Spring Break
Humorous poet to bring work to SJSU
Poet laureate uses 'turn-of-the-century' conversation
Laura Buckingham, Daily Staff Writer
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"A Reading by Billy Collins" is slated to take place on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the School of Music and Dance Concert Hall, followed by "A Conversation with Billy Collins" at noon on Friday in Spartan Memorial Chapel.
Mitch Berman, director of the center for literary arts at SJSU, said that Collins is an irresistible talent.
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"He writes wonderful, lucid poetry," Berman said. "His poems are understandable by just about everyone, and he uses humor in a way that I haven't seen a poet do."
Anne Jennings, a graduate student in creative writing, said the accessibility of Collins' work is what makes him so popular.
"He writes about everyday things, and people can relate to his work," she said. "He writes about nursery rhymes, objects in your house, shoveling snow. He finds something poetic about these moments and makes the subject matter rise above the ordinary."
At Thursday's event, Collins will read from his new collection of poems, "Nine Horses," as well as sign books and answer questions from the audience.
Collins has authored six books of poetry, including "Sailing Alone Around the Room," a bestseller.
English Professor Alan Soldofsky said that Collins has had a profound affect on the landscape of American poetry.
"He has democratized it and made it available to many more people," he said. "He has taken it out of the realm of specialized language that you have to decode and put it in the language of everyday, turn-of-the-century conversation."
After being appointed the position of poet laureate, Berman said Collins has taken great initiative to increase the visibility of poetry in America.
"He interprets his duties with a great degree of discretion," he said. "He is a man with a mission."
Among these efforts include an interactive Web site located at the Library of Congress called Poetry 180, that Berman said has, among other things, integrated poetry into the everyday framework of education.
"Among populations who weren't interested in poetry before him, his idea is that he's going to raise public awareness of the art form and bring it into schools," he said.
His efforts have made a difference, and he has been appointed to a second term, Berman said.
Poetry itself is something that Soldofsky said can appear intimidating to some, and he said Collins tries to make light of this intimidation.
"He's on the reader's side," Soldofsky said.
Berman agreed.
"You will easily understand everything this man says in his poems," he said. "People will go to these events and have fun. Collins actually wants to make poetry fun and bring it to your level."
Jennings said that Thursday's event will provide more laughs than anything else.
"Going to see Billy Collins will be more like going to see a stand-up comedian than seeing your average poet," she said. "Humor is really important to him."
Soldofsky said that Collins specializes in satire, and it will be evident during his reading.
"It will be much like the cynical, ironic attitude of Jerry Seinfeld, but more sophisticated."
