An Evening with Billy Collins

Presented By: The Center at Eagle Hill

Billy Collins is an American phenomenon. No poet since Robert Frost has managed to combine high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal. His work has appeared in a variety of periodicals including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The American Scholar, and he has published twelve collections of poetry. He has been recognized with a number of honors, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, and he was appointed United States Poet Laureate from 2001-2003.

The typical Collins poem opens on a clear and hospitable note but soon takes an unexpected turn; poems that begin in irony may end in a moment of lyric surprise. No wonder Collins sees his poetry as “a form of travel writing” and considers humor “a door into the serious.” It is a door that many thousands of readers have opened with amazement and delight. Billy Collins joins us on March 5th to read selections of his poetry and answer audience questions.