Bill+Collins

Billy Collins was born on March 22nd, 1941. He is an American born poet, with a sarcastic writing style. Some of his best-known pieces of work include “She Was Just Seventeen”, “The Art of Drowning”, and “Nine Horses”. These poems consist of stanzas that draw a vivid picture in the mind of his readers. To help them escape from there everyday troubles, even to help him to escape his own. Billy went to the Archbishop Stepinac High School as a teen. And later was accepted into, and graduated from The College of the Holy Cross. This college that Billy Collins attended was a religious school, being affiliated with the Roman Catholic religion. At this school he earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1963. However, where he truly expanded his writing style and education was at The University of California, Riverside. Unlike his previous college, this one had no specific religion affiliation. Here he studied hard and graduated with his Master’s degree and his PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree, both in the subject of English. While attending The University of California, Riverside, he had the privilege of being a student of Robert Peters. Robert Peters is a fellow poet and scholar, Billy Collins followed Robert’s example and later became a professor. Billy has been working at Lehman College for over thirty years to this day. Since 1968, he has been an excellent teacher, and mentor for the students at Lehman. He has been writing his pieces of poetry while working at this college. To him this college is his private study, or his writing center.

Not every poet has influences, or poets that they looked up to or that inspired them. This is the exact case with Billy Collins. There are no sources saying that he looked up to any poets or writers, he is a self-influenced writer. However, being self-influenced worked for Billy. He received the U.S. Poet Laureate in the years 2001, 2002, and 2003. For three years running he held this title. Then he lost it in 2004, when a different poet was named U.S. Poet Laureate. However, in 2004 he was named the Poet Laureate for the state of New York. And he won the following years of 2005 and 2006. Billy Collins was a unique poet though; most poets just wrote their poems and left it that way. He decided that he would read them himself, so that people know how he wanted them to be portrayed and pronounced. He chose thirty-four of his favorite poems, and recorded them. He called this piece of work “The Best Cigarette”. He recorded these select poems in 1997, and throughout the years it would become one of his best selling pieces of work. Billy Collins was a simple yet complicated poet, writing many poems. His writing style was meant to help people to let there mind wander to a place where they wouldn’t have to worry about as much. Collins is a perfect example of being able to write poetry while maintaining a job and a real life, and that not all poets, just sit at there desk all day writing poetry.

Billy Collins also created Poetry 180. This system enabled students to have access to poems everyday of the school year. The idea is to help introduce poetry to the youth in a casual way. The poems can be read everyday to the students and anybody who feels comfortable is aloud to read them. =   = = __//Poems by Bill Collins//__  = = __//http://www.poemhunter.com/billy-collins///__ =