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,[…]
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Walking down the street is like a night at the opera, Collins says.
Billy Collins: I suppose . . . Well, there’s a difference . . . I should point out there’s a difference between the “me” that was autobiographically shaped and the persona that says my poems.
New York has had no influence on my persona. Well it’s influenced me, I suppose, that I grew up in a fairly cosmopolitan, crazy environment. So I guess I’m not too easily impressed by eccentricity for one thing; since if you walk down one block in Manhattan, you see . . . you know, it’s like going to the opera.
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