The Poetry of Billy Collins Essay -- Billy Collins Poet Poetry Essays

The Poetry of truncheon CollinsIn 2001 a new poet laureate was crowned and a new vocalisation the voice ofa poetic everyman was heard by many for the first time. That voicebelonged to Billy Collins. Collins was born into a working-class Bronxcouple, and grew up in a typical middle-class neighborhood where hewent to church on Sundays and listened to jazz music in his free time.This middle-class background and sensibilities are reflected in hispoetic style and themes, and in his desire to bring poetry back intothe American main stream by making it more accessible to the averagereader.Billy Collins was born March 22, 1941 in Queens, New York. He was borninto a middle class family. His parents were of Irish descent, and haddeep roots in the Irish Catholic religion (Press). Both of his parentsheld steady jobs his father was an insurance broker, and his motherwas a nurse. During Billy Collins years up until middle school, hehad certain a below average education, attending a public school inthe Bronx. However, his father became very successful and ratherwealthy. Billy and his family then travel to Westchester County, awealthy New York suburb, where he attended a prestigious privateschool. After high school, Billy attended Holy Cross College where hereceived his bachelors degree, then went on to get his Ph.D. inRomantic poetry at the University of California at Riverside. Billybegan his Career in poetry as a writer for Rolling Stones magazine,selling his poems for thirty-five dollars each (Billy Collins). In1970, after his job in Rolling Stones, he got a position educational activitypoetry at Lehman College, located in the Bronx, where he is stillteaching. Along with his teaching career, he served... ...shows Collins love of music and familiarity withjazz. It can also be appreciated on two different levels. You canenjoy the dreamy description of a jazz club, but also the deeperdiscussion on the proposition of beauty.Despite his upbringing in a middle class home, a nd his poor educationas a child, Collins has become a very healthful known and highly respectedpoet, whose middle class backgrounds have had a large influence on hispoetry, as well as his goal to contribute poetry more accessible to theaverage reader. Collins has had a very successful career, publishingseveral poetry books and being the Poet Laureate of the U.S. from2001-2003.Collins has a very unique style of poetry that has appeal to both theaverage person, being both easy to read and humorous to the normalperson, and the more sophisticated reader by having a deeper morecomplex meanings.