The Trouble with Poetry, by Billy Collins
So it’s Tuesday. How about a Poetry Tuesday, just for old time’s sake?
I’ve had this collection of poetry on my shelves for a couple of years. I’ve loved Billy Collins since undergrad, when I found out about his Poetry 180 project. I pulled The Trouble with Poetry off of the shelf and put it by my bed in June when I resolved to read one poem a night. (Until then I never noticed that my copy is signed!) If I do say so myself, I have done pretty well with my resolution. I found it to be an enjoyable way to end the day.
I also found this collection to be delightful. My two favorite poems in the collection were “Flock” and “The Flying Notebook.” The major underlying theme was writing and poetic thought. The title poem is the second-to-last in the collection and laments:
The trouble with poetry is
that it encourages the writing of more poetry . . . .And how will it ever end?
unless the day finally arrives
when we have compared everything in the world
to everything else in the world.
Collins makes dozens of delightful comparisons within his poems. All of Collins’s poetry is written in free verse, which means no rhyming, and all of the language is very readable and almost conversational. Collins does an amazing job at evoking feelings and creating scenes with approachable language. I would recommend this to even the casual reader of poetry.
The Trouble with Poetry, by Billy Collins 
Buy The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems
6 comments
It’s been a long while since I’ve read much poetry, but I really liked the one you linked to… I’m going to have to see if I can get my hands on this one. I also really like your idea of a poem-a-day - seems like a good way to keep yourself from o.d.-ing on metaphor but still moving through the book.
I loved his poetry 180 series! I would read a poem a day to my students… some they really didn’t like, but many they did! And they sure remembered the “poem a day” even years later…
Thanks for the memory!
Collins is one of my favorite poets, especially for, as Kristen mentioned, his Poetry 180 series.
I dont’ like reaing poetry… but having it read to me (even in a non-romantic setting LOL ) then, then I can appreciate it. I like poetry readings.
I have a couple of volumes of Billy Collins’ poetry, but not this one. Thanks for your thoughts on it (definitely one to purchase)..and for the great links. My first love as a reader is non-fiction. But poetry is perhaps my favorite literary genre, with the short story being a close second and novel somewhere behind. I love the idea of reading a poem a day…I use to try to memorize one a day, but as I get older and older the poems I am able to memorize in a day get shorter and shorter…and too many of my favorite poems are quite lengthy. So… while I’ve mostly given up on the memorization project, I do still read poems on a daily basis, very often aloud. I loved the comment about the sheer pleasure of having poetry read aloud to one. There’s nothing quite like it!
I see in your sidebar you are reading Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems—a collection also on my night stand. I hope you are enjoying it! Anyway, thanks for a post on the subject of poetry! ~sadie
Ha. I love the Billy Collins quotation you mentioned; it shows he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Have you read much ee cummings? He is my absolute favorite. I’m a free verse lover when it comes to poetry.
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