Experts
Billy Collins
Poet; Former U.S. Poet Laureate
By our technology or our behavior? Read More
A word from the poet on his hopeless optimism. Read More
We should be over war, Collins says. Read More
If we start doing something about climate change now, it'll be a lot different from starting five years from now. Read More
What's happening now is tribalism. Read More
A haiku is like smashing an atom. Read More
Artists are just people who somehow didn't allow that natural ability in childhood to be killed off. Read More
A poet is not terribly unhappy that poetry has a small audience. Read More
Colins' poetry is "readable." Read More
"When you're not writing, there's an anxiety about whether you will ever write again," says Collins. Read More
The joy in writing poetry is being down on your hands and knees with the language. Read More
Collins' childhood was filled with poetry and practical jokes. Read More
A gift from Billy Collins Read More
Billy Collins reads his poem, "Constellations." Read More
Billy Collins reads his poem, "Questions About Angels." Read More
A musician of sorts. Read More
First, a nice car, then we think of others. Read More
Start with tiny gestures. Read More
America needs to find a new way of thinking. Read More
We should be over war by now. Read More
About Billy Collins
One of the most popular living poets in the United States, Billy Collins was born in New York City in 1941. Collins is the author of nine books of poetry, including She Was Just Seventeen (2006), The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems (2005), Nine Horses (2002), and Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (2001). His work appears regularly in such periodicals as Poetry, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Harper's Magazine, and has been featured in various textbooks and anthologies, including those for the Pushcart Prize and the annual Best American Poetry series. Between 2001 and 2004, Collins served two terms at the 11th Poet Laureate of the United States. In his home state, Collins has been recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004. Other honors include fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, and the first annual Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry. He is currently a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College in the Bronx, where has taught for over thirty years.
Ideas recorded at the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival on: 7/4/07