Emily Dickinson never developed. She remained loyal to her persona and to that same little metrical song that stood her in such good stead. She is a striking example of complexity within a simple package. Her rhymes are like bows on the package. Billy Collins bowcomplexitydevelop 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
I think if a poet wanted to lead, he or she would want the message to be unequivocally clear and free of ambiguity. Whereas poetry is actually the home of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty. Billy Collins ambiguityambivalenceclear Change image and share on social
I have a stack of those plastic card hotel room keys that I picked up on this latest book tour. It's about a yard tall. Ah yes, a stack of lonely nights. Billy Collins bookcardhotel Change image and share on social
When I was a young man, I understood that poetry was two things - it was difficult to understand, but you could understand that the poet was miserable. So for a while there, I wrote poems that were hard to understand, even by me, but gave off whiffs of misery. Billy Collins difficultgivehard share on social
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 am a nonparticipant of social media. I'm not much attracted to anything that involves the willing forfeiture of privacy and the foregrounding of insignificance. Billy Collins attractforegroundforfeiture Change image and share on social
A lot of my poems either have historical sequences or other kinds of chronological grids where I'm locating myself in time. I like to feel oriented, and I like to orient the reader at the beginning of a poem. Billy Collins beginchronologicalfeel share on social
Radio is such a perfect medium for the transmission of poetry, primarily because there just is the voice, there's no visual distraction. Billy Collins distractionmediumperfect Change image and share on social
It's an important social duty to spread the word of English to people whose livelihoods depend on knowing the language. Billy Collins dependdutyenglish Change image and share on social
