Product Description

Billy Collins puts the fun back in profundity. Alice Fulton

From the two-term Poet Laureate of the United States Billy Collins comes his first compilation of new and selected poems in twelve years. combines new poems with selections from four previous booksandCollinss unmistakable voice, which brings together plain speech with imaginative surprise, is clearly heard with every word, reminding us how he has managed to enrich the tapestry of contemporary poetry and greatly expand its audience. His work is featured in top literary magazines such as , , and , and he sells out reading venues all across the country. Appearing regularly in series, his poems appeal to readers and live audiences far and wide and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. By turns playful, ironic, and serious, Collinss poetry captures the nuances of everyday life while leading the reader into zones of inspired wonder. In the poets own words, he hopes that his poems begin in Kansas and end in Oz. Touching on the themes of love, loss, joy, and poetry itself, these poems showcase the best work of this poet of plenitude, irony, and Augustan grace

Envoy

Go, little book,

out of this house and into the world,

carriage made of paper rolling toward town

bearing a single passenger

beyond the reach of this jittery pen

and far from the desk and the nosy gooseneck lamp.

It is time to decamp,

put on a jacket and venture outside,

time to be regarded by other eyes,

bound to be held in foreign hands.

So off you go, infants of the brain,

with a wave and some bits of fatherly advice:

stay out as late as you like,

dont bother to call or write,

and talk to as many strangers as you can.