Experts
Billy Collins
Poet; Former U.S. Poet Laureate
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Re: How will this age be remembered?
By our technology or our behavior? Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Future
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A word from the poet on his hopeless optimism. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Inspiration & Wisdom
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We should be over war, Collins says. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Politics & Policy, World
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f we start doing something about climate change now, it'll be a lot different from starting five years from now. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Environment
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What's happening now is tribalism. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Belief
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Re: Do you have a personal philosophy?
A haiku is like smashing an atom. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Inspiration & Wisdom
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Challenges for Budding Artists
Artists are just people who somehow didnt' allow that natural ability in childhood to be killed off. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Inspiration & Wisdom
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A poet is not terribly unhappy that poetry has a small audience. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Arts & Culture
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Re: What impact have you had on poetry?
Colins' poetry is "readable." Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Arts & Culture
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"When you're not writing, there's an anxiety about whether you will ever write again," says Collins. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Arts & Culture
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Words, Words, Words: The Craft of Writing
The joy in writing poetry is being down on your hands and knees with the language. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In Arts & Culture
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Re: How did your childhood shape you?
Collins' childhood was filled with poetry and practical jokes. Read More
January 12, 2008 | In History
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A gift from Billy Collins Read More
November 18, 2007 | In Arts & Culture
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Billy Collins reads his poem, "Constellations." Read More
November 13, 2007 | In Arts & Culture
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Billy Collins reads his poem, "Questions About Angels." Read More
November 13, 2007 | In Arts & Culture
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Re: Whom would you like to interview and what would you ask?
A musician of sorts. Read More
November 13, 2007 | In Arts & Culture
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Re: If you had $100 billion to give away, how would you spend it?
First, a nice car, then we think of others. Read More
November 13, 2007 | In Business & Economics
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Re: What is the measure of a good life?
Start with tiny gestures. Read More
November 13, 2007 | In Inspiration & Wisdom
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Re: What should America be doing?
America needs to find a new way of thinking. Read More
November 13, 2007 | In Politics & Policy
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Re: What should be the big issues of the 2008 election?
We should be over war by now. Read More
November 13, 2007
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
