The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems
by Billy Collins
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Book Summary Information
Author: Billy CollinsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-03-13
ISBN: 0375755217
Number of pages: 112
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems
Book Review: A Snap Shot of What is Passsing
Summary: 5 Stars
Your Chance to Hear The Last Panther Speak
The first book I bought by Billy Collins was "Sailing Alone Around The Room." I also have to say, that I believe Billy Collins work is not only an acquired taste, but something you have to really actually read, and then read slowly again. Having viewed some of the negative comments here I can only think perhaps where it seems he is not all that shocking in his writes, that perhaps they might think mine are too much so. But this is where it get's into style and I believe he is still true to form in "The Trouble With Poetry." One in particular that stands out to me is 'Statues in the Park'... I'd heard about what he is speaking of before, being prior military and what I got from it was not only that he was teaching, (Those perhaps that have no clue), but also sharing that from his vantage point, some things will never change. There's a symbolism there entailing the whole of life and how quite frankly, people walk by such symbolism not only not knowing, but also not caring that it represent a story to the educated eye.
Here he is not only sharing that, but also sharing with his last lines in this poem how he feels about the unnecessary pains in life, how many deaths are not even worthy of a symbol representing them in so many eyes, and how much he appreciates his own life...
down on my knees, eyes lifted
praying to the passing clouds
forever begging for just one more day.
I'm keying on this one poem because I think it best represents the whole of what I am trying to relate. We live in a world now, where if it bleeds, it leads. Not that death hasn't occurred through out the known history of the world, but I think there was a time when it wasn't as common in some periods in history, and when it was spoken of, it was done so in a manner that was more subtle. Although no less painful to those affected by it. Now days if it isn't particularly gruesome it doesn't rate giving it your attention unless it personally applies to your life. The other one in particular that got me was the beginning poem "You, Reader" because I just happened to be leaning at my rear garage door way, having a smoke, when I was reading it, minus blue hydrangeas...
I titled this a snap shot of what is passing because I imagine I am old enough to remember both in a way. When things were shared solemnly and with patience, and the present where it's just spit it out and without much concern on how those are going to digest what they've just had to learn about.
Pretty soon there won't be, what some consider nice, quaint and boring but thoughtful and yes caring expressions of thoughts at all, it will all be shocking and barbaric or not worth hearing... Which leads me to believe, the un acceptance of that, is the disregard as well for genuine humanness.
I rate this a ten because in addition to sharing works on a variety of other subjects (Although I can only on Amazon post a five), there's a gentleness that comes through in his writing, and a connectedness with the actual world that I believe needs to be retained.
Billy with his work, is a reminder to all of us, and poets who feel more than most in general, what it means to really be human beings... And that in this case means, say the harshest things that occur in life, gently... At least some times...
(I tend to be pretty blunt, but I admire the tact he has mastered, and have to genuinely feel, that it is simply how he is as a man).
Chase von
tlp
The Last Panther
Summary of The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems
Playfulness, spare elegance, and wit epitomize the poetry of Billy Collins. With his distinct voice and accessible language, America?s two-term Poet Laureate has opened the door to poetry for countless people for whom it might otherwise remain closed.Like the present book?s title, Collins?s poems are filled with mischief, humor, and irony, ?Poetry speaks to all people, it is said, but here I would like to address / only those in my own time zone??but also with quiet observation, intense wonder, and a reverence for the everyday: ?The birds are in their trees, / the toast is in the toaster, / and the poets are at their windows. / They are at their windows in every section of the tangerine of earth?the Chinese poets looking up at the moon, / the American poets gazing out / at the pink and blue ribbons of sunrise.?
Through simple language, Collins shows that good poetry doesn?t have to be obscure or incomprehensible, qualities that are perhaps the real trouble with most ?serious? poetry: ?By now, it should go without saying / that what the oven is to the baker / and the berry-stained blouse to the drycleaner / so the window is to the poet.?
In this dazzling new collection, his first in three years, Collins explores boyhood, jazz, love, the passage of time, and, of course, writing?themes familiar to Collins?s fans but made new here. Gorgeous, funny, and deeply empathetic, Billy Collins?s poetry is a window through which we see our lives as if for the first time.
From the Hardcover edition.
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