Thursday, August 19, 2021

Poetry Friday - Do You Call Reading Poems Conversations?

            Thanks to Carol Labuzzetta who is hosting this Poetry Friday, at her blog, here.  It's The Apples in My Orchard where today Carol shares some great exercises with her middle-school students, "I am" poems. And one of them is by Billy Collins! 

In these days filled with turmoil, poetry helps me take a break and this time, have a nice talk with Billy Collins. Wishing you all some of these breaks, too.  

               Then, if you are able, find a way to help somewhere!

           I love having a conversation with Billy Collins. I've spent weeks (months?) talking with him. This latest book came out nearly a year ago and I don't remember when I bought it, or when I started reading. Here are a few parts that I enjoyed. Although I can't share all of a poem, I hope you find the book and love your own talks with Billy.

He begins with "The Function of Poetry" where after a morning full of errands (as we have on some days), he looks out his kitchen window and writes "I realized/that the function of poetry is to remind me/ that there is much more to life/ than what I am usually doing/when I'm not reading or writing poetry."

In "And It's Raining Outside, Which Always Adds", he writes of a transistor radio he bought in a junk shop "run by a man as tall as a grandfather clock".

And in "The Emperor of Ice Cubes", he speaks of throwing an ice cube at some sandpipers on a Florida beach. One, the first to get to it, rebuffs the others when Billy muses: "Imagine–a bird missing the cold/while pecking at an ice cube/as it melted in the Florida sand."

Of course, there are more marvelous words and new looks at things from Billy Collins.  These are tiny crumbs, whispers really, from my own favorites. 

The title poem, "Whale Day" begins "Today I was awakened by strong coffee/and the awareness that the earth is busy with whales/even though we can't see any."

         If you can't find this book, HERE is the Billy Collins page at the Poetry Foundation, about him and with lots of poems ready to read and love.

       

22 comments:

  1. Yes, I do! And these conversations really help me cope! Thanks!

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  2. You know, after reading Carol's post last night, I went looking for some Billy Collins poems. His work is deceptively simple...so I then went on to Dickinson and had a little poem party with the poets last night. Your post feels like an AMEN

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    1. This comment makes me feel so good, Linda! Thanks!

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  3. Haha, you know I believe in conversing with poets, since I wrote a poem about talking to Billy Collins! (https://karenedmisten.blogspot.com/2019/01/poetry-friday-tabatha-wrote-me-poem.html) I love that quote about being aware that the earth is busy with whales, even though we can't see any.

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  4. I think he writes the kind of poems that do feel like conversations. He shares observations or conjectures, like the one about the world being busy with whales, that seems like words I'd respond to with, "Yeah, the I think so too, now that you mention it."

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  5. I never thought of it as having conversations when reading poetry, but I will now! I also have to seek out this book! Do you have other Billy Collins books you would suggest? I'd love to know your favorite! Thanks for participating in today's round up! ~Carol Labuzzetta~

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  6. Linda, you hit on a great idea. Have a conversation with poem and of course, Billy Collins is an excellent idea. I remember when he talked to the NYS Reading Council members at a conference luncheon many years ago. I was mesmerized by his voice, his wit, and humor. Emily Dickinson is another favorite of mine.

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  7. Yes to all you've said! Billy Collins has been doing live readings/conversations on Facebook several days a week during the pandemic. I have also learned a little more about his other passion -- jazz.

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  8. Yes, conversations are the best to have with poems. I so enjoy Billy Collins.

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  9. Thanks everyone. I hope you enjoyed a little bit of talk with Billy Collins. I read that some of you know him well & he's only a acquaintance, so far. I have more than one of his poetry books, but another recent one I've read is "The Trouble With Poetry". Great title, isn't it? What would you write as a title poem to those words?

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  10. Not all poets do it this way, though, right? Some poems/poets, when you read them, it's like they are performing or speechifying at you, often in glorious ways. Then there are others who feel like they are chatting directly to you and you alone--Billy's one of those, and it's why I like Ross Gay also. Thanks for helping me realize this!

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  11. I love this line: "the function of poetry is to remind me/ that there is much more to life/ than what I am usually doing/when I'm not reading or writing poetry." Thanks for the links! I'm going to check out more of his poetry.

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  12. Billy Collins feels like an old friend. His poems seem so simple and conversational, but they never fail to surprise and delight.

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  13. Thank you for pulling out these wonderful quotes, Linda. I'm already thinking about the little red radio I bought in fourth grade, designed to clamp onto a bike's handles. I'm going to seek out this book.

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  14. Thanks again. I love all your comments. Yes, those 'other' poems fill up my favorites, too, Heidi.Elisabeth, I hope you find oodles of new poems to love. Mary Lee, I feel as if I could write sort of like Billy. I have plenty to say in my head, but somehow it doesn't feel the same. And Laura, I do remember the early transistor radios. We were so excited to have them!

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  15. The last Billy Collins book I purchased was 'Nine Horses' which I love, but you have sold me on this one Linda. Thank you for your alert. The quote you have shared have resonated strongly and there is indeed a strong sense of engagement in a conversation when reading his words.

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    1. Now you've given me another title to look for, Alan. I hope you enjoy Whale Talk whenever you can! Thanks!

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  16. Billy Collins is the perfect conversationalist - witty, thoughtful, but doesn't stay too long during each visit. Thanks for sharing these 'whispers' from this collection, Linda. :)

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    1. Well, you know I agree about him being a good conversationalist. Thanks, Bridget!

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  17. What wonderful "conversations"! I love VOYAGE.

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  18. Great thought, " that the function of poetry is to remind me/ that there is much more to life/ than what I am usually doing/when I'm not reading or writing poetry."and— when we can't take in the loveliness of a beautiful summer day. And loved the last thought thinking about the whales even though we can't see them. Thanks for sharing bits from your Billy Collins book Linda!

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  19. Billy Collins is an iconic, pessimistic, humorous poet. I've always enjoyed conversing with his poems, but not so much with him personally. He can be a bit of an egotist about the craft of poetry. But I guess he's entitled since he is such a master of it.

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