I expected some to be silly - and some are; I More...
Feb 04, 2010
Christina
rated it:
Poetry
Expressive
Reflections of our innermost thoughts
Me
Selfish
Interested only in what speaks to me
All kidding aside ... I think poetry is more for the poet than the reader. I used to experiment with writing my own, but I've never really enjoyed reading it. I admire what Collins is trying to do - bring poetry to the masses who, like me, have very little exposure. However, most of the poems didn't really resonate with me. I read just a few a day, More...
Expressive
Reflections of our innermost thoughts
Me
Selfish
Interested only in what speaks to me
All kidding aside ... I think poetry is more for the poet than the reader. I used to experiment with writing my own, but I've never really enjoyed reading it. I admire what Collins is trying to do - bring poetry to the masses who, like me, have very little exposure. However, most of the poems didn't really resonate with me. I read just a few a day, More...
May 09, 2010
Sig!
rated it:
I used this book in a "Poetry for Non-Poets" course and the students loved it. As an intro to poetry, this is a great book.
Aug 05, 2011
Dallin
rated it:
If the word "poetry" invokes a gag reflex, pick this up. You'll like it. It's 180 good poems.
Jun 06, 2010
Lvl2t
rated it:
This book is the reason I love poetry and part of the reason why I'm an English major.
May 23, 2010
Vilo
rated it:
Restores your faith in poetry (not that I ever lost mine, but some poets have tested it).
