<![CDATA[Ballistics: Poems]]>

false <![CDATA[Ballistics: Poems]]> 3109162 1 A Billy Collins poem is instantly recognizable. “Using simple, understandable language,” notes USA Today, the two-term U.S. Poet Laureate “captures ordinary life–its pleasure, its discontents, its moments of sadness and of joy.” His everyman approach to writing resonates with readers everywhere and generates fans who would otherwise never give a poem a second glance. Now, in this stunning new collection, Collins touches on a greater array of subjects–love, death, solitude, youth, and aging–delving deeper than ever before. Ballistics comes at the reader full force with moving and playful takes on life. Drawing inspiration from the world around him and from such poetic forebears as Robert Frost, Paul Valéry, and eleventh-century poet Liu Yung, Collins drolly captures the essence of an ordinary afternoon: All I do these drawn-out days is sit in my kitchen at Pheasant Ridge where there are no pheasants to be seen and, last time I looked, no ridge. Collins reflects on his solitude: If I lived across the street from myself and I was sitting in the dark on the edge of the bed at five o’clock in the morning, I might be wondering what the light was doing on in my study at this hour. And he meditates on the effects of love: It turns everything into a symbol like a storm that breaks loose in the final chapter of a long novel. And it may add sparkle to a morning, or deepen a night when the bed is ringed with fire. As Collins strives to find truth in the smallest detail, readers are given a fascinating, intimate glimpse into the heart and soul of a brilliantly thoughtful man and exemplary poet. Praise for Billy Collins “Collins reveals the unexpected within the ordinary. He peels back the surface of the humdrum to make the moment new.” –The Christian Science Monitor “Billy Collins demonstrates why he is one of our best poets, with his appealing trademark style: a self-deprecating charm, playful wit and unexpected imaginative leaps.” –San Antonio Express-News “By careful observation, Collins spins comic gold from the dross of quotidian suburban life. . . . Chipping away at the surface, he surprises you by scraping to the wood underneath, to some deeper truth.” –Entertainment Weekly “A poet of plentitude, irony, and Augustan grace.” –The New Yorker “It is difficult not to be charmed by Collins, and that in itself is a remarkable literary accomplishment.” –The New York Review of Books “Clever, subtle and engaging.” –Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 3140423 9 9 2008 Ballistics: Poems total:284|5:87|4:106|3:75|2:12|1:4| 284 1112 416 69 5 2 false false Sat Mar 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 13:48:26 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 11:50:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 04:12:08 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 13:55:27 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 10:04:28 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 10:08:01 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Dec 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 09:35:32 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 06:52:59 -0800 2008 2
Being a big fan of Mr. Collins, I found it hard not...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Feb 13 17:50:06 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 18 17:40:37 -0700 2009
He does use the same symbolism and style often - it is the same death personified in On the...more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Sep 24 12:11:13 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 12:11:21 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Sep 05 10:46:50 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 10:59:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 18:58:09 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 09:59:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 10 07:24:33 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 07:28:34 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jan 07 12:55:24 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 12:55:30 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Oct 21 09:55:26 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 09:56:13 -0700 2008 3 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 26 12:03:43 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 20:36:33 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 12:03:43 -0700 2009 2 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 01 11:16:49 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 11:22:33 -0800 2009 like eating a banana--unwrapping wisdom
hidden behind the husk of the everyday,

slow bite after slow bite until
the only thing left to do is throw
the skin away, your hunger for truth

assuaged but not completely satisfied.

...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jun 02 19:33:25 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 16:45:57 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 19:33:25 -0700 2009
I tell my students that poetry is all about seeing the world in new ways: finding beauty in the eyes of two skunks (Nye), or finding bravery in the armor of the artichoke (Neruda). In order to write poetry, they mu...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Mar 21 14:54:56 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 14:58:13 -0700 2009 When I finished the first poem I felt so satisfied I thought I could close the book and be done.
After giving up on the idea of one poem a day, I am trying to pace myself and devour it in 15 page sections, but invariable ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 16:40:59 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 16:40:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 17 07:17:58 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 07:19:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 13:20:50 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 13:34:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 14:19:12 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 17:43:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 17:29:11 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 05:11:42 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3109162